10 Feel Good Movies With Heartbreaking Hidden Secrets
1. Wreck It Ralph
Wreck It Ralph is possibly the best video game movie of all time, with the notable asterisk that it isn’t actually based on a video game at all.
It’s a very sweet story, but it’s also quite a heartbreaking message. The sequel adds more context, in fairness, but taken in isolation, the ending is enough to raise some eyebrows.
Ralph begins the story alone in the rubbish dump where he lives. He ends the story alone in the rubbish dump where he lives.
Yes, he makes friends, and he realises life is what he makes of it, and undoubtedly he’s a happier man than he was right at the start. He doesn’t really improve his situation though.
He was born (created?) as a villain, and he wants to be a hero. In the end, he saves the day from a bigger villain, but then goes right back to being a villain. You can argue he’s just playing a villain, but their whole life is a masquerade. The part you play is what you are.
The message seems to be that rather than try and improve your life at all, you should be happy with it. Replace ‘villain’ with ‘poor’ or ‘homeless’ and you see why it’s a strangely sad message.