Movie Review – ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’
Six years have passed since the events of Wreck-It Ralph. Things have been going smoothly for the video game characters living inside of Litwak’s Arcade, that is until the racing wheel on Sugar Rush breaks off. With her game unplugged, Vanellope and Ralph must travel through the Internet to find a replacement part before Sugar Rush gets sold for scraps, and the inhabitants inside are all left homeless.
When I first heard that Wreck-It Ralph was going to the internet, I was concerned. I wanted the focus to be more on arcade games and less like something akin to The Emoji Movie. But I understand why the filmmakers involved would want to make a sequel that didn’t feel too similar to its predecessor. And while Ralph Breaks the Internet doesn’t really spend any time on arcade games anymore, thankfully, it does capture the same fun and entertaining spirit of the original.
Though the narrative can seem a bit large in scale, Ralph Breaks the Internet really boils down to the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope. The entire journey that the two embark on builds upon their friendship. If you enjoyed the chemistry that Ralph and Vanellope had in Wreck-It Ralph, then your going to absolutely love how the two bond together in Ralph Breaks the Internet. Their friendship definitely grows stronger throughout the narrative, but like any relationship, their bond is tested. The result is a truly heartwarming (and often heartbreaking) film. John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman have excellent chemistry together, as they both provide the beating heart to this movie.
New characters include a dangerous street racer named Shank, and an algorithm named Yesss. Yesss helps Ralph and Vanellope go viral – which will eventually earn them money for Sugar Rush’s replacement wheel – but Shank puts a small wedge into those plans. She isn’t an antagonist though, because Shank actually serves as a mentor figure to Vanellope. Though Vanellope loves her arcade game, she admits that it has become a bit predictable and monotonous. Shank’s internet game, Slaughter Race, provides the perfect amount of fresh excitement that Vanellope is yearning for. This gives gives Vanellope her very own character arc of learning how to balance her friends with her own dreams. Though Ralph may be the titular hero, this movie is also very much about Vanellope von Schwheetz.
Shank isn’t as fleshed out as Ralph or Vanellope, but she does move the story forward in a compelling way. Yesss, however, doesn’t do all that much. She exists solely to make Ralph seem “hip” and “cool” while he’s trending, but her character doesn’t seem all that necessary. If she was taken out of the movie, then the narrative wouldn’t be much different. I did enjoy the voice work done by Taraji P. Henson, however. Her performance was very lively and entertaining. It was also nice to see (or hear) Gal Gadot return to her Fast and Furious roots as a street racer.
Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch return to voice Fix-It Felix Jr. and Sergeant Tamora, respectively, but their characters are completely lost in the narrative. Felix and Tamora both shared a B-story in Wreck-It Ralph – similar to Han and Leia in The Empire Strikes Back – but this film loses sight of their character development. They actually do have an arc in the film, but it just happens off-screen for some reason. I’m not sure why the arc was included at all; it has nothing to do with the main storyline, and by the time their characters return for the film’s finale, I forgot that they were in the movie at all. Which is disappointing to say, since McBrayer and Lynch both do an excellent job with their voice work.
I enjoyed Bill Hader’s vocal work on the shady (yet somehow delightful) character Spamley, but he isn’t even listed in the film’s credits. Alfred Molina is listed in the cast, yet he only has one scene in the entire film. I’m just really not sure what happened this case. If every single individual can get credited for their fun little cameos, then why can’t Bill Hader get any love for his actual character in the film?
Speaking of cameos, Ralph Breaks the Internet is loaded with them. There are so many Easter eggs ands pop culture references that it would be impossible to spot them all in a single viewing. The film is littered with tons of obscure references, but the most obvious Easer eggs are probably the Disney-themed ones. Marvel is shown some love; Star Wars gets some screen time (I’ll never be able to separate the opening crawl theme from Disney princesses now); and, oh yes, The Disney Princesses get a couple of fun and exciting sequences. It was nice to have most of the original voice actors reprising their roles, but it was even cooler to hear a song that incorporated every single Disney Princess theme tune.
It just saddens me to know that not a single new arcade game or video game was referenced. Or at the very least, I didn’t notice any. Again, my love for Wreck-It Ralph has a lot to do with gaming and arcade nostalgia, but there’s not a lot to be found in Ralph Breaks the Internet. Mario was referenced in the original movie, and though the filmmakers swore that he would be an integral part of the sequel, he isn’t even mentioned in this new film. The scale of this new narrative is so large in comparison to the predecessor that I can’t help but feel like some of the original charm has been lost.
At least Ralph Breaks the Internet is a nice, lighthearted movie with a fun sense of self-awareness. It isn’t afraid to poke fun at it’s own studio, often pointing out all of the tropes, clichés, and flaws associated with Disney films. It features a touching message about overcoming insecurities, and even has a remarkably bittersweet finale. The pacing is a bit fast, and the focus is a bit loose, but it is still fun getting to watch Ralph and Vanellope (sometimes literally) break the internet.
