So Ralph Breaks the Internet is the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph, a movie they take pains to mention twice is now six years old. Regardless of how good or bad Ralph Breaks the Internet is, the fact the first movie is six years old breaks me. How can a three year old movie come out six years ago? Heh.
But anyway, Ralph Breaks the Internet is the sequel to the video-game themed Wreck-It Ralph. In this one, video game characters and friends Ralph and Vanellope have to leave their comfy arcade and travel to the Internet to find a piece of Vanellope’s arcade cabinet that has broken (it’s on eBay). Once on the Internet, a whole lot of easy internet jokes, cameos, and product placement ensues.
I think this is an ok movie that kind of goes for a lot of easy jokes about the Web. There’s not much overly creative going on here and they say very little that’s unique. Hell, dare I say they cover much of the same ground as the Emoji Movie (which, to be fair, was lousy while this movie is good). I didn’t laugh very much at the comedy… though I did laugh. And I thought it ran a little too long for the minimalist story being told.
That said, the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope was pretty good. The film’s themes of friendship and need overwhelm the general plot of the movie. Their friendship and how it fractures is not as simplistic in execution or theme as many other movies for kids. So that was good.
I kept on wishing the movie were about the Disney princesses or Gal Gadot’s character, a video game character in a violent street racing game. Both the princesses and the street racer sequences deserved more time since they were simply more interesting (and funny) than the main plot of the film. In fact, I came away hoping for a full movie using these versions of the Disney princesses. They were all voiced, when possible, by the original actors which is great… their appearance wasn’t always perfect due to each character originally being done in different art styles (and mediums).
But, hey, the film is still good and works well enough. I think critics are far more fond of it than me so maybe listen to them. It’s possible I was just being too analytical about that main plot. It’s still an entertaining film, even if it doesn’t really try very hard to pump up its premise.
Score: 82