In theaters
Find out what critics are saying about the latest releases, including “Ralph Breaks the Internet.”
PG 1:52
“Wreck-It Ralph” masterminds Phil Johnston and Rich Moore level up their unexpected hero and his surprisingly human struggles with their sequel “Ralph Breaks the Internet.”
The successor to the Disney’s 2012 animated hit does more than just upgrade the visuals and the action sequences. The sequel also advances the storytelling, characters and humor in clever but profound ways.
Six years after the first film, the unlikely friendship between video game characters Wreck-It Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and Princess Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) is still going strong. But when the steering wheel on Vanellope’s racing game breaks, the arcade owner (Ed O’Neill) plans to sell it. So, Ralph and Vanellope enter the arcade’s new Wi-Fi router and venture for the first time into the internet to find a replacement.
As they look for a way to pay for it, the pair encounters the dubious pop-up JP Spamley (Tulsa native Bill Hader), savvy video site algorithm Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) and creepy virus maker Double Dan (Alfred Molina). They run across the bold racer Shank (Gal Gadot) when they stumble into the online game “Slaughter Race,” where Vanellope revels in free-for-all racing.
The computer-animated sequel creatively depicts the internet as a vast metropolis teaming with information superhighways, bustling avatars and gleaming towers of major sites. In an inspired highlight, a jaunt to a fan site introduces Vanellope to the other Disney Princesses, with screenwriters Johnston and Pamela Ribon (“Moana”) ingeniously spoofing the tropes of the This image released by Disney shows the character Vanellope von Schweetz, voiced by Sarah Silverman, foreground center, posing for s selfie with Disney princesses in a scene from “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” Filmmakers invited the original voice talent to return to the studio to help bring their characters to life. [PHOTO PROVIDED BY DISNEY/AP]
Mouse House’s royal ladies.
Friendship is a timeworn familyfilm theme, but “Ralph Breaks the Internet” handles it with insight that feels vital in these divisive times. Although the climax might be too scary for some young viewers, all audiences can click on the resonance in the film’s finale.
— Brandy McDonnell, The Oklahoman