Wreck-It Ralph (character)

Wreck-It Ralph is the protagonist of the movie with the same name, Wreck-It Ralph. He is the main antagonist in the game Fix-It Felix, Jr. but is tired and dissatisfied of being the bad guy due to feeling unwanted in his game.

Official Bios
Wreck-It Ralph: Bad Guys Finish Last

"Ralph is a heavy-handed wrecking riot with a heart. For 30 years—day in, day out—he's been doing his job as “The Bad Guy” in the arcade game Fix-It Felix, Jr. But it's getting harder and harder to love his job when no one seems to like him for doing it. Suffering from a classic case of Bad-Guy fatigue and hungry for a little wreck-ognition, Ralph embarks on a wild adventure across an incredible arcade-game universe to prove that just because he's a Bad Guy, it doesn't mean he's a bad guy."

"Wreck-It Ralph is a video game character, playing the role of the villain. After 30 years of playing the same role, Ralph felt it was time for a change. Ralph, along with many other video game villains, attends a council in an attempt to relieve the stress of being the villain of their respective games. Eventually, Ralph would travel to the Game Central Station, using the different portals to travel to various video game worlds. Throughout his adventure, he meets various characters, and accidentally unleashes an evil that can shut down the entire arcade, and the characters that inhabit it."

Personality
Despite his hulking appearance, Ralph is ultimately humble, sweet and kind at heart. Even so, he admittedly has a temper problem, which results in him wrecking things when angered. In fact, it is because of his wrecking programming that Ralph was often shunned by the Nicelanders, and Ralph proved to be ashamed of his wrecking habits at certain points. During the film, he appeared to be oblivious to what actually makes one a hero. During the first part of his adventure, he was openly out for himself, believing earning a medal (though he did not technically earn it) would automatically give him the title of a hero. It is not until he meets and befriends a young girl named Vanellope, that he learns being a hero means learning to put others before yourself. Aside from this, Ralph can be a bit clumsy, mostly due to his massive size.

Though he doesn't exactly appear to be, Ralph actually proves to be quite intelligent. This is seen during the climax of the film where he quickly concocts the plan to erupt Diet Cola Mountain so the Cy-Bug's invading Sugar Rush would mistake the Diet Cola lava for a beacon. This is seen again minutes later when King Candy (as a Cy-Bug) carries Ralph into the air, apparently preventing him from completing his mission. However, Ralph realizes he’s being held right above the mountain and breaks free of Candy’s grasp, quickly realizing his weight could bring down the Mentos crater that would cause the eruption.

In the end, Ralph finally makes peace with his role as a video-game villain while maintaining his friendships with Vanellope, Felix, the other VG Villains, etc., and stated for himself that Vanellope’s friendship is all he needs to be happy.

Appearance
Ralph is a "giant of a man", and according to Ralph himself, is nine feet tall and weighs 643 pounds (292 kilograms). He is muscular and beefy, with his most noticeable features being his huge hands and feet, made for crushing and smashing things. Ralph has spiky dark auburn (red in 8-bit) hair. Ralph's usual attire clothing are a pair of burgundy red overalls with one strap across his right shoulder while the left strap is broken. He also wears a large red plaid-patterned shirt with ripped-off sleeves which has three buttons at the neck, two of which are buttoned up, and he also wears a turquoise green undershirt beneath his plaid shirt. He is never seen wearing shoes.

Powers and Abilities
Due to Ralph's large size and tremendous weight, he is extremely strong and durable, as he can wreck or break almost anything in the video game universe, including breaking a jawbreaker in half using his bare fists (Vanellope was taunting him saying that he would never be able to break it) and breaking every window in the penthouse by simply jumping. He has no superpowers or superhuman abilities (not counting his strength and power) and he can't jump very high, but Ralph still seems to manage just fine with his fists.

Development
On the 30th anniversary of his game, Fix-It Felix, Jr., Wreck-It Ralph attends Bad-Anon for the first time to relieve the stress he's been feeling for the last 30 years. Because of his role as the villain, people mistreat him, even though he's really a nice guy, albeit hot tempered. At the meeting, Ralph confesses that he doesn't want to be the bad guy any longer. This confession shocks the other members of the meeting, who fear Ralph's going Turbo (a term for game jumping). Ralph reassures the others that he only wants a better life, but wanting to change the program can be very dangerous in the arcade and can even result in a game getting unplugged.

