This past weekend Disney Animation Studios released Ralph Breaks the Internet, a sequel to the hit 2012 film Wreck it Ralph. Picking up 6 years after the end of the original film, Ralph Breaks the Internet brings the original’s 8-bit characters into the digital age when Litwak’s Arcade, the “real world” setting for both films, installs a Wifi modem. Ralph and Vanellope, who have remained in an unchanging world since their games were first plugged in, now face the massive, constantly developing community that exists on the Internet and must question whether or not they want more than what Litwak’s Arcade can offer them.
Using modern online culture as a source of jokes, Ralph Breaks the Internet has plenty of humor that will land both with young audience members and older fans who are returning after the original. Unfortunately, many of these jokes do not have the same punch that they may have carried a few years ago (as the film’s title demonstrates), but there are still plenty with continued relevance. If you’re looking for a movie to bring a younger sibling or child to, this is not the worst one you could pick, but if you were a fan of the original and are hoping to get the same experience from the sequel, you may be disappointed.
Ralph Breaks the Internet feels a lot dumber than the original film. I might be biased since I was only 13 when I saw the first movie, but the dialogue and narrative of Ralph Breaks the Internet feels worlds away from what the first one brought to the table. With only rare moments of enlightenment, the characters of Ralph Break the Internet speak and act in a way that is completely inhuman. There are several times during the film where it just felt as if the screenwriter was trying to kill time, and in a movie as well-animated as this one it’s disappointing to see so much work from the animators invested in dialogue and sequences that go nowhere. And speaking of things that go nowhere…
This movie is stuffed to the gills with product placement. It seems as if every free inch of screen space in the world of the internet is cluttered with the logos of tech giants. I was surprised at the digs the movie was taking at online advertisers given the amount of advertisements present in this movie that they are charging people to see. The final battle takes place on top of a giant Google logo. Fandango and IMDB are prominently sprinkled throughout the backgrounds of scenes. If you took a shot for every time a character says aloud “Ebay,” you would die in your movie theater. Then there’s Disney’s cross-promotion of its own brands within the film, which includes the actual presence of the full lineup of Disney princesses as speaking characters and the use of parts of John Williams’s score from Star Wars. The presence of vintage video game characters in the original Wreck it Ralph was charming and in line with what the movie was about, but in this movie the product placement just feels cold and excessive.
While it has many faults, the film has some shining moments that make up for some of the disappointments. There are a few racing sequences, all of which are expertly directed and make for the most fun parts of the film. In the races there’s a cross between realism and fantasy that makes the stunts consistently gripping and entertaining to watch. Another fun bit (though I don’t know how appropriate it was for this movie) is the design of the final boss that the characters face near the film’s end. I won’t give too many details because of spoilers, but it’s absolutely repulsive and you’re going to love it. The new characters introduced in the sequel are fun with Gal Gadot as the street racer Shank stealing the show for the scenes she’s in and Alan Tudyk voicing Knowsmore, a fun spoof of Google. An unexpected song from Vanellope is also very entertaining and animated with both humor and style.
If you were a fan of the original Wreck it Ralph, you will probably be disappointed with Ralph Breaks the Internet. The humor isn’t as sharp and at times it feels like a rehashing of The Emoji Movie (which certainly isn’t a great look), but there are some times throughout the film where you’ll forget its shortcomings and have a great time. It’s a good movie to bring your kids/younger siblings to, even if it doesn’t have the same universal appeal that some of Disney’s animated movies have been acclaimed for.
Rating: 6/10
Noah Harouche is a sophomore in Columbia College.