RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

At the time of Wreck-It Ralph's release in 2012, Walt Disney Animation Studios were best known for their animated features starring princesses and based on fairy tales, such as Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Tangled and The Princess and the Frog. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's refreshing when the studio releases features based on original and innovative ideas, inspired by the modern day world. Wreck-It Ralph was an example of that. By focusing on a world that existed within video games, the animated feature proved to be thoroughly entertaining for the whole family. While the story focused on original characters, including the titular Ralph (John C. Reilly), the villain of the video game he appears in, the film made references to classic video game characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Pac-Man and Q*bert. After its release, Wreck-It Ralph proved to be a success, receiving critical acclaim and impressing at the box office. This lead to a sequel being announced and released six years later, titled Ralph Breaks The Internet. However, is it just as entertaining as its predecessor or a disappointment?

Ralph and best friend Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) leave the comforts of Litwak's arcade in an attempt to save her game, Sugar Rush. Their quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the Internet where they rely on the citizens - the Netizens - to help navigate their way. Lending a virtual hand are Yesss (Taraji P. Henson), the head algorithm and the heart and soul of the trend-making site "BuzzzTube" and Shank (Gal Gadot), a tough-as-nails driver from a gritty online auto-racing game called Slaughter Race, a place Vanellope wholeheartedly embraces - so much so that Ralph worries he may lose the only friend he's ever had.

Fans of Wreck-it Ralph will be happy to discover that its sequel is a great follow-up as it's entertaining and funny. Because the majority of the narrative takes place in the world of the Internet, many of the viewers will be able to understand many of the jokes and references. On their adventure, we see Ralph and Vanellope visit eBay and we briefly see social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter and Google. In this modern day and age, a lot of people, young and old, are using social media and the Internet so I can understand why the writers, Phil Johnston (who co-directed with Rich Moore) and Pamela Ribon, chose to have their main characters explore the universe that exists within the Internet. Over the course of its 114 minute runtime, we see Ralph go viral on BuzzzTube and Vanellope becomes enamoured by the racing game Slaughter Race and she begins to wonder if she wants to return to Sugar Rush. This all makes for a thoroughly entertaining animated feature.

Because the creators behind Ralph Breaks The Internet know that the majority of its audience will be young children, they've sent out an important message about friendship. In Wreck-it Ralph, Ralph and Vanellope's friendship is what drove the film and was a highlight as it was so unlikely, with him being a large antagonist that wrecks things and her being a sweet little race car driver. However, in this sequel, we see Ralph worrying about losing his friendship with Vanellope so he does everything he can to prevent that from happening. When Vanellope considers staying in the Slaughter Race video game, Ralph sends Insecurity Virus that replicates any flaw it finds. Unfortunately, things don't go according to plan, and he almost loses Vanellope in the process. This is when Ralph learns that he can't hold Vanellope back from her dreams and what she really wants to do. Many viewers, especially children, will have friends and, through its story, it teaches them that, in order to keep friends close, you've got to let them go sometimes. In the beginning, we learn that Ralph and Vanellope spend every evening together, hanging out in other video games, however, while it seems fun at first, it's only natural to want to spend time apart every now and again. By trying to keep Vanellope, he almost loses her. I think that this message was executed really well.

When the trailer for Ralph Breaks The Internet was released earlier this year, one of the scenes that stood out was when Vanellope meets a group of the Disney princesses including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Ariel, Anna, Elsa, Tiana, Pocahontas, Mulan and many others. This was the scene that I, and many others, was looking forward to seeing and, fortunately, I wasn't disappointed and it is one of my favourite scenes. At the end of Wreck-it Ralph, it was revealed that Vanellope is the Princess of Sugar Rush. However, as we clearly see in this memorable scene, she's not your typical princess, as she wears a hoodie instead of dresses, doesn't sing songs or talk to animals, which makes the other Princesses doubtful until she says that people assumed all of her problems get solved because a big, strong man showed up. It's a really fun scene and made me wish for a spin-off that focuses more on Vanellope interacting with the various Princesses. 

While Ralph Breaks The Internet shows the highs of the Internet, the film proves that it's not all fun and games. This is shown in a scene where Ralph discovers the comment section after he goes viral on BuzzzTube. After a few positive comments, he soon notices a lot of negative and cruel comments which, unsurprisingly, hurt his feelings. Users of the Internet and especially social media will have encountered at least one cruel comment from an anonymous and faceless person. While it may be hard, Ralph learns from Yesss that he shouldn't pay attention to any of the negativity and it's a lesson everyone should learn. I really appreciated the writers for including this scene and for including the message of friendship within their story as they didn't want viewers, especially parents who have children and are worried about them using the Internet, walking away thinking that it's all fun and games as it isn't. If a person receives ninety-nine positive comments and one nasty comment, what they're going to remember is the latter, which is unfortunate. While people should be thinking more about what they say online, those who receive the comments need to learn to ignore it.

While there is a lot to like about Ralph Breaks The Internet, it's not a perfect feature. Vanellope's song, 'A Place Called Slaughter Race', didn't fit in with the rest of the film and it felt out of place. I understand that she was trying to sing spontaneously, like the other Disney princesses, however, it didn't work for me and Vanellope could've expressed her feelings without singing. The climax also felt like it was dragging. Because there was no main villain, I think that the writers struggled coming up with a way to end the film, so they decided to make Ralph's insecurity the main villain, which seemed like a good idea, however, I just didn't think it was necessary. Despite these small criticisms, I still enjoyed Ralph Breaks The Internet and think that it's a great follow up to Wreck-it Ralph. 

7/10