Disney’s animation studio has become well known and celebrated as one of the best in the industry. With movie releases that were hit films and became instant classics like “Toy Story,” “The Incredibles,” and even some of their newest projects like “Wreck it Ralph” and “Moana” helped to propel Disney’s popularity even higher. Unfortunately with the climate of the movie industry supporting endless sequels, prequels, and other continuations of the same old story has affected Disney’s priorities in the projects they make. Although sequels like “Toy Story 2” and “Finding Dory” stand well against the original, not all continuations are needed. A prime example of this is Disney’s newest project: “Ralph Breaks the Internet.”
The movie itself isn’t too bad, but when compared to the original there are some prominent flaws that are present with this addition. First the films plot is more unfocused than in the original. In the first Ralph just wanted some recognition for his hard work and was tired of being the bad guy, but in this new plot the story shifts too rapidly from Ralph and Vennelope on a journey to fix sugar rush then to a character wanting to stay inside the web. This quick change of pace creates inconsistencies in the story making it feel like there’s two different movies happening at once.
The other major problem lies with the characterization of the main lead character Ralph. In the original Ralph has a clear goal in mind of getting a medal and is determined to get it, but in this one Ralph comes off as too clingy with his friendship with Vennelope and seems all around annoying. His clingy behavior just causes almost all the conflicts in the plot making him feel like a different character than the Ralph in the original.
The comedy in the film is a bit too meta in that the references that they make to the internet environment are just too cringy and outdated to represent what the internet is really like. There’s also the problem that it’s still a Disney film so it’s not able to go all the way with its interpretation of the internet, only being able to reference the cleaner side of the web,, making the whole environment feel restrictive.
There are some more emotional scences such as when Ralph finally reads some mean comments people have written about him, and the film shows how he deals with it, an important lesson to all the kids who are growing up surrounded by the internet
All round the movie isn’t the worst film out there, but in the context of the First “Wreck it Ralph’” it leaves a lot to be desired in the plot and characters. The movie is fine for a younger audience, but if you’re a hardcore Disney fan you’ll find that a little lack of that magic.
6/10
Matthew Menendez // Staff writer
