Review: Ralph Breaks The Internet

PLOT: Things are going pretty well for Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly). No longer faced with an existential crisis, he’s back to loving his job, hanging out in his free time with his new found BFF, Vanellope (Sarah Silverman). However, when a scheme designed to make her game, “Sugar Rush” more exciting backfires, Ralph and Vanellope have to use the arcade’s new internet connection to find a fix before the game is put out of commission.

REVIEW: It’s amazing how, after years of struggling, Walt Disney Animation Studios, has found sure footing in the animated realm outside of Pixar. For years, their movies were second class, but now it’s gotten to the point that they’re handily out grossing the Pixar ones, and often drawing as good, if not better, reviews. WRECK-IT RALPH was one of the movies that helped them turn it around and this sequel is just as solid, broadening the story beyond what could have been a one-joke premise into something quite touching.

Ralph hitting the internet was probably inevitable, as really how much more mileage could they get out of video game nostalgia? It turns out to be just the ticket to expand the universe, with the innocent Ralph (so perfectly voiced by John C. Reilly – reinforcing how a good character actor is always the best choice for animated fare) quickly out of sorts in the wild World Wide Web, while Vanellope (Sarah Silverman – who’s noticeably toned down from the last film) finds a new mentor in Shank (an unmistakable Gal Gadot), the heroine of an online “Grand Theft Auto”-style game called “Slaughter Race.”

Its impressive how RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET does something similar to what READY PLAYER ONE tried to do, namely satirize our obsession with pop culture and the internet, but be a lot more effective with the message by being subtle. They cover lots of ground, with Ralph getting suckered by Spam (Bill Hader’s J.P. Spamley), YouTube stardom, the cesspool of YouTube comments, the Dark Web and more. In doing so, they subtly mock how much time we waste on the innocuous (and destructive) online, but, unlike READY PLAYER ONE, they also acknowledge how in many ways it brings people together.

It all manages to convey a nice message about standing on your own two feet without being didactic, while also having tons of pop culture infused fun of its own by exploiting the Disney/Marvel/Lucasfilm library. Lots of library characters show up here – but I’m not going to give any of the fanboy favorites away. The much-discussed Disney princesses’ scene is also quite clever, with the added bonus of most of the original stars returning to voice their character, particularly a hilarious Kelly MacDonald as Merida from BRAVE (some not so subtle shade is thrown at Pixar along the way).

It’s hard not to imagine RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET making at least as much cash at the box office as its predecessor, and you have to hand it to Disney for consistently knocking it out of the park as far as family entertainment goes. They manage to make legit all-age films, that’ll play just as well to adults as it does to their kids. It’s a total blast with a good message to boot. RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET comes highly recommended. Heck, even if you don’t have kids – give it a look.