Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

I avoided Wreck-It Ralph for years because I thought it would be a dumb movie for kids. When I finally watched it, I was amazed by how entertaining and enjoyable it was. That said, I still didn't care much for Ralph Breaks the Internet, and I checked it out just now because of the Oscar nomination. 

Set six years after the events of the first film, the story follows Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (voiced by Sarah Silverman) as they travel to the internet to search for a replacement part for Vanellope's arcade game, Sugar Rush, which was broken because of Ralph and left the game's characters homeless. 

The biggest issue with Ralph Breaks the Internet is that it seems like the writers forgot they were writing a movie, and instead wrote the "Internet for Dummies" book —the movie does go through the dangers of the internet such as online gaming, viruses, spam and such, which is good for kids, but it keeps portraying the internet has a dark place and the message is constantly shoved down our throats— and plenty of ads to show off Disney's empire —Star Wars, Disney Princesses, Marvel, even Stan Lee makes an appearance. There's simply not enough plot to fill the 110-minute running time —while the first part is quite solid and engaging, the second part is dragged garbage with a horrible ending. Not to mention the friendship message the film tries to deliver but gets completely lost. 

The characters aren't that good either. The once-cute and adorable Vanellope is nothing but annoying in here, Ralph is no longer the misfit you root for as he's just the idiot who makes a mess after another, and the relationship between them isn't that fleshed out. They are not as bad as the new characters, forgettable being more than a compliment for them. The only redeeming character? Shank, a badass racer voiced by Gal Gadot. The character is bad but Gadot makes you remember her —I think I have a crush on her voice. 

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

As for the comedy, it is a bit too dark for kids at times, the internet puns fall flat as they are too dumb for adult and kids will probably not understand them, and the references the film is filled with aren't always that funny. Don't get me wrong, there still are some funny moments —only in the first part though as the second is pretty dark— but there's not enough of them for Ralph Breaks the Internet to be enjoyable. 

The animation is probably the only really good aspect of the film, the only one without a negative side. It's very beautiful, the way the internet is portrayed is very creative and interesting, and overall it's very rich in texture and colours.