Ralph Breaks The Internet Review
PG: Some action and rude humor
Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios
1 Hr and 52 Minutes
Dir: Rich Moore, Phil Johnston | Writers: Phil Johnston, Pamela Ribon
Voice Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson, Alfred Molina, Alan Tudyk, Ed O'Neill, Bill Hader, Flula Borg, Jennifer Hale, Kate Higgins, Jodi Benson, Paige O'Hara, Linda Larkin, Irene Bedard, Ming-Na Wen, Anika Noni Rose, Mandy Moore, Kelly Macdonald, Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Auliʻi Cravalho
Release Date: November 21st 2018
Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph” was released 6 years ago and... let’s just say I had a phase. Long before “film twitter”/”stan twitter” was really a thing, there was fan Tumblr. Well, basically just Tumblr in general. I had a shirt, did a dance on YouTube to the Owl City song from the film, and was on DeviantArt for days searching for fanart. I was trash. I was a 14-year-old “Wreck-It Ralph” fanboy.
Yeaaaah… cringeworthy.
I’m 20 years old now and I have been prepared for this film ever since its initial announcement. Honestly, this has been my most anticipated film of the year... even more than “Infinity War”. Still, I was hesitant since this is a film about characters stepping into our internet culture. My reluctance spawned thanks to THE animated abomination of 2017:
Nonetheless, my love for these characters helped retain a certain level of excitement. Plus, it’s Disney. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
"Ralph Breaks the Internet" leaves Litwak's video arcade behind, venturing into the uncharted expansive and thrilling world of the internet - which may or may not survive Ralph's wrecking. Video game bad guy Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and fellow misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) must risk it all by traveling to the world wide web in search of a replacement part to save Vanellope's video game, Sugar Rush. In way over their heads, Ralph and Vanellope rely on the citizens of the internet - the netizens - to help navigate the way, including a website entrepreneur named Yesss (voice of Taraji P. Henson), who is the head of algorithm and the heart and soul of trend-making site "BuzzTube."
One of the faults of the predecessor was that, for it being a film centered on a guy who bounces around video games, it spent so much time in just one game and it felt limited. As much as I love “Wreck-It Ralph”, it focused far too much on Sugar Rush and, even watching it recently, the amount of product placement for puns was a bit grating. Here, you don’t get that limitation. The animators and the story crew expand on the video games and go to an open world. Each place that Ralph and Vanellope travel to is distinct and has an inventive mechanic where nearly each character represents a piece of what we do on the internet. Each site is either its own set piece or visual gag and, believe me, they work.
With “Ralph Breaks the Internet” being Walt Disney Animation Studios’ first CG animated sequel, one of the beneficial aspects is the animation itself. For this coming only six years after the release of the first film, not only have the animators really upgraded the look and movement of the veteran characters to look smoother and more texturalized, but they also bring new creative character designs that integrate with the new world the department created. The environments are brighter and a bit more colorful, but they’re still incredibly creative. The animators made sure that every aspect of the Internet feels authentic and immersive to audiences, even down to the online gaming.
The script is filled with hilarious jokes that don’t feel manipulative for a cheap laugh, and the reason they land is because of the innocence of our leads. For Ralph and Vanellope being characters who are limited to their surroundings, their ineptness to the Internet lead to so many hilarious scenes that the writers of “The Emoji Movie” wish they had the brain power to write.
Now, let’s get something straight: yes, this is another animated movie that commercializes the everyday properties that we use (from apps to the studio’s own catalog of characters) but instead of pandering just to skew to younger audiences, like Sony’s “The Emoji Movie”, the film adds enough nuance to stand as a timely sequel even if the jokes become dated come next week. Even the way that Disney commercializes themselves is creative as hell and makes for one of the funniest scenes of the year. They said that “Infinity War” was the most ambitious crossover ever made? You got all of the Disney Princesses in several hilarious sequences and it’s incredible to watch on screen. Even the way the animators created 3D models for the pre-”Tangled” princesses we know as 2D characters is remarkable.
For a film that’s pretty much Disney’s ultimate product placement for kids (similar to Warner Bros. LEGO Movie franchise), it has a smart and subtle statement about modern internet culture where Ralph shamelessly makes a fool of himself doing trendy stuff in order to earn commerce. You could compile a long list of how many YouTube stars mindlessly do the same things Ralph does in the film for money. He pretty much becomes Jake Paul in terms of how he uses the internet.
Besides being an insightful social statement of internet culture, there is a timely narrative attached that is bolder than any story that any animated film has told this year. The two central characters, Ralph and Vanellope, are the major strength of the movie and, for a sequel that centers on these two video game characters, there is a surprising amount of depth that the story explores. As far as Disney films go, it’s unpredictable. The satirization of Disney tropes held a similar resemblance to 2007’s “Enchanted” which had a nice amount of edge to push it further than other Disney films.
Lacking a central antagonist, the film spends a lot of time developing the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope in a way no animated film (let alone a sequel) has done before. It is a story that takes a risk, delivering a powerful message that is true to life. Let me tell you, don’t watch this movie with your best friend, whether current or from childhood. This will mess you up. It may be a family film, but its message is a timely and relatively relatable one that rings true no matter how old you are.
Of course the internet is always shifting and the movie speaks upon that. That being said, there are jokes and moments that won’t hold up years from now. These are jokes that will fly over kids’ heads say... 20 years from now. It has rewatch value, but its humor may be dated. It’s kind of the reason why “Chicken Little” isn’t really talked about anymore; the humor was too focused on modern pop culture references that it derailed the impact of its muddled story. For a Disney movie, it was incredibly off-brand. Thankfully, the incorporated subtext, the creativity provided by the entire crew, and the end message of the narrative might help “Ralph Breaks the Internet” stand the test of time.
Yet again, director Rich Moore balances a handful of subtext while delivering an amazing story. He did it along with Jared Bush and Phil Johnston for “Zootopia” and does again with Johnston (also as a co-director) in this. At this point, I’m in awe of the incredible amount of creativity that Moore and Johnston have provided for the studio since 2012. Watching this movie was like falling in love all over again. Seeing the new adventures these lovable characters embark on and the amount of maturity this sequel provides holds the same fire that had audiences so affectionate towards Pixar’s “Toy Story” franchise or Dreamworks’ “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise. In 2012, “Wreck-It Ralph” was more in sync with the resonant emotional identity of a Pixar movie than the Pixar release of that year, which was “Brave”. That emotional complexity that was missing in “Incredibles 2” is present in “Ralph Breaks the Internet” in a surprising and mature way that hopefully... just hopefully... RALPH FINALLY WINS THE OSCAR HE DESERVES!
Yes! I am still salty about the 2012 Academy Awards. I’m still salty about “Argo” winning Best Picture and I’m salty about “Brave” beating out “Wreck-It Ralph.” With this being an “eh” year for animation outside of “Isle of Dogs” and “Teen Titans Go! To the Movies” (and I guess “Incredibles 2”) Ralph finally has it in the bag. Unless “Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse” obliterates everything. Oh well.
“Ralph Breaks the Internet” is a bold sequel that adds a hefty amount of complexity with dazzling animation, an abundant amount of creativity, and a mature story that will wreck you like its main character.
Rating: 4.5/5 | 91%
Super Scene: OH MY DISNEY
