STORY BY JOHN CARTER JR
Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet just recently hit theatres and it was a fairly good watch. The commentary was excellent and was far better, in terms of execution, at shoving corporate branding down our throats than The Emoji Movie. Style, emotion, and meta-film qualities are what made this film worth the watch. While sometimes the film felt overly sappy, it was great in the message it was trying to send.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The film begins with the protagonist’s from the first film (the adorable Vanellope Von Schweetz, Sarah Silverman, and the equally adorable bear Ralph, John Reilly) going through the motions of everyday life. Ralph, loving a familiar pattern in life, is enjoying every moment with his closest pal until he finds out that she is losing excitement in her game and everyday life at the arcade. Ralph tries to remedy this by creating a new track in the Sugar Rush game. This would eventually lead to the steering wheel on the sugar rush arcade cabinet to break and the game being unplugged. This acts as the starting point of the entire movie as Ralph and Vanellope decide to use the newly plugged in internet to find a new wheel for Sugar Rush.
The aesthetic of Wreck it Ralph 2 is fantastic and beautiful, the people and places in the internet world work together stylistically. Characters like Knowsmore (Alan Tudyk), Yesss (Taraji Hensen), and Shanks (Gal Gadot) are excellent new additions to the cast. We also get to see the Disney princesses (with original voices) in their revitalized forms through a Disney princess online quiz. Disney uses a good amount of its new and old properties in the form of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, Storm Troopers from Star Wars, and even Iron Man from the Marvel Universe.
The film touches on a strong emotional theme that is one of the most relatable and hard-hitting topics for everyone throughout their lives but with a happy resolution. Two friends can follow separate dreams and say goodbye to each other, but that goodbye will not be the last one and as friends, you will still make it a point to be in each other’s lives. To me, and many fans dismay, Vanellope decides to stay in the internet and although this Wrecks Ralph he is comforted by the fact that they will spend time together again.
In conclusion this film had heart (even with that heart being surrounded by some of the most blatant expression of corrupt consumer capitalism in its propaganda, which was slightly noticeable), it had likable characters (although there was one played by an actress who supports the Israel Defense Forces, who are known for killing palestinians civilians, which to say was a minor distraction), and was like a toy box for the Disney fandom to enjoy (Disney flexing on other mass media influencers by flaunting its massive arsenal of intellectual property, but it was still pretty cool).
I give this film 7.5 Hearts out of 10 for its character design and the emotions this film elicited
Wreck it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet is in theatres near you