Ralph Breaks the Internet may not be as good as the first, but it still holds an important message in a world that will appeal to both kids and adults alike.
“From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes the hilarious adventure Ralph Breaks the Internet. Ralph and fellow misfit Vanellope risk it all by traveling to the Internet in search of a part to save her game. When Vanellope embraces this thrilling new world, Ralph realizes he may lose the only friend he’s ever had.”
Ralph Breaks the Internet opens six years after the original, with things much better for Ralph (John C. Reilly) as he’s accepted by everyone in the arcade, and most importantly, by his best friend Vanellope (Sarah Silverman). Things have quieted down since Sugar Rush was taken over by King Candy and as the days are spent with each one of them working in their respective games, once closing time hits they hop over to Tapper’s. As Vanellope wonders if there is more to life than the same monotonous routine day after day, Ralph is the exact opposite, loving consistency. Then one day, Mr. Litwak (Ed O’Neill) plugs in something new to the surge protector: a wireless modem giving them access to the internet. Before they have time to investigate, the arcade opens and everyone heads to their respective games. But Ralph, wanting to surprise Vanellope with something new, creates a new off-road track on Sugar Rush, which Vanellope takes during one of her races. The child playing the game tries to regain control of Vanellope, fighting the steering wheel movement until it breaks off. When Mr. Litwak discovers that the replacement wheel costs $200.00 on eBay, more than the game makes in a year, he decides to unplug the game and have it taken away for salvage later in the week. The citizens of Sugar Rush make it out of the game just in time, needing foster families to take them in. With Vanellope feeling particularly down, Ralph hatches a plan to go to the internet and find a way to get the wheel needed for Sugar Rush before the salvage guy comes to take it away.
Navigating the internet takes some time for Ralph and Vanellope, as they are introduced to a limitless world, bustling with activity everywhere they look, with avatars of users shopping, taking online quizzes, and being harassed by popup ads. Ralph and Vanellope eventually find eBay and the auction for the wheel. Believing it’s a game to guess the highest number, they bid an outrageous $27,001.00, only learning afterwards that they need actual money to pay for the item and have 24 hours before the auction is forfeited. With no ideas of what to do next, they notice a spam ad to make money by playing video games from J.P. Spamley (Bill Hader). He tells them that a user will pay $40,000.00 for Shank’s Car, a car in the video game Slaughter Race, sending them on their next quest.
In Slaughter Race, Ralph and Vanellope try and best Shank (Gal Gadot), a cunning, street-smart gang leader who spends her time battling users in the outside world who try and steal her car. Although Vanellope almost succeeds at retrieving the car, they are ultimately stopped by Shank, who is understanding of their plight, and tells them an easier way to make money on the internet: creating trending videos. With not much time left to get the money for the steering wheel, Ralph does all he can to flood the internet with trending videos, but Vanellope is having second thoughts about going back to life at the arcade.
Ralph Breaks the Internet at its core has a great and positive message for kids, first and foremost about friendship, and how it can exist no matter what the distance. For adults, it navigates a much bigger world than the first film, showing us all the familiar internet stops most of us make daily, and providing a plethora of Disney nostalgia that gives it good rewatch value to find all the little things they added in. For kids this is surely going to be a very enjoyable experience, seeing the different Disney characters, especially the scene with all the Princesses. Which is impressive in itself that they got almost all the women that are alive to reprise their original voice acting roles for them.
As much fun as I had with the film, it’s no where near as good as the first one. The message doesn’t seem as poignant, especially as the film takes the opportunity to showcase almost every Disney-owned property in a vomit of advertising. We’re constantly taking breaks in the story just to see some Marvel characters walking around, Storm Troopers chasing Vanellope, as well as other Star Wars and Disney references that serve no real purpose to the story but to show them off. The film doesn’t hold back including the names of real internet services like Google, Twitter and eBay, but for some reason when it comes down to the main point of the story, it uses a fictional video sharing site instead of YouTube, that I can only theorize is because a lot of attention is called to it, and Disney is in the process of starting their own video service. The Disney conglomerate is painfully obvious, hard at work trying to pack as much of their own property in the film, taking attention away from the heart of the story. Although kids won’t find the film that transparent, it’s a disappointment that affects my view of the film. The story got too big for its own good, and should have stuck to the Arcade.
Video
Ralph Breaks the Internet is presented in 2160p 4k Ultra High Definition Widescreen 2.39:1 featuring HDR. The film is full of color, with the different video game characters and the unique visual setting of the inside of The Internet. The HDR brings out the best of the brilliant bright colors and deep darks. The 4k resolution highlights the amazing animation, complete with the different hues of each sequence, the yellowish tint of Slaughter Race and the blue tint of the video sharing area.
The Blu-Ray disc is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.39:1.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby Atmos. The track sounds great, with flawless balance of the surrounds and center channel, delivering some powerful effects throughout the film. Here you’ll see the full range of sound, with simple dialogue to intense action race sequences.
Special Features
The extras are located on the Blu-Ray disc. Some interesting featurettes on here that will take you behind the scenes of the story.
- Surfing For Easter Eggs
- The Music of Ralph Breaks The Internet
- BuzzzTube Cats
- How We Broke The Internet
- Deleted Scenes
- Music Videos
Ralph Breaks the Internet suffers a bit from Disney overload, losing the heart the first one had in abundance. It’s saving grace is the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope that continues to offer inspiration to the audience. As weak as the story is, more Ralph and Vanellope can never be bad in my book.
