‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’… Literally
Does “Ralph Breaks the Internet” live up to the original, “Wreck-it Ralph?”
December 10, 2018
*WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Tip-toeing on the theme of self-identity, the highly anticipated sequel to “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” has only been in theaters for a couple weeks, and it has already enthralled audiences of all kinds.
In the first movie, “Wreck-It Ralph,” Ralph went on a journey find his place in the gaming world because he believed that he was meant to be more than a villain. In the process, he learned his true purpose in the gaming world and how to love himself regardless of his imperfections. It was most definitely one of Disney’s best works.
In “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” however, the focus primarily shifts to Vanellope, who is on the journey of self-identity this time. Ralph became acquainted with Vanellope in the first movie on his journey of trying to win a medal. Vanellope unintentionally taught him plenty of valuable lessons; as a result, Ralph actually began to be a good guy for the sake of being nice instead of other selfish reasons. He also helped Vanellope change her perception about her glitch. At first, she saw it as a problem, but she realized if she, like Ralph, embraced her oddities instead of being ashamed of them, they could become something fantastic.
By shifting the focus of the movie to Vanellope, Disney is exemplifying the change in modern thought. Years ago, it was not common to portray independent female characters on television, but with most of Disney and Pixar’s most recent movies, female characters are getting the shine that they rightfully deserve, which people only dreamed of twenty years ago.
The movie begins by showing how Vanellope has become bored with the everyday routine. She is a rather adventurous character looking for more in life than just drinking root beer and racing the same courses on the game “Sugar Rush” everyday. Therefore, Ralph, trying to be a good friend, makes a detour obstacle course in the middle of a race that changed the rest of their lives. It all started with the steering wheel breaking on the game.
The beginning of the movie was well-developed. The transitions into the rising action of the movie were phenomenal. However, there were some things that weren’t explained very well. For example, in the first movie, Vanellope was not able to leave her game. Even at the end, when the game revamped, she had to stay in the game, yet she is able to enter and exit as she pleases in “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” That’s a plot hole if I’ve ever seen one.
Having to earn $27,000.01, Ralph and Vanellope seek for efficient ways to quickly make money. Walking around all over town are “pop-up ads” that are personified by characters who are the equivalent to drug dealers or scammers in reality. However, Ralph finds that the best way to make money is to do stupid things on Buzztube.
Analysis
“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” like “Wreck-It Ralph,” tackles plenty of issues that people experience themselves and with each other. The virus literally copies insecurities, physical and theoretical, and spread them. It also showed a conflicting relationship between Ralph and Vanellope because of their different views on life. It leads to them having to part ways.
Also, it wouldn’t be a modern Disney movie if there wasn’t a splash of women empowerment in the movie. One of the main plots of the movie is Vanellope trying to prove her independence. In the most popular scene of the movie, Vanellope found herself in a room full of Disney princesses.
You know the girl power is real when Cinderella breaks her glass slipper to use it as a weapon in order to protect herself. After much quarrel, they all discovered that Vanellope was a princess just like them, and they all share some of the same stereotypical struggles; therefore, they all stick together and stand up for each other throughout the movie.
The approach Disney used with this movie was unique in a good way. There was no villain. That’s right…. I said that there was NO villain. Somehow, Disney managed to pull this off while maintaining that Disney flavor we all know and hate that we love. The plot and the characters were well developed and nothing was one dimensional. The main antagonists in this movie were their insecurities, which is used to represent faults in gaming algorithms and self-esteem issues.
The ending was also not your typical “happily ever after” type of thing. Vanellope and Ralph had to depart from each other because their dreams were conflicting.
In comparison with “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” is the lesser of the two. While the first movie had a nice balance of comedy, tragedy and good messages, its sequel contains too much comedy, and whatever theme “Ralph Breaks the Internet” was trying to convey was blanketed with its plethora of puns and inside jokes, which made the movie overly cliched and dramatic.
To be fair, this is only in comparison to “Wreck-It Ralph,” and it seemed as if Disney tried to step it up from all aspects. Overall, it was wonderful movie, and it did not cease to amaze.
Though it may not be as captivating as the original, “Ralph Breaks the Internet” gave the world an entirely new perspective on friendship, life, following your dreams and the amount of corruption on the internet. Remember, if you ever have a virus on your computer, just learn the true value of friendship and self-love, and everything will magically be fine.
