The original Wreck-It Ralph was a delightful 8-bit chunk of retro arcade goodness that did for old-school video-games what Toy Story did for action figures and dolls and (of course) old toys. That is to say, an exercise that was equal part adult-baiting nostalgia and kid-friendly Disney designed for maximum entertainment value for all ages, without forgetting to tug at the heart-strings for good measure.
While perhaps not as enthusiastically received as the Toy Story franchise- which, lest we forget, only got better over time and subsequent sequels- Ralph was nonetheless successful in its aims to win over those raised on a steady diet of video-games over the years, which is, after all, inherently more of a niche audience.
Perhaps recognizing that after the fact, the second installment, Ralph Breaks the Internet, casts its net considerably wider, this time tackling, as one might glean from the title, the World Wide Web, something with a decidedly bigger appeal than video-games on the whole, as popular as they may be amongst a certain contingent.
Just as the first film delightfully preserved a certain generation's childhood compadres in amber, not unlike a modern-day Who Framed Roger Rabbit?- see also the "live-action" (sort of) Ready Player One- so does this new film do the same with the internet, gleefully tossing in all the stuff we've become enamored with, often in patented "Easter Egg"-style, which means you sometimes have to keep one eye open at all times to catch it all.
As such, also a la the films I mentioned, this is a film that lends itself nicely to repeated viewings, as evidenced by the bonus feature that points out a mere fragment of the goodies that can be found within the film for the especially sharp-eyed viewer. You want the ever-popular "Hidden Mickeys"? You better believe they're in there. How about a tongue-in-cheek handful of references to the WWW fallen, such as Geocities and Netscape? It's in there, and depicted as part of a literal internet dumping ground, no less.
You want memes? Ralph's got 'em. Cat videos, babies and people/animals busting ass? Check, check and double check. And you better believe there's a "Rick Roll" joke, complete with star John C. Reilly warbling the famed "Never Gonna Give You Up" trolling tune. And, mind you, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
There's also plenty more video-game references- notably an extended Grand Theft Auto sequence, albeit considerably Disney-fied: here, the heroes of the game defend the cars from being stolen, they don't do the stealing themselves- although, to be fair, Vanellope does, in fact, steal a car at one point. The film also smartly casts erstwhile Fast and Furious star Gal Gadot as the leader of the car-protecting pack for good measure, in a winning turn that also finds her adeptly warbling a tune at one point.
Don't worry, musical haters, there's only the one song, and it's played more for laughs than tugging at the heart-strings- although it does a little of that, too, albeit slyly between all the goofy stuff- courtesy of none other than Disney legend Alan Menken. (If you have to ask... see here.)
That said, the song is ably reprised by Julia Michaels over the credits, along with a new song by the rock band Imagine Dragons, "Zero," both of which also get music videos, included on the DVD/Blu-Ray, along with a copious number of extras, as to be expected.
The story-line is better than the original film as well. It revolves around BFFs Ralph (Reilly) and Vanellope (comedian Sarah Silverman, born to be in cartoons, given that voice), who face an unexpected issue when the steering wheel breaks on the latter's arcade game and the arcade owner says it isn't worth fixing, as the game doesn't make enough money to warrant paying for a new one. As such, Vanellope's game is in serious danger of being shuttered for good if she and the gang don't do something about it.
The solution presents itself via a gamer at the arcade, who points out that a new steering wheel can be found on- what else? - the auction site eBay. When the arcade owner balks at paying the cited price, Vanellope and Ralph take matters into their own hands and decide to infiltrate the internet and buy the steering wheel themselves. Of course, this is easier said than done, what with their having no money and being, you know, animated characters in a video-game.
While getting into the internet itself proves to be no big, it's how to get the money that proves to be the real issue, not exactly helped by their complete ignorance of money as a concept. Indeed, it's their own fault that the price they have to pay for the wheel is so high, as they gleefully drive it up by outbidding each other (as opposed to other bidders) until the time expires, lol.
Now faced with a limited amount of time in which to come up with the money, the two turn to the shady world of J.P. Spamley (Bill Hader) - get it? - to earn some quick cash online to pay off their auction win and save the day. Along the way, Vanellope enters the new-fangled, gritty world of Slaughter Race, the aforementioned Twisted Metal/Grand Theft Auto-esque racing game, where she meets tough gal, Shank (Gadot), who is impressed by Vanellope's driving skills and invites her to "join" the game and forgo returning to the squeaky-clean world of her own game, Sugar Rush, which she has grown bored with over time.
Thus forms the crux of the movie: should Vannelope stay or should she go? If she stays, then obviously it will mean the end of her and Ralph's friendship as they know it, but if she goes, will she forever regret what could have been? The end result is a poignant exploration of friendship and what it means to cling too tightly to someone and risk losing them anyway by standing in the way of their growth as a human being. Or a video-game character, in this case, obviously, but you know what I mean.
