Ralph Breaks the Internet
Six years after the events of “Wreck-It Ralph,” Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them into a new adventure.
Cast
John C. Reilly – Ralph
Sarah Silverman – Vanellope
Gal Gadot – Shank
Jack McBrayer – Felix
Taraji P. Henson – Yesss
Alan Tudyk – KnowsMore
Alfred Molina – Double Dan
Bill Hader – J.P. Spamley
Ed O’Neill – Mr. Litwak
Stop-It Ralph
Ok, I think the second film is enough. While I appreciate the endearing quality Ralph and Vanellope bring to the screen with their sweet (pun fully intended) friendship, this follow-on from 2013’s Wreck-It Ralph doesn’t offer the same authenticity. And instead of being submerged in a world of 8-bit splendour where a blocky world springs wonderfully to life in the most minimal setting, the two protagonists are this time torn from the arcade and sent wandering around a different world – the internet. This makes for a shabby plot that reeks of a director’s desperation. Disney had to come up with something, but I’m unsure having the pair jump from website to website was the route to take. After the two worlds (games) colliding last time and witnessing the results, this time feels flat. Less of a journey both in terms of Ralph’s personal realisations and his jumping from one game to another. One scene in this movie sees the pair go separate ways when Vanellope starts an argument. They get stroppy with each other and both piss off in different directions, basically. It’s the sort of falling out between two characters you genuinely don’t care about. And also know for a fact will blow over within half an hour. Points lost here for a plot you can see in any episode of Eastenders.
More points lost for how the story culminates. The most predictable path it could have taken is taken (think computer virus), meaning Ralph and Vanellope face dangerous consequences of entering the internet – like you would imagine. And one of them has to try and save the web from becoming destroyed – like you would imagine. And it all ends with a happy ending – like you would imagine. It may be a nice touch having the pair return with fellow arcade game characters, but at the same time their adventure is a hell of a lot to be desired once they part ways with the Wreck-It Ralph cast and could easily have been penned by an eight-year-old.
As for the “monster” near the end of the feature – what a stupid bloody idea. Once you see what it’s made of you’ll know what I mean.
Bring-It Ralph
Familiarity is always good, and this is where Ralph Breaks the Internet excels. The smallest of things – mostly internet related – are picked up on, including those irritating pop-up ads most of us have come across in the past. This movie portrays these by having a random character pop up and start chatting about what he / she is promoting. And then, as this strange thing is halfway through trying to send lead characters to a dodgy website, another one bounces into the picture and crushes it to death (pop-up blocker). This is an imaginative way of bringing the web to life, it adds great comedy too. And for those viewers among us who practically live online, sites such as Ebay and Twitter periodically springing to life should quash the shit storyline as you absorb the familiarity by seeing things you use on your own computer / phone up on the big screen.
This movie is perfect for little’uns. It’s overflowing with bouncy colourful characters and creatures. And if the arcade setting isn’t enough to keep kids entertained, they’ll soon be immersed in the high-speed world of online gaming and social media. With Twitter birds flapping around the screen and even a crucial but peculiar little deskbound man being internet search itself, Ralph Breaks the Internet (Wreck-It Ralph 2) is silly fun from start to finish. It includes one or two upbeat scenes which radiate a party atmosphere as the functionalities of the internet are explored, and people browsing online become involved in Ralph’s antics.
The landscapes are fanciful – especially in Sugar Rush – and reflect the efforts Disney put into the movie overall. This department doesn’t fail to deliver the goods. In fact the entire thing is so well animated and full of giggles that it’s like any other enjoyable Disney flick.
But they would’ve been better off leaving it at the end of the first movie. Ralph Breaks the Internet seemed completely pointless in terms of story and relevance given the originality of the first one. This just wasn’t needed.
