Parents' Guide to

Wreck-It Ralph

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Common Sense Media Review

Mark Raby By Mark Raby , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 8+

Movie-based platformer misses opportunity to be great.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 8+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 8+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 2+

RIPOFF OF DIARY OF A WIMPY KID!

age 14+

48+

Wreck it nooo

What's It About?

WRECK-IT RALPH is the story of a decades-old video game character who has been type-cast as the "bad guy" from day one. He eventually decides he has had enough of that stigma and wants to prove to the rest of the arcade that he can be a good guy too. So he enters another arcade machine in search of a medal but when things go wrong, it's up to the perennial good guy "Fix-It Felix" to save the day. Despite his trials and tribulations, though, Ralph ends up proving there is more to a person than what's on the outside.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (4 ):

Wreck-It Ralph seems to have missed the full potential of a video game based on the movie of the same name. The movie takes place in an arcade and takes players on a journey from a vintage, "old-school" game to a brand new action game to a family-friendly racing game. The opportunity would have been to create a video game that focuses on these three different gameplay types. Instead, this game is mainly comprised of a relatively uninspired series of maze-maneuvering and platform-jumping. That being said, players do get to explore different environments from the movie, and they do tie in nicely with the unfolding story. It's a good video game adaptation of a movie, but given that this particular movie is all about video games, it feels like there could have been more.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the minimal level of violence in Wreck-It Ralph. Would there have been a way to make this game fun without any violence?

  • Do you think anyone has misperceptions about you? Is it possible to change their minds and show them what you are really like?

Game Details

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