Following Disney’s success with Wreck it Ralph, the sequel ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ has been released in America followed by the rest of the world in the coming days. Quite literally levelling up from the original with it’s charming humour, smooth animation and lovable characters.
It delivers for adults and children alike, with it’s child-like nature and underlying messages this is sure to be a hit for all. The heart-warming nature of the film lies in the connection of our main characters and the core idea of moving on, daring children and adults alike to stride for your dreams – no matter the cost.
We find ourselves six years in the future with Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope as we follow their adventures in Litwak’s arcade, jumping from game to game – having a good time as best friends, then everything spirals as Litwak plugs in a WiFi router. Ralph is happy with his life, yet Vanellope yearns for more than her repetitive track in Sugar Rush which gets broke due to a real girl breaking the steering wheel. They take a dive into the internet to fix Sugar Rush and stop Vanellope glitching.
At times a little formulaic and dragging with it’s rather long run time, yet it never fails to recapture your attention – the scenes with the Disney Princess’ are ones to treasure, weaving in the traditional concepts of children’s tales originating from Walt Disney’s animated adaptations of classic fairy tales combining those clichés to create new meaning in it’s somewhat self-aware nature. Branching on from the Princess’ who hilariously question their stories and underlying ideas seen in their tales we get an outstanding musical sequence where we see Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) advancing into a new life.
The world created in the internet is one of intrigue with a real world-like element in that the dark web is a darkened-smog filled area with Jabba the Hut creatures ruling (a visual representation of the hacker stereotype), the real world in it’s ever expanding Blade Runner landscape is full of easter eggs and references that most certainly will connect to teenagers and children alike in the present. The question I have been asking myself is, will this film hold up as it is a very contemporary tale and my answer is I don’t think so.
The writers successfully show the good and bad of the internet in a rather cautionary yet exciting tale, mainly the idea of insecurity and how people perceive a person on the internet without thinking about the real person. Ralph becomes a smash hit gaining attention, with Vanellope finding a new home with Shank (Gal Gadot) which leads to Ralph’s mistakes in which his very own insecurities are exposed and used for bad.
For most of the run time, the film works in capturing that childish wonder, with action and comedy leading the way down this longish path.
3.5/5 Stars
Ben Rolph
