‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ Film Review

Grade: A-

Out of all the modern Disney movies that has come out in recent years, none has ever tackled the subject of the internet more than ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’, the long-awaited sequel to ‘Wreck-it Ralph’. While most people are looking forward to ‘Frozen 2’ (Seriously, who was?), I was waiting for ‘Wreck-it Ralph 2’ to finally be made. Though, one could argue whether a sequel was truly necessary when the first film was great on its own. Thankfully, ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ does not lose its sense of social commentary or charm when compared to ‘Wreck-it Ralph’.

This sequel picks up six years after the first film left off, with former bad guy Ralph (Voice of John C. Reilly), and racer Vanellope Von Schweetz (Voice of Sarah Silverman) hanging out when not doing their duties in their respective arcade games; Ralph’s being ‘Fix-it Felix Jr.’, and Vanellope’s being ‘Sugar Rush’, by watching the stars in a sports arcade game, or having a drink of root beer in ‘Tapper’. It is clear that the two have been inseparable friends since the events of ‘Wreck-it Ralph’; you would think that it would stand the test of time, yet the friendship gets tested when the possibilities of the internet show up in Litwack’s Arcade. 

“Wiffy? Or is that Wyfee?” Ralph asks when discovering the gateway to the internet with all the rest of the video game characters, including Sonic the Hedgehog (Voice of Roger Craig Smith), who somehow knows about its wonders like the smart anthropomorphic mammal he is. Yet, it is not curiosity that leads our giant, huggable hero and his pint-sized friend into the wonderful world of the internet. Instead, our heroes set out to find a replacement part for Vanellope’s game after the steering wheel control breaks. In the internet, Ralph and Vanellope run into many challenges and new locations along the way, including a heavy-duty, extremely violent racing game featuring a bad-ass racer named Shank (Voice of Gal Gadot), a Disney website with all your favorite Disney princesses (who not only look better than ever, but provide the film with great jokes), a viral video site ran by Yesss (Voice of Taraji P. Henson), and the dark web.

There are so many opportunities for ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ to take jabs at the internet, from the way it has impacted our lives to the need for 15 minutes of fame, and social media. I would even say that this is Disney’s answer to Sony’s ‘The Emoji Movie’ which had something to say, but not in the best way. ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ is what you call “fun”, even if you prefer the first film like I did. On a side note: I recommend staying until the end of the credits for a surprise.