Wreck It Ralph Guest Post by Anonymous Houyhnhnm

Allow me to introduce my first guest commentator here at John C Wright’s Journal, whose article first appeared on the Cryptocatholic Website. Out of respect for the cryptic anonymity of that site, I will not give his name, but merely refer to him as a fellow Houyhnhnm. Here are his thoughts concerning Disney’s latest triumph, WRECK-IT RALPH.

Wreck-It Ralph Overcomes Being Born That Way

I just got back from seeing Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph”. It was excellent; not just fun but moving and meaningful. I think that Disney buying Pixar and putting John Lasseter in charge of all animation may have been the best thing to happen to it in a long time; it has brought increased levels of heart and sincerity to Disney’s animated films, and none more so thus far than “Wreck-It Ralph”.

I’m sure that I’ll have more, and more specific, thoughts on “Wreck-It Ralph” as I continue to mull it over, and after re-watching it on DVD a few times, but even at this early stage I have a (spoiler-free!) observation that I would like to raise:

In addition to the film’s positive themes of self-sacrifice, forgiveness, warning against envy, and making the best of your lot in life, one of the best, and more subversive, messages of the film is that just because you were “born that way” does not mean that you have to embrace your innate nature, that instead you do have agency and the ability to master yourself.

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Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.