I gotta say, this one hit me harder than I expected it to, simply because, not too long ago, I had to deal with exactly this sort of thing myself, when I graduated from University and had to part ways with many of my friends, who, up until then, I saw, or at least talked to, almost every day. I mean, I still talk to a lot of them, but, in both my moving away, as well as said friends doing the same, it was a given that we were going to see each other a lot less in the years to come, and that has indeed proven to be the case. Now, we mostly communicate via, you guessed it, the internet.
On the one hand, the internet is a godsend, because it allows us to both stay in touch and reconnect with those we've lost touch with over the years, something that was a lot tougher to do before the net was a thing. So, I suppose my generation and those younger have it a lot easier in that regard than past generations, so there's that, but I'm sure everyone watching this, even if they only have a rudimentary understanding of video-games and memes and the like, can relate to this core idea at the heart of the movie, which is where it succeeds more than its predecessor.
In addition, living up to the "breaks the internet" part of the title, the movie is filled with references that are sure to win over even the wariest of fans of this sort of thing, by which I mean, Disney flicks. To be sure, if you are a Disney fan, boy, are you in for a treat. As you've probably heard by now, the much-hyped "Princess" scenes are alone worth the price of admission, featuring a gleeful self-awareness that older Disney films don't have one iota of in retrospect.
In one delightful fast-paced exchange, after peppering Vanellope with a barrage of questions designed to test whether or not she qualifies as a Princess herself, Rapunzel ends with the following question: "Do people assume your problems got solved because a big strong man showed up?" Taken aback, Vanellope, answers with a resounding: "Yes! What is up with that?" "She IS a Princess!" shout the girls in unison, delighted. If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does. It's official, everyone- Ralph Breaks the Internet is the first truly "woke" Disney movie.
The fun hardly stops there- the attention to detail in these scenes alone is head-spinning. Check out the Princesses' various T-shirts, for instance: Anna wears one that says "Finish Each Other's" and a picture of a sandwich- if you don't get it, talk to anyone who's seen Frozen- while The Little Mermaid's Ariel has one that declares "#shiny" and so on.
In addition, the majority of Princesses' voices are done by their original voice talent, save the older ones that are no longer with us and Mary Costa, who couldn't quite reach the voice quality of her Aurora character from back then- she's nearly 90 and the movie Sleeping Beauty was released back in 1959, so pretty understandable- but kudos for going the extra mile to get as many of the original actresses in there as possible.
As you might have heard, the clip of that scene, much less the "selfie" posted online, did indeed come close to "breaking" the internet, and it's no wonder- I'm a guy and I was charmed by it within an inch of my life. There's plenty more where that comes from, including lots of more guy-friendly stuff- lest we forget, Disney also owns the rights to Marvel (look sharp for a Stan Lee "cameo"- and an adorable "Groot" press conference is a highlight), Star Wars (lots of character cameos, as well as a cameo by the Millennium Falcon) and The Muppets.
Hell, if anything, all this sort of thing could have been the movie and I doubt I'd have complained that much, but the fact that they managed to graft a touching central story-line into all this on top of everything else is a testament to the frankly astonishing level of detail that makes Disney a cut above the rest. I mean, seriously, it's all pretty awe-inspiring, and a hell of a lot of fun, and the sort of thing that, unlike, say, something like Frozen or Moana, parents won't mind as much watching over and over without it getting on their last nerve. And did I mention there's only one song?
So, yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I really loved this one, much more that I thought I would, and I liked the original film just fine. But this one not only hit me right in the feels, the attention to detail really floored me in a big way, even more than I expected.
Kudos to Phil Johnston and Pamela Ribon for the former and the seemingly endless number of animators (the credits run a whopping thirteen minutes!) and their inventiveness for all the latter stuff. And I didn't even mention the excellent Kaiju-inspired monster towards the end of the film, which must have taken some doing (you'll see- but, in a word: wow), or the fact that the film features more characters- 434 in all- than in any previous Disney animated movie.
And trust me, there are plenty more in-jokes and pop culture references than I mentioned, from famed YouTuber cameos (the "crushed" avatar girl whose internet crashes is Colleen "Miranda Sings" Ballinger, for instance), to lots of hall-of-fame level internet memes (the screaming goat, "Can I haz?...", the hot pepper eating challenge, etc.) that are blink-and-you'll-miss-them lurking in the background. In short, this is definitely a film that both warrants and rewards multiple viewings, and by now, you all know how I feel about such films- they're a cut above the rest, in my book.
So, by all means, check this one out, even if Disney flicks aren't usually your cup of pixels. This one is savvier and cleverer than most, and is absolutely hipper than your average Disney movie, animated or otherwise. I can't recommend it enough, in fact. 😎
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