JTurner82 Review of Ralph Breaks the Internet

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Disappointing and inferior sequel reeking of commercialism.

[4/10 · 25 November 2018]

The original WRECK-IT-RALPH was hardly a Disney classic, but that film was nonetheless a clever commentary on videogames and provided a sense of comical, imaginative, tongue-in-cheek humor. RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, on the other hand, has only the occasional clever moment and at least one compelling concept. That concept, the visualization of the internet world, a sort of futuristic city straight out of one of the STAR WARS prequels, is admittingly impressive and imaginative. Sadly, that's the only good thing about this sequel, which otherwise ranks as one of the weakest Disney animated films I've seen in a long time. In trying to top everything that made the original so great, it ultimately trips over itself. It also reeks of commercialism as well; there's a painfully unnecessary sequence in which the princesses from previous Disney films show up in cameos. The primary reason seems to be to sell more merchandise and cheap laughs more than anything else. The film really hits rock bottom when Venelope sings a song clearly belonging in a better movie. Her deliberately shrill, tonedeaf singing voice -- intended for laughs -- again, falls flat, as do most of the jokes in this movie. Even the chemistry between the two leads doesn't have the same sincerity or heart as the original. This is mostly a noisy, frantic, emotionless, soulless mess with no heart. The filmmakers attempt to redeem this mess by shoehorning a "toxic friendship" message, but that moral has been done better, and is nowhere nearly as lame as this. Kids might get a kick out of this, and I can see why some internet nerds would gravitate to it, but on the whole, this is a major disappointment from the House that Walt built. Even the original was far more fresh and entertaining than its successor.