Ralph Breaks the Internet: Film Review

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the original Wreck-It Ralph when it came out in 2013 so I wasn’t that excited about its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet but the good news is that it is very different and very clever.

One day, WiFi gets plugged in at Litwak’s arcade, where Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) live and work. They are told they must not visit the Internet but they ignore that rule when a kid breaks the steering wheel on Vanellope’s Sugar Rush arcade game and Mr. Litwak (Ed O’Neill) threatens to shut it down because he doesn’t want to stump up the cost of a replacement on eBay. Ralph and Vanellope go on a journey to the Internet to track down the wheel and navigate the highs and lows of online life.

I cannot overstate how smart this is. Kids will be able to enjoy everything but I imagine adults will be able to appreciate and understand some jokes and nods that bit more. The attention to detail is insane – I could watch it over and over and pick up on new things – and how Internet things are visualised are genius (the pop-ups are particularly great).

I guess the original had a simpler plot to follow and was more easily entertaining but I enjoyed what was going on alongside the plot. There were so many powerful messages about how to treat people online, male insecurity, co-dependency and not letting your friend have other friends but they weren’t overwhelming and too preachy – although the moment where Ralph reads mean comments about himself came close. That was very obvious but I think young people need to understand the impact cyberbullying can have on others.

The visuals are faultless and the script is smart and funny – there are a lot of Internet and pop culture references to feast upon while Disney is taken the mick out of (the Disney Princesses scene was ace). The voice cast was all excellent, with Reilly and Silverman being supported by Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson and Alan Tudyk to name a few.

It went on a tad long and I don’t know if kids would be as entertained by it as I was! Still, it was great fun with lots of important messages. Highly recommend.

In cinemas now