Ralph Breaks the Internet

I liked Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018; dir. Phil Johnston and Rich Moore) better than the original Wreck It Ralph. Both are about 1980s video game characters with real world problems.  Ralph (John C. Reilly) is best friends with Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), a driver in a children’s racing game.  She grows bored with her life and wants excitement and goes looking for it on the Internet.  Ralph is sympathetic but also hurt that she needs more than their friendship.  He accompanies her to the Internet, where she looks for her true calling. I would say first of all that this film gives a witty and fairly acute visual introduction to what the Internet is and how it works.  Many cultural references and inside jokes keep the film interesting for adult viewers.  There’s a lot of action, speed, and tension, which keeps it interesting for all viewers. In a sense this is a buddy film.  It’s also about a character who wants to break free from her old life and find a new one.  And finally, it’s about friendship.  How does one friend who is happy with his life exactly as it is honor his friendship with a friend who wants something new? The film takes the view that friendships must be pliant and accepting of change, and that two friends don’t necessarily have to share the same physical space all the time.  Ralph and Vanellope become long-distance friends. 

I especially liked the cheeky way in which Ralph Breaks the Internet makes fun of Disney characters (this is a Disney film).  In one scene Vanellope finds herself alone with all the Disney princesses—from Snow White and Cinderella to Pocahontas to Belle.  They are all preening narcissists, as one might expect, but in the end they rise to the call of sisterhood. It’s good to see a Disney film with a sense of self-referential humor.