In a vacuum this is a fun enough movie, and there are all the heartwarming moments you expect from a family cartoon. The chief problem is that, at every single juncture, it's also predictable and never shows anything beyond the most obvious levels.

The arcade is just window dressing for a sugar rush of child-friendly product placement.

The film is nicely animated but confusing enough to be almost impenetrable at times.

I found the idea of teens laying down their coins to play arcade games in this present day a strange, semi-intentional archaism - nostalgic wish-fulfilment on the part of the middle-aged people creating the movie.

Play an actual videogame instead.

The chubby 3D animation, smart-alecky product placement and potty humour all capped my enthusiasm about halfway to total delight.

Disney's found a lot to play with here, but you may find yourself itching to take the controls.

You'll either love it or you'll admire it, while wishing it would calm down and, I don't know, maybe pick up a book for a while.

It's a cool game, to be sure, but watching someone else play it gets old after a while.

A brilliant concept in search of a movie. Starts off really strong with sly humor and wit that devolves into cheap kiddie jokes.

The story pushes a heartfelt message, but the humorous antics are pitched at a strictly juvenile level that will have parents yawning while their children roar in approval.

The biggest disappointment of all is that John Lasseter is executive producer. Unfortunately, "Ralph" can't hold a candle to his prior creations.

Unlike the Pixar films toward which it aspires-which marry sophisticated conceits to straightforward storylines-Wreck-It Ralph consistently gets lost in its own intricate plot mechanics.

Those who've played and programmed the games over the decades will find some fun with in-jokes involving the likes of Pac-man and Q*bert but anyone else over the age of ten will likely be bored.

Emphasizes action and eye-popping visuals over emotion.

Disney can dress it up, take it out to the arcade and plug it full of quarters ... but at the end of the cord, the film's a simple, 8-bit I-gotta-be-me story, with a dull plot and tepid characters. Game over.

It's a lovely pretext for dazzling visuals, yet the production is diminished by the clumsiness of an 8-bit script.

It's pure plastic product from plot line to the pro forma 3-D to the tidy moral lessons - ersatz family entertainment as disposable as it is diverting.

Starts out as a funny high scorer but limps into a second half as flat as those quarters we once pumped into arcade machines long ago.

Wreck-It Ralph feels like so many modern AAA gaming titles-a promising starting point for an inevitable, improved sequel.