Critics Gush Over Wreck-it Ralph

Disney's new animated movie Wreck-it Ralph is rocking Rotten Tomatoes with an 85% rating, and some critics say it's the best animated movie of the year. The laffer features the voices of Sarah Silverman and John C. Reilly as video game stars in an 8-bit arcade world. A few quotes from the critics:

• The movie mixes a retro look and slapstick gags with a sense of humanity, writes Betsey Sharkey at the LA Times. Looking at how technology influences social lives, the movie shows "the isolation it can breed, the inculcation of a winner/loser class divide, the very social strata that turn out to be remarkably fragile when someone resists."
• The movie delivers nostalgia, wit, and strong characters with a "generous parcel of sweet and effective 'life lessons' for the younger audience members," writes Scott Weinberg at GeekNation.
• Michael O'Sullivan doesn't quite agree at the Washington Post. He credits the movie's premise but says it ultimately "emphasizes action and eye-popping visuals over emotion," with a narrative that "is overly busy, noisy, and unengaging."
• James Rocchi says the whole cast is excellent, and Sarah Silverman's portrayal of a heartbroken but irritating game character might be her best performance ever. "The story and craft and cleverness never overwhelm the sincere and rewarding heart of a computer-animated film with real joy and humanity in it," he writes at MSN Movies.

(More Sarah Silverman stories.)