These two make my heart hurt.
Wreck It Ralph is probably one of my favourite movies (which is low coming from me, because I basically love every movie I watch, so, whoops), but more importantly, the relationship between the characters Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz is definitely one of my favourites. They may or may not have made me cry both times I watched this movie, but you'll never know.
Anyway.
Wreck It Ralph is set in the arcade game world - Ralph is the villain in a game called Fix It Felix, and he wrecks things so Felix can fix them and get a medal from the Nicelanders. And he's mad about it. For thirty years, he's been the bad guy, and he's treated like one, too, even after the game has ended and the characters are free to leave their games. The Nicelanders tell him that he'll stop being treated like a bad guy when he wins a medal - and so he sets off for another game, Hero's Duty, where he can win this medal by defeating a bunch of cybugs. He gets the medal but ends up crashing into a racing game called Sugar Rush, bringing a cybug along with him, where he meets a girl called Vanellope von Scheewtz. She steals his medal and uses it to buy her way into the race that will determine who's put on the roster for the game the next day. They make a deal that if he helps her win the race, she'll get his medal back.
Easy, right?
Nope.
See, Vanellope is a glitch. She does this thing every once in a while where she actually does glitch, becoming pixelated and jumping from place to place. She's been bullied by the other racers because of it and never allowed to race because she's an outcast. She lives in Diet Cola Mountain, sleeping with candy wrappers for blankets, and it breaks my heart. She wants to win to prove that she can be a racer, but she needs Ralph's help.
When they first meet, Ralph hates Vanellope. She's loud and invasive and steals his medal, but he rescues her from the other racers when they break her kart, anyway. He helps her steal a kart from the factory, decorates it with her, and teaches her how to drive so that she can win. The whole time, their relationship is developing and growing into this wonderful trust; Vanellope sees Ralph as more of a big brother, someone who believes in her, her last hope. I think Ralph begins to see her as a little sister, too, helping her and making her believe in herself.
The day of the race, King Candy (who has forbidden Vanellope from racing) gets Ralph alone, gives him the medal he wants, and tells him that Vanellope can't be a racer. If she wins the race, she'll be put on the roster for the game, and when the kids see her glitching, they'll think something is wrong. The game will then be put out of order and unplugged - the game characters will be out of a home, but they can still live in other games or in other general areas of the arcade. Except for Vanellope. Because glitches can't leave their games and she'll die if the game is unplugged.
As soon as the king leaves, Vanellope finds Ralph and gives him a medal. It's really just a cookie with the words 'you're my hero' on them, but it's obvious how happy Vanellope is with it, not wanting Ralph to be worried about not getting his medal. But Ralph tells her what the king said, tells her that she can't be a racer - and smashes her kart while she watches.
(Ouch.)
He loses her trust and he leaves the game, going back to Fix It Felix even though it's been put out of order in his absence. Ralph looks out at the mess he's made, looks out of the game screen and to the rest of the arcade - and sees Sugar Rush. And he sees something.
Vanellope is on the side of the game console.
He rushes back to Sugar Rush, corners the king's servant and demands the truth. As it turns out, King Candy tried to erase Vanellope's code, turning her into a glitch, and locked up everyone's memories so they wouldn't remember anything. If Vanellope crosses the finish line, the game will reset -
So Ralph finds Felix, the hero from his own game, promises to never try to be good again if he just fixes Vanellope's kart. They do just that and get it back to Vanellope just as the race starts. She ends up getting into first place and is almost at the finish line when the cybugs attack. The one cybug that crashed into Sugar Rush with Ralph has multiplied and they're all beginning to eat the game. Everyone flees -
But Vanellope can't leave. She's stuck in the game, and although Ralph is trying to save her, she tells him it's okay. She wants him to leave without her, but he's not giving up just yet. He makes it to Diet Cola Mountain; there's a diet cola hot springs in it, and hanging over top is a bunch of mentos. While he's trying to make the entire thing explode so that the cybugs will be attracted to the light and perish in it, King Candy attacks him, flying up and up and up - but Ralph sacrifices himself, falling from unimaginable heights in order to hit the mountain one last time and cause all of the mentos to fall into the hot springs.
(This is the part where I cried. Dammit.)
He's saved at the last minute, and the mountain explodes, and the cybugs are killed, Vanellope finally crosses the finish line, and the citizens' memories are returned, and they remember that Vanellope is actually their princess. She wants Ralph to stay with her and be happy, but he's already happy because they're friends. He realizes he has a duty in his own game, even if it is as the bad guy, and he happily returns to Fix It Felix.
I think the ending of this movie is one of the most powerful things. I can't even explain it; just watch:
Basically, Ralph and Vanellope have this relationship that hurts me so greatly because it's amazing. They're both outcasts. They both feel unwanted and unloved and they both want a little taste of what it's like to be the one the kids play the game for. Being a villain isn't fun for Ralph, and Vanellope isn't even part of the game. But they find each other and through their desperation to be wanted, they build a mutual trust. It grows into a friendship, and I think it's all described wonderfully by the fact that Vanellope begins to think of Ralph as her hero. No one has ever believed in her. No one has ever wanted her or been anything but rude to her because of something she can't control: being a glitch.
The only reason Ralph breaks that trust and smashes her kart so she can't drive is because he wants to protect her. He's horribly misled by the king, who doesn't want Vanellope to win because the game will be reset and he'll be outed as an evil mastermind who took over the game and made her a glitch in the first place. Although what he does is awful, Ralph does it because he cares for Vanellope and doesn't want her to die. Once he realizes how wrong he was, he's quick to make amends and get her back on track. He sacrifices himself in order for her to live instead of dying when the cybugs eat the game.
I think one of the most important parts of their relationship is the self-realization that comes from it. Vanellope learns to believe in herself, learns to see herself as a winner even when everyone else only sees her glitches. Ralph realizes he's needed, learns he doesn't have to be bad to be the bad guy. They raise each other up without even trying to, and they're both better characters because of it.
This is long and full of my gross feelings, but these two are my brotp.
The end.
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