Ralph Breaks the Internet – Film Review
It has been six years since the events of Wreck-It Ralph. Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) are now best friends, and are practically inseparable. They go out to drink root beer late at night at a place called Tapper’s, they play various different video games with each other such as Tron, and more. However, Vanellope is now growing extremely tired with her own game Sugar Rush. She knows how to win every single match, and nothing in the game is a challenge for her anymore. When trying to race through a new track one day, Vanellope crashes her car, and in the real world, the wheel on the Sugar Rush arcade machine breaks. This causes Mr. Litwak (voice of Ed O’Neill) to get ready to unplug the machine. But one day, Ralph and Vanellope discover something known as the “Internet”, and embark on a mission to find Vanellope a new steering wheel so her game can be saved.
The first Wreck-It Ralph film is one that I have always been quite a big fan of. It was incredible to see how a film that had so much nostalgia could also end up being emotional with lovable characters and a good story. This is why I was just a little bit nervous going in to see Ralph Breaks the Internet. I was hoping that directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston would understand how to make a sequel to the first and having it feel necessary. Another fear of mine about this film, was that it was going to just endlessly reference memes and other jokes around the internet. Thankfully, the film manages to avoid these things, and ends up being an extremely worthy sequel.
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
An element of this picture that was really great to see was how the relationship of Ralph and Vanellope was handled here. They are still best friends, but along their journey, their relationship gets challenged, and in there, is a great message for kids to take away from this film, which was excellent to see. The characters are not one-note and they have arcs that drastically alter them.
This film also has some truly terrific animation. It is mind boggling to think how long it must have taken the entire animation team to make this film look as good as it does. Small things like seeing little fabrics on Ralph’s shirt just make you wonder how much effort it took to make this film a reality.
It is also an extremely funny film with plenty of jokes being placed perfectly throughout the film. There are definitely some jokes that young children may not understand however, as some have to do with newer jokes from the internet. But these jokes never come first. The story always came first which was so great to see.
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
The overall story of Ralph and Vanellope searching the whole entire internet to find a steering wheel for her game was one that I found myself invested in throughout the entire running time. I was always curious what would happen next, and it was always interesting to see how with each passing act, the relationship between our two protagonists changed.
Similar to plenty of other Disney films, Ralph Breaks the Internet is quite an emotional film, especially in the third act. There were a couple of moments towards the final thirty minutes that were so powerful and emotionally invested.
There are some times in the film where some scenes can feel a bit slow and out of place. For instance, in this film, Vanellope finds a new game in the internet called Slaughter Race, which she loves because it has lots of adrenaline and adventure, unlike Sugar Rush. Sometimes these scenes can drag and it can sometimes feel like a departure from the rest of the film.
Ralph Breaks the Internet proves to be better than its predecessor with an emotional storyline, excellent character development, and gorgeous animation.
Overall Grade: A
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for some action and rude humor
Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Jane Lynch
Directed by: Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Running Time: 112 minutes