It took us a while to catch up with Ralph Breaks the Internet but with the Holidays over and the kids back to school, Diane and I enjoyed what amounted to a Private Screening when we attended a matinee showing. We liked the 2012 Wreck-It Ralph animated movie featuring 1980s arcade games with their wacky characters. Director and co-writer Rich Moore cleverly created Ralph (John C. Reilly) a “Bad Guy” in a video game who was actually a pretty good guy outside his game. In this sequel, Ralph is happy with his life, but his best friend, racer Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), is bored by her Candy Rush game. When their arcade gets a WI-FI connection, Ralph and Vanellope discover the Internet.
Unlike Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph Breaks the Internet doesn’t really have a villain. Most of the mischief is caused by Ralph himself as he tries not to lose his best friend to a Grand Theft Auto clone game called Slaughter Race featuring the beautiful and skillful Shank (Gal Gadot). For a kids movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet deals with the risks of online shopping, pop-up ads, viruses, and the Dark Web in a surprisingly sophisticated fashion. There’s a lot going on in this movie. Most of it is fun. GRADE: A-
The stars have a lot of goodwill with me.
Todd, my favorite scenes are with the Disney Princesses! Very fun and clever!
There was too much going on for me. I guess I needed to start with the first one.
Patti, part of the appeal of the RALPH movies is the snide references to video games. And, yes, there is a lot going on.
I liked WRECK-IT RALPH and I’m sure we’ll get to this one too. Looks like fun.
Jeff, I like WRECK-IT RALPH better, but RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET is entertaining. Plenty of snide humor about the Internet and online gaming.