Ralph Breaks the Internet
Year: 2018
Director: Phil Johnston & Rich Moore
Starring: John C. Reilly, Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henderson & Sarah Silverman
Runtime: 112 mins
BBFC: PG
Published: 20/12/21
Director: Phil Johnston & Rich Moore
Starring: John C. Reilly, Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henderson & Sarah Silverman
Runtime: 112 mins
BBFC: PG
Published: 20/12/21
It’s rare that Disney Animation Studios produce big budget sequels to their Animated Classics, with the only two films to have ever received sequels prior to the 2010’s being Fantasia (with Fantasia 2000 fifty-nine years later), and The Rescuers (with The Rescuers Down Under thirteen years later). So it was definitely a surprise when Ralph Breaks the Internet was released just six years after the original films release, especially considering that by Disney’s standards 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph wasn’t a title that particularly stood out financially or critically. But with kids wanting more tech in their films, Ralph Breaks the Internet definitely allowed that itch to be scratched.
For six years Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) have been living out their repetitive lifestyle of being characters in their respective videogames by day, and then hanging out once the arcade closes. Ralph is happier than he’s ever been, he’s now a respected member of the community and Vanellope is the best friend he could ever ask for. But for Vanellope the routine is becoming mundane and she wants more.
In an attempt to make life more exciting for Vanellope, Ralph creates a new racetrack in Vanellope’s game, Sugar Rush. However, this good intention leads to the Sugar Rush game cabinet being broken, decommissioned and unplugged, rendering hundreds of game characters homeless.
In a desperate attempt to fix their mistake, Ralph & Vanellope journey to the Internet in search of spare parts for the cabinet, but when Vanellope falls in love with an online racing game, Slaughter Race, and doesn’t want to return to the arcade, her friendship with Ralph is pushed to the brink.
For six years Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) have been living out their repetitive lifestyle of being characters in their respective videogames by day, and then hanging out once the arcade closes. Ralph is happier than he’s ever been, he’s now a respected member of the community and Vanellope is the best friend he could ever ask for. But for Vanellope the routine is becoming mundane and she wants more.
In an attempt to make life more exciting for Vanellope, Ralph creates a new racetrack in Vanellope’s game, Sugar Rush. However, this good intention leads to the Sugar Rush game cabinet being broken, decommissioned and unplugged, rendering hundreds of game characters homeless.
In a desperate attempt to fix their mistake, Ralph & Vanellope journey to the Internet in search of spare parts for the cabinet, but when Vanellope falls in love with an online racing game, Slaughter Race, and doesn’t want to return to the arcade, her friendship with Ralph is pushed to the brink.
Wreck-It Ralph is one of my favourite Disney Animated Classics for several reasons, but primarily because it manages to tell such a great story of friendship and realising your own self-worth. Ralph Breaks the Internet certainly isn’t a bad film, but it lacks almost everything that made the original film so fantastic, and that’s mostly because the story is unfocussed and the characters seem to be oblivious to the very obvious repercussions of their actions.
My biggest problem in the entire film is Vanellope and how her character is handled. I can understand her desire to do more than drive around the same three or four racetracks every single day, but her decision to abandon her game and join a new one because she’s just bored of Sugar Rush is a very similar decision to that of main villain King Candy/Turbo in the original Wreck-It Ralph. The story never acknowledges that she is prepared to leave all her friends to be homeless, forever, just so she can have fun.
Ralph’s reaction to this is also frustrating. Again, he never seems to acknowledge that if Vanellope leave’s she’s quite literally condemning every single character from Sugar Rush to a life of homelessness, but instead is more concerned about if she joins the Slaughter Race game that their friendship won’t be as strong as it currently is.
The theme of friendship, particularly knowing when it’s ok to let a friend go is something really cool to explore, and at least Ralph’s toxic behaviour is addressed in a good way during the films climax…but it takes a long time to get there and the fact that Vanellope never realises that she’s also being a terrible person for wanting to abandon everyone means that this point never actually gets a resolution that makes sense.
As for the lack of focus, Ralph breaks the Internet is far too long. Coming in just shy of two hours, it’s one of the longest Disney Animated Classics of all time. There is, I would say, at least half an hour’s worth of content that could be cut from the film to make the experience much tighter and more enjoyable. But similar to when you’re aimlessly browsing the social media, Ralph Breaks the Internet takes every single detour is possibly can with sub-plots involving pop-up ads, social media trends, viruses, and search engines. It’s great to see the writers having so many ideas for a film taking place inside the internet (especially because some of them, like the Disney princess sub-plot, are actually really great), but the lack of focus means that it’s easy to lose interest, and the film feels considerably longer than it is.
My biggest problem in the entire film is Vanellope and how her character is handled. I can understand her desire to do more than drive around the same three or four racetracks every single day, but her decision to abandon her game and join a new one because she’s just bored of Sugar Rush is a very similar decision to that of main villain King Candy/Turbo in the original Wreck-It Ralph. The story never acknowledges that she is prepared to leave all her friends to be homeless, forever, just so she can have fun.
Ralph’s reaction to this is also frustrating. Again, he never seems to acknowledge that if Vanellope leave’s she’s quite literally condemning every single character from Sugar Rush to a life of homelessness, but instead is more concerned about if she joins the Slaughter Race game that their friendship won’t be as strong as it currently is.
The theme of friendship, particularly knowing when it’s ok to let a friend go is something really cool to explore, and at least Ralph’s toxic behaviour is addressed in a good way during the films climax…but it takes a long time to get there and the fact that Vanellope never realises that she’s also being a terrible person for wanting to abandon everyone means that this point never actually gets a resolution that makes sense.
As for the lack of focus, Ralph breaks the Internet is far too long. Coming in just shy of two hours, it’s one of the longest Disney Animated Classics of all time. There is, I would say, at least half an hour’s worth of content that could be cut from the film to make the experience much tighter and more enjoyable. But similar to when you’re aimlessly browsing the social media, Ralph Breaks the Internet takes every single detour is possibly can with sub-plots involving pop-up ads, social media trends, viruses, and search engines. It’s great to see the writers having so many ideas for a film taking place inside the internet (especially because some of them, like the Disney princess sub-plot, are actually really great), but the lack of focus means that it’s easy to lose interest, and the film feels considerably longer than it is.
The quality of the animation doesn’t feel all that much better than it was in the original Wreck-It Ralph either and I guess a lot of that has to do with the art style used. Some scenes such as those in Slaughter Race really show off how good the lighting and smoke effects can be, but other than that Ralph Breaks the Internet doesn’t look as visually impressive as films like Zootopia and Moana. That’s a really big shame too as Disney have made significant strides in the quality of its animation since the original Wreck-It Ralph, so why a lot of those fancy effects such as realistic physics, dynamic reflections, particle effects, and clothing texture detail aren’t present (or at least more noticeable) is disappointing.
Ralph Breaks the Internet is still an enjoyable film with strong voice performances and some very funny moments. But it lacks all the charm, excellent writing, and style of the original film. One of the few slip-ups in the Disney Animation Revival Era that unfortunately is made even more noticeable because of the very high quality of all it’s peers.
Ralph Breaks the Internet is still an enjoyable film with strong voice performances and some very funny moments. But it lacks all the charm, excellent writing, and style of the original film. One of the few slip-ups in the Disney Animation Revival Era that unfortunately is made even more noticeable because of the very high quality of all it’s peers.