Ralph Breaks the Internet (originally titled as Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2) is a 3D computer-animated comedy produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to the 2012 film, Wreck-It Ralph, making it Disney’s 57th feature-length animated film. It is directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston (who wrote the screenplay with Pamela Ribon), and executive-produced by John Lasseter, Chris Williams, and Jennifer Lee. As far as children’s animated films go, this one was quite busy, loud and fun. I do know Ralph Breaks the Internet has received mostly positive reviews from critics, who called it a “worthy successor” and praised the animation, humor, characters, and plot, as well as the vocal performances. I’m not a big fan but I do agree the film teaches (in it’s own way) a few lessons about how the hi-tech world operates.
Six years after the first movie, Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz have been best friends. They’ve been hanging out every night after work in Litwak’s Family Fun Center and Arcade. While Ralph (John C. Reilly) is content with his current life, Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) admits to being bored with her game’s predictability and wishes for something new. One day, Ralph attempts to fulfill her desires by creating a secret bonus track during a race. Vanellope overrides player control to test it out, but the resulting conflict between her and the player ends with the cabinet’s steering wheel being broken, thus, no functionality within Sugar Rush. Since the company that made Sugar Rush is defunct, one of the kids finds a replacement for Mr. Litwak (Ed O’Neill) on eBay. The only problem is Mr. Litwak deems it too expensive and has no choice but to unplug Sugar Rush from the arcade, leaving the game’s characters homeless and Sugar Rush unavailable.
Later that night, after talking with Fix-It Felix Jr., (Jack McBrayer) Ralph decides to enter the internet via Litwak’s recently installed Wi-Fi router to obtain a replacement wheel on eBay. Ralph brings Vanellope with him, and although they place a winning bid of $27,001 to obtain the wheel, they cannot pay and are obligated to finalize the purchase within 24 hours.
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The two turn to J.P Spamley (Bill Hader) to quickly make money, receiving a lucrative job of stealing a valuable car belonging to Shank (Gal Gadot) from the MMORPG Slaughter Race. Ralph and Vanellope steal the car, but are forced to return it. Shank compliments Vanellope’s driving skills and points the duo towards Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) at BuzzzTube, where Ralph decides to make a series of viral videos playing off popular trends to get the money. As Ralph’s videos become a viral sensation, an excited Vanellope joins Yesss’s staff in spamming users with pop-up ads. Ralph convinces Yesss to send Vanellope to a Disney fansite, where she meets and befriends the Disney Princesses, who encourage her to address her sense of unfulfillment. Vanellope reaches a musical epiphany when Ralph calls her upon earning enough money to purchase the wheel. When Vanellope does not show up at eBay, Ralph’s second call causes him to overhear her confessing to Shank that she wants to stay in Slaughter Race because its unpredictability and challenges make her feel more alive than she did in Sugar Rush. Horrified at the thought of Vanellope leaving him, Ralph turns to Spamley for a way to make Slaughter Race unsatisfying for her by slowing down everything in the game.
There’s not much to say about Ralph Breaks the Internet because it sort of speaks for itself. It’s a children’s film that is pretty well put together and even sends a good message. The adventure is long but fun for children. There are quite a few known celebrity voices that make up the movie i.e., Jane Lynch as Calhoun, Alfred Molina as Double Dan’s conjoined brother Little Dan, Taraji P. Henson as Yesss, an algorithm that determines the trending videos on BuzzzTube, and Alan Tudyk as KnowsMore. just to name a few. If you need to take your child(ren) to see a good animated movie, I recommend Ralph Breaks the Internet — Check It Out!
[Ralph breaks the Internet is Oscar nominated for Best Animated Feature Film]
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