After the meeting, Ralph returns home and finds that the citizens of his game and several other invited guests are having an anniversary party without him. Ralph convinces Felix to invite him in, but the Nicelanders are less than pleased to see Ralph. The awkward moment turns into a heated argument between Ralph and the mayor of Niceland, Gene. Gene claims that Ralph is just the "bad guy who wrecks the building", angering Ralph to the point that he destroys the anniversary cake. Ralph asks if earning a medal would get him respect, and Gene offers the entire penthouse if he does.

Ralph then heads to Tapper to ask the bartender if he knows of a game that presents bad guys with medals. After searching through Tapper's lost and found box, Ralph instead runs into a soldier from Hero's Duty who tells Ralph that of the medal in his own game. After the soldier faints at the sight of a bug, Ralph steals his armor and sneaks into the game. However, unbeknownst to Ralph, Hero's Duty turns out to be a violent game infested by deadly creatures known as the Cy-Bugs. Eventually, Ralph finds the medal, but he accidentally hatches a Cy-Bug egg; the baby bug attacks Ralph, sending him on an escape shuttle that blasts them to Sugar Rush, a candy go-kart racing game. In Sugar Rush, the Cy-Bug appears to die in a taffy lake, but it instead creates a nest underground. Ralph accidentally loses his medal, which is soon stolen by a little girl named Vanellope.

Vanellope uses the medal to enter herself into Sugar Rush's upcoming race, as every racer needs to pay admission with one gold coin. Ralph tries to capture Vanellope to get his medal, but the ruler of the game, King Candy, orders his guards to capture Ralph. Ralph is taken to the king's castle where he is told to leave the game or be imprisoned. Ralph escapes to find some racers to help win back his medal, but he instead finds Vanellope being tormented by the racers. Ralph scares them off, feeling sympathy for the child.

After the racers retreat, Vanellope explains that she was going to return his medal the moment she won the race. Unfortunately, the other racers have destroyed Vanellope's kart. Ralph then breaks into a fit of rage as he is now without any apparent chance of getting his medal back. He begins to wreck the nearest things and even splits a jawbreaker in half. Ralph's strength gives Vanellope the idea to have him break into King Candy's kart factory where karts for the game are built. Ralph reluctantly agrees and the duo head off. At the factory, Ralph and Vanellope work together to make the kart. Ralph and Vanellope then sign the kart and begin to bond. However, the moment is short-lived as King Candy and his minions arrive and chase Ralph and Vanellope down.

Ralph gets himself, Vanellope, and the kart to the safety of Vanellope's secret hideout in the Diet Cola Mountain. Inside, Vanellope confesses that she has no clue as to how to drive, but Ralph decides to build a track and teach her himself. During this time, Vanellope also tells Ralph that because of her glitch, she isn't allowed to race and is constantly treated harshly by the inhabitants of the game. Ralph asks why she won't simply leave the game for a new one and Vanellope reveals that she can't because glitches can't leave their games. The duo take to the track and become fairly close during the process. Afterwards, the friends begin to make way for the upcoming Roster Race, but Vanellope runs back into the mountain to get something.

During her absence, King Candy arrives and tells Ralph that if Vanellope were to glitch during a race, the players would think the game was broken and Sugar Rush would be unplugged. Not only that, Vanellope would die along with the game since she can't escape. Ralph understands the situation and King Candy returns his medal. When Vanellope returns, she gives Ralph a medal she has made in case they don't win the race. Conflicted, Ralph tries to talk Vanellope out of racing. When Vanellope notices Ralph's medal, she believes he ratted her out for it. Vanellope tries to race without Ralph, but he hangs Vanellope on a lollipop tree and wrecks her kart. Vanellope runs off heartbroken, and Ralph returns to his game.

When he returns, he finds that all the Nicelanders, except Gene, have fled to Game Central Station in preparation for the game to be unplugged, as it has been put out of order due to Ralph's absence. Gene tells Ralph that when Felix left to look for him and never returned, everyone panicked and fled. Ralph apologizes for the event, but Gene hands over the keys to the penthouse as promised and leaves as well. In anger, Ralph throws his medal to the screen of the game. The impact of the medal knocks off the out of order sign and reveals the Sugar Rush cabinet. On the cabinet, Ralph notices Vanellope's picture featured prominently on it. Ralph rushes back to Sugar Rush to find answers.

