We don't tend to see a lot of sequels from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Since the release of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" back in 1937, the studio has only released about a handful of sequels. This is not including the infamous direct to DVD sequels put out by DisneyToon Studios from 1994 to 2008. Now after almost seven years, Disney Animation brings us back into the world of "Wreck-It Ralph" and brings us to the world of the Internet with "Ralph Breaks the Internet". Going into the film I had very high hopes due to how much I loved the predecessor and how funny the trailers looked and came out very satisfied. This is not only yet another fantastic film from the Disney Animation Studios continuing their fantastic revival they've had this decade, but also a great animated sequel as well. This really was such a fun film and I really enjoyed watching it.
Six years after the events of the first film, best friends Ralph (John C. Riley) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) have been hanging out during closing hours at Litwak's Arcade. Their lives seem to be perfect until one day the steering wheel breaks off of Vanellope's arcade game Sugar Rush. Because the company who made the game went out of business years ago, Litwak unplugs the machine which renders the people of Sugar Rush homeless and without a game. Hoping to get a steering wheel for Sugar Rush before Litwak sells the game for parts, Ralph and Vanellope venture into the world of the Internet in hopes to find the steering wheel in time. Along the way, they come across some interesting characters including a clickbait pop ad user named J.P. Spamley (Bill Hader), a racer in a game called Slaughter Race named Shank (Gal Gadot), an algorithm on a website called BuzzTube named Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) and many more that will help in their quest for them to get their steering wheel and get back to Litwak's before it's too late.
This film really was a lot of fun and I feel a lot of that comes down to the story. This movie is funny, clever, has lots of heart, and knew how to make a world where the characters were likable. Yes, this movie does have some memes in it as well as some websites, but at least they do serve a purpose to the plot. When Ralph and Vanellope go to eBay, it actually serves a purpose to the plot and actually does do something funny. For the most part the movie does tend for the characters to go to fictional websites or apps that don't exist in real life. It's how I feel animated movies should be done. Being driven creatively by filmmakers and not by greedy executives. As for the animation, it's once again amazing for Disney. The world of the Internet has lots of unique places and is so vast and open that I wanted to see a lot more of it kind of like the worlds of "Inside Out" and "Zootopia". As for the characters, they were easily the heart of the movie. The new ones were fun with my favorite being J.P. Spamley. I do love how although what he does is essentially annoying and will drive people crazy, he actually ends up being very likable and pretty friendly to Ralph and Vanellope. There's also a hilarious moment involving the Disney Princesses from Snow White to Moana and having the voice actors who originally played most of them come back to reprise their roles really was a bonus. Their appearance even led to a hilarious song number written by the legendary Alan Menken. I laughed pretty hard during the entire number. Though the real heart of the movie comes down to Ralph and Vanellope's friendship. It was something I loved in the first movie and seeing it be developed even more and fleshed out was something I really wanted to see. Even a scene at the ending involving them actually nearly made me cry. I think the duo really has developed since the first film. As far as problems go, I do think the movie is a bit too slow at times especially during the climax. I also did want to see a little more of Felix and Calhoun (Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch) as I really liked them in the first movie but were barely in this movie. Though since the movie is really Ralph and Vanellope's story, I think that's really only a nitpick.
I still think "Ralph Breaks the Internet" is still a very fun sequel. The story had lots of heart to it and was very fun and clever, the animation was gorgeous and the world of the Internet was very creative, and the old characters were all lots of fun to see again while the new character really did make me laugh. I really did have a lot of fun with this film. It may not be the best animated movie sequel of the year as I think "Incredibles 2" is still the best, but it's still a pretty close second.
Six years after the events of the first film, best friends Ralph (John C. Riley) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) have been hanging out during closing hours at Litwak's Arcade. Their lives seem to be perfect until one day the steering wheel breaks off of Vanellope's arcade game Sugar Rush. Because the company who made the game went out of business years ago, Litwak unplugs the machine which renders the people of Sugar Rush homeless and without a game. Hoping to get a steering wheel for Sugar Rush before Litwak sells the game for parts, Ralph and Vanellope venture into the world of the Internet in hopes to find the steering wheel in time. Along the way, they come across some interesting characters including a clickbait pop ad user named J.P. Spamley (Bill Hader), a racer in a game called Slaughter Race named Shank (Gal Gadot), an algorithm on a website called BuzzTube named Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) and many more that will help in their quest for them to get their steering wheel and get back to Litwak's before it's too late.
This film really was a lot of fun and I feel a lot of that comes down to the story. This movie is funny, clever, has lots of heart, and knew how to make a world where the characters were likable. Yes, this movie does have some memes in it as well as some websites, but at least they do serve a purpose to the plot. When Ralph and Vanellope go to eBay, it actually serves a purpose to the plot and actually does do something funny. For the most part the movie does tend for the characters to go to fictional websites or apps that don't exist in real life. It's how I feel animated movies should be done. Being driven creatively by filmmakers and not by greedy executives. As for the animation, it's once again amazing for Disney. The world of the Internet has lots of unique places and is so vast and open that I wanted to see a lot more of it kind of like the worlds of "Inside Out" and "Zootopia". As for the characters, they were easily the heart of the movie. The new ones were fun with my favorite being J.P. Spamley. I do love how although what he does is essentially annoying and will drive people crazy, he actually ends up being very likable and pretty friendly to Ralph and Vanellope. There's also a hilarious moment involving the Disney Princesses from Snow White to Moana and having the voice actors who originally played most of them come back to reprise their roles really was a bonus. Their appearance even led to a hilarious song number written by the legendary Alan Menken. I laughed pretty hard during the entire number. Though the real heart of the movie comes down to Ralph and Vanellope's friendship. It was something I loved in the first movie and seeing it be developed even more and fleshed out was something I really wanted to see. Even a scene at the ending involving them actually nearly made me cry. I think the duo really has developed since the first film. As far as problems go, I do think the movie is a bit too slow at times especially during the climax. I also did want to see a little more of Felix and Calhoun (Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch) as I really liked them in the first movie but were barely in this movie. Though since the movie is really Ralph and Vanellope's story, I think that's really only a nitpick.
I still think "Ralph Breaks the Internet" is still a very fun sequel. The story had lots of heart to it and was very fun and clever, the animation was gorgeous and the world of the Internet was very creative, and the old characters were all lots of fun to see again while the new character really did make me laugh. I really did have a lot of fun with this film. It may not be the best animated movie sequel of the year as I think "Incredibles 2" is still the best, but it's still a pretty close second.