In 2012, Walt Disney Animation Studio released the 3D animated movie, Wreck-It Ralph, a send up of retro arcade games. It was the story of Wreck-It Ralph, the villain of a popular arcade game called Fix-It Felix who wanted more. Having grown tired of always being the bad guy, he decided to go into other games to be a hero. Eventually, he winds up in Sugar Rush, a candy-themed racing game, where he meets Venelope Sweet, a spunky young racer. Together, the two learn a valuable lesson in growing as people and taking pride in who they are. When it was released, the film was well-received by both critics and audiences, and was a major financial hit. Given its success, naturally a sequel was to follow, but it would take six years for one to happen. Flashforward to 2018, where the sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, has been released.
%
Rating
For six years, things have been good for Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman). However, Vanellope is getting bored doing the same thing again and again, and she yearns for something different. Things take a turn for the worse when Sugar Rush is threatened to be sold for parts when it breaks. With few options left, Ralph and Vanellope decide to travel to the internet to try and find a replacement part. They manage to find the part they’re looking for on eBay, but they need the money for it. Along the way, they stumble into a violent racing game called Slaughter Race and meet Shank (Gal Gadot). Soon, they meet the algorithm Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) who helps Ralph become a viral hit. While Ralph becomes popular enough to earn enough money, Vanellope wants to stay in Slaughter Race, feeling more at home there.
While I did enjoy the first film, I wasn’t as crazy over it as a lot of other people were. My biggest issue was that it started as a Wreck-It Ralph movie, but then became a Sugar Rush movie. I was really hoping the whole movie would be Ralph hopping between multiple games, but he only goes into two. That said, I still thought it was an enjoyable enough movie, and I understand why so many loved it. This one does have some of the same problems as the first one, but they’re not as bad as before. For one, while the plot does somewhat revolve around Vanellope, there is a fair balance between her and Ralph. They both go through their own characters arcs and enough time is devoted to both that it works well enough. It also helps that Vanellope is not as annoying as before.
When it was first announced what the concept of the film would be, many compared it to The Emoji Movie. Thankfully, this is movie isn’t nearly as bad or as cynically-made as that was, and it has something to say. For one, while The Emoji Movie seemed to glorify the internet, this at least addresses some of the lesser aspects. There are jokes about annoying pop-up ads, negative internet comments, viral video trends, online gaming, and internet viruses. Of course, this being a family film, there’s no way they could portray the really awful parts of the internet. The only part that felt cynical was the Disney website, which seemed like Disney flaunting all the properties they own. Granted, it only takes up about 10-15 minutes of screentime, and it does help to advance the plot. In summation, Ralph Breaks the Internet, much like its predecessor, is decent at best.