When he arrives, Ralph finds King Candy's minion Sour Bill cleaning up the remains of Vanellope's kart. Ralph gets Bill to reveal that King Candy hacked into Sugar Rush's code and tried to delete Vanellope, turning her into a glitch. He also tells Ralph that if Vanellope crosses the finish line in an official race, the game will reset and she'll no longer be a glitch. Bill also tells Ralph that Vanellope and Felix are trapped in King Candy's Fungeon. Ralph then collects the pieces of Vanellope's destroyed kart, breaks into the castle, and is able to find Felix. Ralph confesses to Felix that he ran off to try to be a good-guy because he was tired of being rejected and treated like a criminal. Ralph also promises to never attempt to be good again, if Felix fixes Vanellope's destroyed kart. Ralph and Felix then rescue Vanellope, and the trio rush back to the Random Roster Race.

As Vanellope joins the race, Sergeant Calhoun arrives and tells Ralph that the game is going down because a swarm of Cy-Bugs were born underground and will attack any minute. Just then, the Cy-Bugs attack and destroy the finish line as they begin to devour Sugar Rush. While Calhoun evacuates the citizens, Ralph fights off the bugs. Back on the track, Vanellope passes King Candy, but the king rams into her kart in an attempt to destroy it. Vanellope fights him off and she begins to glitch. Her glitching causes King Candy's facade to fail, revealing himself to be Turbo, the old racer from the game Turbo Time whose game-jumping ended two games (including his own), and supposedly, his life. Ralph and Felix are speechless at the sight on the jumbo screen. Meanwhile, Vanellope is able to escape Turbo but her kart, as well as the finish line, are destroyed by the Cy-Bugs.

Seeing as the game has little to no hope of survival, Ralph grabs Vanellope and heads for Game Central Station. Unfortunately, Vanellope can't leave but she ensures Ralph that everything will be okay. Ralph refuses to leave Vanellope to die, and when he hears Calhoun informing Felix that only a beacon can stop the cy-bugs, Ralph heads to Diet Cola Mountain to erupt it. The lava light would act as a beacon, and the Cy-Bugs, attracted to it, would be vaporized as a result. Before Ralph is able to complete the mission, Turbo, transformed into a Cy-Bug after being consumed by one, arrives and battles Ralph, intending to use his new power as a virus to take over the entire arcade. Ralph is lifted into the air and Turbo forces him to watch helplessly as Vanellope gets nearly killed by a swarm of Cy-Bugs. Fortunately, Vanellope uses her glitching to escape the bugs, and Ralph breaks free of Turbo's grasps and plummets to the mountain. As he plummets, Ralph recites the Bad Guy Affirmation from Bad-Anon and tightly grips Vanellope's medal. After one final smash sends the roof barreling down, he nearly dies until Vanellope, using a kart to catch him, lands them to safety. All of the Cy-Bugs are lured into the lava light and are killed as planned, saving Sugar Rush and the entire arcade. Even Turbo himself can't overpower his Cy-Bug programming and dies after being lured into the lava.

Back at the track, Felix fixes the finish line, allowing Vanellope to cross. When she does, she is revealed to be the rightful ruler of Sugar Rush. At this time, the arcade is about ready to open, so Ralph and Vanellope bid farewell. Vanellope offers Ralph a room in her castle, but Ralph humbly denies the offer, informing her that their friendship is enough to keep him happy and that he has a responsibility of his own, finally accepting his role as the bad-guy of his game.

During the finale, it's shown that the Nicelanders have finally learned that Ralph is an important part of the game and begin to treat him better; Nicelander Mary even bakes Ralph his own cake. Ralph and Felix offer the homeless video game characters (including Q*bert) a home in Niceland. During gaming hours, the new characters join the gameplay in the game's "bonus level", where Q*bert serves as a sidekick to Felix while the other new characters serve as henchmen to Ralph. The new addition also brings new-found popularity to Fix-It Felix, Jr. Ralph is also present at Felix and Calhoun's wedding as the best man. During the end credits, it's shown that Vanellope and Calhoun regularly visit Ralph and Felix and vice versa, and the friends regularly have game jumping adventures together.

