Struggling to capture magic of the original
Sequel is bright and bouncy but surprises are in short supply
Six years in internet time is … let’s see, carry the three … forever. To put that in social media context, six years ago Snapchat was barely a thing, and Tinder had about eight swipes total: five lefts, two rights, one wrong.
So: Forever ago, Disney animation made Wreck-It Ralph, based on the Toy-Story-esque concept that video-game characters have their own lives when no one’s playing. It was funny, smart and popular with critics and audiences alike, so of course it spawned a sequel. The wonder is that it took, well, forever.
Wreck-It 2, Ralph Breaks the Internet, expands the setting from a single video arcade to the World Wide Web, which on the face of it sounds like a good thing. But with the gimmick of living arcade characters already out of the box, the new movie struggles to capture the magic and surprises of the original.
Getting lovable lug Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly), and spunky racing princess Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), out of the arcade proves pretty easy. Ralph’s attempts to upgrade his friend’s game cabinet result in a broken steering wheel, a replacement for which can be found on eBay. (If you dislike product placements, don’ t bring your Nik es one step closer to this movie.)
The two of them head for the internet, which is awash in corporate logos, including the long-defunct GeoCities and, for some reason, the Paris-based AlloCiné. Quoi?
The most amusing organizations are made-up, however. Disney Animation goodluck charm Alan Tudyk (six films and counting since the original Wreck-It Ralph), plays a fusty search engine called KnowsMore. And Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), gets her first animated credit as Shank, chief driver in an anarchic muscle-car contest called Slaughter Race. Vanellope, whose life has been spent in the considerably brighter and simpler Sugar Rush racing game, is in awe. The film strikes sparks when they meet.
Ralph, meanwhile, is on a quest to pay for that steering wheel before the arcade scraps the busted Sugar Rush for good. Returning co-directors Phil Johnston and Rich Moore, aided by three additional writers, throw in knowing references to pop-up ads, spam, YouTube fame and even the Dark Web. But don’t expect a critique of online life in all its depression-inducing, election-skewing, bias-confirming gloom. About the dimmest it gets is a reminder that one should never read the comments section of any website.
But it’s all pretty bright and bouncy stuff, with bits of Ready Player One, Jumangi and even the recent comedy Instant Family woven into its code — the last because back in the arcade, the almost-forgotten characters of Felix and Calhoun (Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch), have adopted 15 of Vanellope’s racing buddies, who are homeless until the game can be fixed.
With its straightforward message about balancing friendship and personal growth, Ralph Breaks the Internet is pretty innocuous stuff, and it certainly doesn’t feel like the crass cash grab that most sequels do. It’s more the equivalent of a spent video game asking: “Would you like to continue? (Y/N)” Your move.