In the canon of Disney animated films, the original Wreck-It Ralph was a bit of an odd duck.
Following a group of video game characters who move about on their own when the
arcade closes, it could’ve coasted on its basic “Toy Story, but for video games” premise and called it a day, but
instead used their relationship with their own programming to explore themes of
identity, security and self-image. It also had a pretty closed shut ending
leaving little room for a sequel without giving character development a hard
reset, but if you remember the dirge of direct-to-video sequels Disney churned
out from the late 90’s through the mid-00’s, you’d know that won’t stop them.
In the time since the first Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph (John C.
Reilly), an old-school Donkey Kong
style arcade baddy, and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), a glitched character from the
candy themed racing game Sugar Rush,
have become best friends, becoming inseparable when their game cabinets shut
down after closing time. Ralph loves the activities they do together on a
nightly basis, but Vanellope wants a change-up from her routine both on the
racing track and off. When the game’s steering wheel breaks and Sugar Rush is in danger of shutting down
for good, she and Ralph travel to the Internet through the arcade’s newly
acquired wi-fi system to find a replacement. Ralph tries to pay for the new
part by becoming a viral video star, but Vanellope has second thoughts about
returning home when she discovers an online racing game that offers her the
freedom she never had.
As someone who spends an unhealthy amount of time on the
Internet, been down some of its nastiest corridors and came out more jaded than
ever, my suspicion of how this movie was going to portray it was unreasonably
high. It would be easy to write this off as the good version of The Emoji Movie, but that would be
underselling it because A. most things are better than The Emoji Movie, and B. this movie seems to get the Internet in a
way that a lot of movies don’t, animated or otherwise. Amidst the barrage of
product placements and Internet references that were dated before they started
production, this movie was able to pierce my cynicism by admitting “Yeah, the
Internet can be a chaotic, screwed-up place that’s ripe for exploitation, but
it’s brought a lot of people together provided plenty of opportunities, and
that’s gotta count for something, right?”
In this case, the focus seems to be on how the Internet can
be used as an amplifier, for better or for worse. Ralph and Vanellope first try
to scrounge the dosh needed to pay for the steering wheel by shoving
advertisements in people’s faces, but Ralph eventually finds a more lucrative
method in becoming a viral video star, willing to hop from trend to trend at
the persuasion of content guru Yesss (Taraji P. Henson). This will probably hit
close to home to any who’s ever tried to start a YouTube channel or run their
own blog (such as yours truly), especially those who make a living off of it
and have to constantly manipulate the algorithm to stay relevant in an age
where the shelf life of memes and trends grows shorter and shorter, and the
movie recognizes the pitfalls of accidental temporary fame can have one’s
psyche, especially when they try to make lightning strike twice or face
backlash from oversaturation.
It also understands that the Internet sometimes has a way in
bringing out the worst in people. During their adventures, Vanellope stumbles
across an online open world racing game that provides the freedom and danger she
had been craving, and contemplates settling in there instead of going back to Sugar Rush. When Ralph finds out about
this after listening in on a conversation between her and her new gal pal Shank
(Gal Gadot), he doesn’t take it very well and tries to force her hand by sabotaging
Slaughter Race. Telling you how he
goes about that would be giving away the game, but it’s here when the movie
takes an incredibly dark turn, and as someone who’s seen this kind of
possessive behavior online, it felt like the final message was something a good
chunk of the audience doesn’t want to hear, but absolutely needs to hear.
While I was able to get behind this for the most part, there
were moments that made the movie a bit groan inducing. You could tell that the
script went through more than a few rewrites, and some where you can really tell some changes were at the
last minute. Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer) and Calhoun (Jane Lynch) from the first
movie are set up to have their own subplot, but then the movie promptly forgets
they exist. One of the scenes from the trailer gets shoved into the
mid-credits, and they try to lampshade this by straight up acknowledging that
they did this. Plus, some of the Internet reference humor felt dated and like
it was just a bunch of dads trying to reference things their kids are into, but
since animation takes a long time, and viral videos and memes typically have
the shelf life of a spoiled tomato, that’s to be expected. That said, I thought
it was hilarious that they acknowledge Bee
Movie becoming a massive meme, and although it was spoiled in the trailer,
the segment where Vanellope interacts with the other Disney princesses is one
of the highlights. Also, that post-credits scene was diabolical.
Bottom line, Ralph
Breaks The Internet is one of those love it or hate it affairs, but I say
it’s a winner. If referential humor isn’t your bag, then this probably won’t do
it for you, but the sobering message about Internet culture and the dynamic
between Ralph and Vanellope are its strongest assets.
7/10
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