Fix-It Felix, Jr.
Unlike the other members of the game, Felix never mistreated Ralph being that he was far too nice of a person. Although Ralph was obviously jealous of the handy man, he never displayed any hatred towards him, but just jealousy. Much like with Vanellope, Ralph and Felix's dynamic mirrors that of siblings. Felix poses as the more successful brother, while Ralph is the ignored brother who plays a role similar to an underdog. However, Felix didn't entirely understand Ralph's feelings, as he was questioned by Calhoun as to the motives of Ralph's actions, to which Felix merely states he didn't understand why he left, only remembering Ralph talk about cake and medals.

It wasn't until Felix ventured out of his game that he grew to understand Ralph's feelings as he faced rejection by Calhoun, who rebuffed his affections for her, and was treated as a criminal, as Sour Bill locked him up in the fungeon. When the two reunited, Felix refused to help Ralph fix Vanellope's kart, saying he didn't have to do "boo" for him because he was so angry at Ralph for making him travel throughout the arcade to find him and was faced with rejection and being treated as a criminal throughout the journey.

However, Ralph then told him that was the reason he left his game as he had felt those same feelings every day for the past thirty years and wanted to get a medal to prove he could be a hero, and promised Felix he would never try to be good again as he came to understand that he couldn't change who he was. Realizing Ralph's intentions, Felix reconciles with him and they both began to see each other as equals. At the end of the film, however, both Ralph and Felix apparently became the best of friends, with Felix even referring to Ralph as brother.

Vanellope Von Schweetz

 * "Because if that little kid likes me, how bad can I be?"
 * ―Ralph, about Vanellope (last lines in the film)

When Ralph and Vanellope first met, they didn't exactly see eye to eye. Ralph saw Vanellope as nothing more than a rotten thief after she stole his medal, and Vanellope thought Ralph was nothing more than an oafish buffoon. As they spent more time together however, they realized that they're not as different as they thought. Like Ralph, Vanellope was tired of being mistreated by the other members of her game, and wanted to be accepted. This connection gave the two a far better understanding of one another. It also explains why Vanellope was so crushed when Ralph (as a result of King Candy's manipulation) was against the idea of her racing.

After years of being rejected, the one person who showed her kindness, was apparently against her, though Ralph's actions were meant to keep Vanellope safe. However, after Ralph realizes King Candy lied to him about what would happen if Vanellope did race and he learned from Sour Bill that everything would be fixed if she crossed the finish line in an official race, he didn't hesitate to come to her rescue, and the two reconciled. Vanellope also changed Ralph for the better as she helped him understand what it was like to be a true hero, as he decided to sacrifice himself to save her when the Cy-Bugs took over Sugar Rush. Their relationship became similar to that of a big brother and little sister and grew into a very heartwarming one at that. Vanellope even offered Ralph a room in her castle after she turned out to be the rightful ruler of Sugar Rush, though he humbly denied as their friendship alone was enough to keep him happy.

Sergeant Calhoun
Because the movie mainly focuses on Ralph's relationship with Vanellope and his contrasting role to Fix it Felix as the bad guy in comparison to Felix, who was a good guy, and his desire to be seen as a hero, Ralph's relationship with Calhoun is never greatly expanded on, especially since the two had few interactions with each other throughout the film. During the film, however, Calhoun was shown to be greatly annoyed by Ralph. When Ralph impersonated Markowski and entered Hero's Duty, she was greatly annoyed by his behavior as he frequently ran around, screaming and running away from the bugs, along with interfering with the first player shooter, which she reprimanded him for.

She later punched Ralph when she met him again in the Sugar Rush game, saying "This game is going down and it's all your fault!" showing that she hadn't forgiven him for his reckless behavior and wanted to remind Ralph what his actions would cost the Sugar Rush game. However, after Ralph decided to sacrifice himself to save the game and amend for his actions, she smiled as the game was restored and appeared to have forgiven Ralph and developed some respect for him. This is confirmed as she and Felix had invited him to serve as best man at their wedding, and they continually go with him on his game-jumping adventures after hours.

