Featuring the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Lynch, the film tells the story of Ralph, an arcade game villain who rebels against his "bad guy" role and dreams of becoming a hero.

Ralph accidentally launches himself in an escape shuttle with a Cy-Bug inside and crash-lands in Sugar Rush, a confectionery-themed kart racing game.

In Sugar Rush, racer Vanellope von Schweetz steals Ralph's medal and uses it to buy her way into the nightly race that determines which characters will be playable the next day.

The cast also includes the Fix-It Felix Jr. Nicelanders, Edie McClurg as Mary,[12] Raymond S. Persi as Mayor Gene,[15] Jess Harnell as Don, Rachael Harris as Deanna,[12] and Skylar Astin as Roy; Katie Lowes as Candlehead, Jamie Elman as Rancis Fluggerbutter, Josie Trinidad as Jubileena Bing-Bing, and Cymbre Walk as Crumbelina DiCaramello, racers in Sugar Rush; Phil Johnston as Surge Protector, Game Central Station security;[16] Stefanie Scott as Moppet Girl, a young arcade-game player;[12] John DiMaggio as Beard Papa, the security guard at the Sugar Rush candy-kart factory; Raymond Persi as a Zombie, Brian Kesinger as a Cyborg (based on Kano from Mortal Kombat) and Martin Jarvis as Saitine, a devil-like villain, who attends the Bad-Anon support group; Tucker Gilmore as the Sugar Rush Announcer; Brandon Scott as Kohut, a soldier in Hero's Duty; and Tim Mertens as Dr. Brad Scott, a scientist who is Sgt.

The film features several cameos from real-world video game characters including: Tapper (Maurice LaMarche), the bartender from Tapper;[17] Sonic the Hedgehog (Roger Craig Smith);[12][16] Ryu (Kyle Hebert), Ken Masters (Reuben Langdon), M. Bison (Gerald C. Rivers), and Zangief (Rich Moore) from Street Fighter II;[1][12][18] Clyde (Kevin Deters) from Pac-Man;[19] and Yuni Verse (Jamie Sparer Roberts) from Dance Dance Revolution (specifically X2).

A character modeled after dubstep musician Skrillex makes an appearance in the fictional Fix-It Felix Jr. as the DJ at the anniversary party of the game.

[20] In addition to the spoken roles, Wreck-It Ralph contains a number of other video game references, including characters and visual gags.

The video game villains at the support meeting, in addition to those mentioned above, include Bowser from the Mario franchise,[1][18] Doctor Eggman from Sonic the Hedgehog,[1][18] and Neff from Altered Beast.

[17][23] Scenes in Game Central Station and Tapper's bar include Chun-Li, Cammy and Blanka from Street Fighter,[18][24] Pac-Man, Blinky, Pinky, and Inky from Pac-Man,[17][25] the Paperboy from Paperboy,[21][26] the two paddles and the ball from Pong,[27] Dig Dug, a Pooka, and a Fygar from Dig Dug,[27] The Qix from Qix,[25] Frogger from Frogger, and Peter Pepper from BurgerTime.

[31] Throughout Game Central Station is graffiti that includes "Aerith lives" (referencing the character of Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII),[26][32] "All your base are belong to us" (an Engrish phrase popularized from the game Zero Wing), "Sheng Long Was Here" (referencing an April Fool's joke around a made-up character Sheng Long from Street Fighter), and "Jenkins" (a nod to the popular Leeroy Jenkins meme from World of Warcraft).

[30] Mr. Litwak wears a black and white striped referee's shirt, a nod to the outfit of Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day.

"[23] In a manner similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the Toy Story films, Wreck-It Ralph featured cameo appearances by a number of licensed video-game characters.

"[39] Moore aimed to add licensed characters in a similar manner as cultural references in Looney Tunes shorts, but considered "having the right balance so a portion of the audience didn't feel they were being neglected or talked down to.

At this point, a fourth game world, Extreme Easy Living 2, would have been introduced and was considered a "hedonistic place" between the social nature of The Sims and the open-world objective-less aspects of Grand Theft Auto, according to Moore.

[45] To research the Sugar Rush segment of the film, the visual development group traveled to trade fair ISM Cologne, a See's Candy factory, and other manufacturing facilities.

[51][52] This also coincided with the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo, for which Disney constructed a mock aged arcade cabinet for the fictional Fix-It Felix Jr. game on display on the show floor.

[54] A second trailer for the film was released on September 12, 2012, coinciding with and attached to Finding Nemo 3D and Frankenweenie, along with its final updated movie poster.

[55][56] To promote the home media release of Wreck-It Ralph, director Rich Moore produced a short film titled Garlan Hulse: Where Potential Lives.

[60][61] Wreck-It Ralph was released on Blu-ray Disc (2D and 3D) and DVD in North America on March 5, 2013, from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

The site's consensus reads: "Equally entertaining for both kids and parents old enough to catch the references, Wreck-It Ralph is a clever, colorful adventure built on familiar themes and joyful nostalgia.

"[72] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, "The movie invites a measure of cynicism—which it proceeds to obliterate with a 93-minute blast of color, noise, ingenuity and fun.

"[73] Peter Debruge of Variety stated, "With plenty to appeal to boys and girls, old and young, Walt Disney Animation Studios has a high-scoring hit on its hands in this brilliantly conceived, gorgeously executed toon, earning bonus points for backing nostalgia with genuine emotion.

"[3] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times said, "The movie's subversive sensibility and old-school/new-school feel are a total kick,"[74] while Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "With a mix of retro eye-candy for grown-ups and a thrilling, approachable storyline for the tykes, the film casts a wide and beguiling net.

The film follows Ralph and Vanellope as they travel to the Internet to get a replacement part for Sugar Rush and prevent Mr. Litwak from disposing of the game.

Taking place following the events of the film, players may play as Wreck-It Ralph or Fix-It Felix, causing or repairing damage, respectively, following another Cy-Bug incident.

[90] In October 2012, Disney released fully playable browser-based versions of the Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush games on the new official film site.

[91] A mobile game titled Wreck-it Ralph was released in November 2012 for iOS and Android systems,[92] with a Windows Phone 8 version following almost a year later.

[98][99][100] A combo "toy box pack" of the two figures with Sugar Rush customization discs was released April 1, 2014, from the Disney Store.

[103] A world based on Wreck-It Ralph was added to the mobile game Kingdom Hearts Union χ as part of an update in April 2019.

[citation needed] Ralph, Vanellope, Calhoun and Felix appear as playable characters to unlock for a limited time in Disney Magic Kingdoms, as well as Niceland as an attraction.