Don't Wreck-It - Let God Fix-It!

Disney's 2012 animated film, Wreck-It Ralph, tells the story of a video game bad guy who regrets the fact that everyone hates him for being a bad guy, and he wishes he could somehow become good enough to earn the respect of the other characters in his game. In order to do this, he decides to leave his own game to win a medal in another game, but in so doing, he causes havoc across multiple games. Along the way, he meets, Vanellope, a "glitch" in a racing game who is bullied by the other characters in her game and is just as desperate as Ralph to change her situation, but the two seem to bungle everything they do.

On the surface, it seems like the message is that you should be happy with who you are. After all, near the beginning, Ralph joins a villain support group, where the motto is:

"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."

But if you dig a little deeper, the movie has a lot more to say than just, "be content with the way things are." It has a lot to say about the way we treat each other, about dealing with our own flaws, and even about moving on toward perfection...

The Lone (But Not Alone) Ranger

I don't know why, but Hollywood has really been on a kick for the last decade or more, trying to turn every TV show you can remember from childhood into a big screen blockbuster. Some have been better than others, but I've really grown to dread these remakes. Maybe the rest of the country has grown to dread them, too, or maybe cowboy pictures just aren't "cool" anymore. I'm not sure how to explain the fact that after only one weekend, Disney's The Lone Ranger is already being called a flop, but I personally thought it was pretty good. It might not be as family-friendly as the TV show from the 1950s, but it's entertaining enough I thought it would fare better!

Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer in The Lone Ranger

I'm not even a big fan of Johnny Depp, but I have to say he's hilarious as Tonto, and I think Armie Hammer puts a good spin on the role of the title character. Despite some language, a visit to a brothel, and some occasionally brutal violence, there's still a lot about this movie that is faithful to the original, and not every change is bad.

As I watched the new movie and thought back on the classic TV series, I came up with five points of encouragement I think Christians can take away from this story.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!!!