Tapper
Root Beer Tapper is a minor character in the movie who is the bartender at Tapper's. Ralph goes to him and asks him for advice, and later, if there were any medals left at the bar. The Bartender directs Ralph to the lost-and-found box, where he finds an Exclamation Point, a Mushroom, and Zangief's underwear. He's also seen at the end of the movie at Felix and Calhoun's wedding in the crowd of attendants.

King Candy
Upon meeting each other, Ralph and King Candy were immediately enemies. When King Candy learned that Ralph wasn't just game jumping in Sugar Rush, he feared Ralph was "going Turbo" and was planning on taking over Sugar Rush. Ralph grew a disliking for Candy after the king denied Ralph the chance to earn back his medal that Vanellope deposited to get into the Random Roster Race. As the film goes on, the two characters' hatred for one another grow stronger and stronger, to the point where Ralph wanted to mindlessly pummel the king and where the king wanted to murder Ralph after the latter had become a Cy-Bug.

Though their characters are different in almost every aspect of the word, their stories are very similar. Both Ralph and King Candy's, then known as Turbo, game jumping quests to change their lives brought misfortune to the arcade, though Ralph's ambitions were driven out of wanting a better life and decided to right the wrongs he committed. Meanwhile, Turbo only wanted the excessive attention another game was gaining, ruining the game out of pure spite, and instead of trying to make things better, he took over another game and ruined the life of a character that was completely undeserving of the misery she gained due to his villainy.

Sour Bill
When Ralph was brought to King Candy's palace after being arrested, it was plain to see Sour Bill wasn't too fond of the bad-guy. However, Ralph's feelings for the sour ball were not expressed until later on in the film, where he tortured Sour Bill into revealing King Candy for the villain he was. It was obvious Ralph had a harsh disliking for Bill, most likely because of Bill's association with Candy. Evidence of this was shown during Bill's interrogation scene, where Ralph was completely fine with threatening to devour the sour ball, should he not cooperate and reveal Candy's crimes.

Gene
Of all the Nicelanders, Gene was, without a doubt, the most antagonistic towards Ralph. Unlike the rest of the Nicelanders, who were shown to fear Ralph and try to simply ignore him, Gene openly despised Ralph because of the latter's role as the bad-guy, showing no fear when he ostracized the villain at the 30th anniversary party. It was also Gene's rudeness that led Ralph to game-jumping into Hero's Duty to win a medal, something that was forbidden during arcade time, and Gene is forced to learn the hard way that Ralph is an important part of the game after hearing that Ralph went game-jumping, much to his shock.

Also, despite his hatred, Gene is willing to accept defeat of when he and Ralph wagered a bet if the latter could earn a medal so that he can live in the penthouse, something which Ralph finally accomplished later on, prompting Gene to give him the keys to the penthouse as promised. In the end, Gene finally learned the errors of his ways, and he and the other Nicelanders start to treat Ralph better.

Video Game Role
In the fictional arcade game of Fix-It Felix, Jr., Ralph is in rage of his forest home being destroyed by construction of a new apartment building. Ralph shouts out "I'm gonna wreck it!" and begins to demolish the building by destroying the windows. As Fix-It Felix comes in to save the day, Ralph throws down bricks at Felix. In the end of the game, the people who lived in the apartment would throw Ralph off the top of the building, having him unceremoniously fall into a pile of mud, while the tenats of the building present Fix-It Felix with a medal, thus ending the game.

