It’s safe to say that Wreck-It Ralph is Hollywood’s first great video game film. Okay, so it’s not an adaptation of an actual video game, but it’s still hilariously fun from beginning to end. Because of that, Wreck-It Ralph went on to gross $471 million worldwide. So it’s no surprise that the Disney would greenlight a sequel to the hit animated film. But is Ralph Breaks the Internet a worthy follow-up to Wreck-It Ralph?
In a way it is. Although it may not quite reach the height of the original, the film is still an entertaining film that’s chock full of fun pop culture references. Not to mention, it’s an absolute thrill seeing the entire Disney princess roster on screen at the very same time.
Ralph Breaks the Internet follows Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz’s friendship six years after the events of the first film. When a broken part needs to be replaced on Candy Rush, Ralph and Vanellope must travel to the Internet in order to get the part and save Vanellope’s game.
A lot of the charm and magic of Wreck-It Ralph came from seeing various video game characters in the film. It was a blast seeing Q-Bert interact in the same universe as Ryu from Street Fighter. It was a smorgasbord of video game references. However, some of that charm might’ve been lost in Ralph Breaks the Internet. That is not to say that the film isn’t good because the film is still incredibly fun. Unfortunately, the problem comes from seeing all of the various websites in the film. Seeing sites like eBay, Google, or Amazon on screen feels like one big giant advertisement instead of references. Although you can say the same thing about the video game references in the first film, this feels more like cheap plugs.
Nevertheless, having Ralph and Vanellope go to the Internet seems like the next logical step in this franchise. When the film is not plugging high-profile Internet sites, it has a ton of fun satirizing the current state of the Internet. The dark web and click bait pop-up ads are just some of the many subjects that the film covers. Not to mention, the film has so much fun fantasizing on how this Internet world interacts with the user.
Needless to say that a giant world like this must have giant personalities that inhabit it. Unfortunately, the new characters that are in the film feel out of place. As a result, the story becomes a bit disjointed. Instead of one continuous story, you can tell that Ralph Breaks the Internet is separated into several different acts which features one of the new characters. Unfortunately, the introduction of the new characters means that several of the original characters are set aside to focus on the new ones.
Thankfully, the film still primarily centers around Ralph and Vanellope. Not only does the film do a great job continuing their friendship through their fun and light-hearted nature, but it also builds upon their friendship as the film progresses. Thus, Ralph and Vanellope become multi-layered, fully fleshed out characters in this film. Their character arcs also provide the film with a touching message that everyone should hear.
This wouldn’t be possible without the acting prowess of John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman. Whether they were in the same recording studio or not, both Reilly and Silverman continue their great chemistry here. A lot of credit should go to Reilly who seems to have had a lot of fun in the sequel. Ralph does a lot of fun and off-the-wall things in this film and Reilly pulls off these ridiculous moments flawlessly. But Reilly doesn’t just have fun, though. He’s also able to convey a wide array of emotions through his voice. In addition, Sarah Silverman is similarly outstanding as Vanellope. She doesn’t go through the same amount of fun as Reilly but Silverman is still able to showcase a lot of different emotions in the film. As the character grows, so does Silverman’s performance.
Overall, Ralph Breaks the Internet is an incredibly hilarious, sweet, and entertaining follow-up to an incredibly hilarious, sweet, and entertaining film. However, the film at times feels like a giant advertisement for various sites on the Internet. Because of that, the film doesn’t quite reach the level of the first film but it’s still a fun ride nonetheless.
Rating: 4/5 atoms
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