Trivia

 * Early on, Ralph was not designed as a human. Several early concepts depicted him as a sasquatch-like creature before finally reaching his familiar state about six iterations in.
 * The animators originally considered making Ralph 8-bit the entire time, but it was deemed he wouldn't be relatable.
 * Ralph only has 8-bit movements when he's very angry; the animators thought was, after 30 years of apathy, he's just given up on his lot in life.
 * In the film's earliest development, Ralph was meant to be a supporting character while Fix-It Felix Jr. has the role of the main character. However, writer Phil Johnston believes that the film plot of Ralph trying to become a bigger person (a hero) would be more compelling, so the roles of these two characters had been switched.
 * Ralph appears as a playable character in the game Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.
 * When Ralph enters Hero's Duty, he mentions his mother exclaiming, "I love my mama!" This may be a nod to the person who created his Character Model and Textures.
 * Ralph is actually based on the classic video game characters, Donkey Kong, or DK for short, and Knuckles the Echidna, in appearance and personality.
 * In addition, one of Vanellope's nicknames for him is "Knuckles", a possible reference to the character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
 * He may also share aspects of Luigi, Mario's younger brother, as he is the "brother" that is overshadowed by the hero and is trying to earn his fame because of this.
 * Ralph resembles Darmanitan (Standard Mode), Conkeldurr, Machamp, Golurk, Emboar, Electivire, and Regigigas from Pokemon.
 * Despite not being mentioned aloud, Ralph possesses immense speed, shown primarily when Ralph attempts to smash the Mentos' hanging down from Diet Cola Mountain and when made a race track in Diet Cola Mountain in a manner of seconds.
 * Ralph's heroic sacrifice by Mentos + Diet Cola explosion is reminiscent of the Iron Giant's "Superman" scene at the end of The Iron Giant. However, at the end of the movie it shows that the Giant actually did survive the resulting explosion after all due to his ability to repair himself.
 * Ralph's heroic bravery is very similar to Mario from the Mario series.
 * When Ralph falls into the taffy swamp and gets covered in green taffy and starts to knock over several stands at the racetrack, he resembles the Incredible Hulk.
 * When Ralph is hiding from the police in a pond, the breathing sounds coming from his reed sound like Darth Vader. They were made the same way (breathing using a SCUBA outfit).
 * In a deleted scene, he claims Pac-Man knows nothing about mazes.
 * In the show The Fairly Odd Parents episode Dumbbell Curve, when the city is cheering, a character that bears a striking to resemblance to Ralph and can be seen holding a Vanellope look alike girl.
 * Wreck-It Ralph shares a similar appearance to his voice actor, John C. Reily.
 * Even though in the movie, he says that he is a video game villain, he is ironically a video game hero in the video games.
 * According to movie and other character including Ralph himself, Ralph has been doing the same job for 30 years. Interestingly, the movie itself has been in production for exactly 30 years. This may actually be a reference to the film's production.
 * Wreck-It Ralph made a brief cameo in the Futurama episode "Murder on the Planet Express" when a truck was going by and you can see his head on one of the arcade game machines.
 * Ralph and Vanellope make an appearance in Disney Infinity and both will soon be playable characters.
 * In Ralph's 8-bit form, his button on his overalls is gold, but in 3D, it's silver.
 * Ralph shares the same name as the video game inventor Ralph H. Baer.

Memorable Quotes

 * "I'm gonna wreck it!"
 * "Hey, you moved my stump!"
 *  "Pac-Man? They invited Pac-Man? That cherry-chasing dot-muncher isn't even part of this game!"' 
 * "What's the flavor of that mud I'm stuck in down there?"
 * "Yeah. And who are you, the guy that makes the donuts?'"
 * "No. Just for me!"
 * "I don't wanna be the bad guy anymore!"
 * "I don't know. Why are you so freakishly annoying?"
 * "I love my momma!"
 * "When did video games become so violent and scary?!"
 * "NO, I'M NOT!"
 * "Rootin', tootin', ready for shootin'!"
 * "No cuts, no butts, no coconuts?"
 * "I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be...than me!"
 * "I don't make things. I break things."
 * "I've had enough of you, pillow pants!"
 * "I gonna beat the filling out of you!"
 * "Hey, cough drop. Explain something to me. If Vanellope was never meant to exist, then why is her picture on the side of the game console?"
 * "They call you Sour Bill for a reason."
 * "Yes, I do. That's every day of my life."
 * "Look, I flew a spaceship today, okay?"
 * "'Cause if that little kid likes me, how bad can I be?"
 * "Uncool."
 * "Hey! Leave her alone!"
 * "Scram, you rotten little cavities. Before I throw YOU in the mud!"
 * "YOU! Give me back my medal right NOW!"
 * "Easy, Your Puffiness!"
 * "Sugar Rush?" Oh, no! This is that candy go-kart game over by the whac-a-mole!"
 * "Who are you? The guy that makes the donuts?"
 * Hey Mary....
 * I gotta get out of here!
 * My medal!! Oh no no no my medal!!
 * Its kinda hard to do your job when no one likes you for doing it.
 * "NO WAY!!"
 * "What's going on in this candy-coated heart of darkness?"