The internet is a blessing and a curse. Now Ralph (John C. Reilly,) and his best bud, Vanellope von Schweetz, (Sarah Silverman) have to deal with it. When Vanellope’s old school game breaks, they ride what Ralph tries to pronounce as WIFFY, WIFEY, no, he finally figures out, through WIFI to explore the internet for the very first time. Their mission is to find a replacement steering wheel for the broken one in Vanellope’s “Sugar Rush” game in Litwak’s old-school Arcade. Without replacing that part, it’s game over forever for the little pixie. That sets up their huge adventure.
Phil Johnston and Rich Moore team up again to co-write and direct this colorful animated confection. It’s 6 years since the original Wreck-it Ralph movie. This can definitely stand on its own. Ralph and Vanellope show how antiquated the now vintage arcade has become in contrast to what the internet has to offer. Kids will definitely relate. There, they see just about every video and high tech brand-name apps that kids, and adults, now use ad infinitum.
This is a world with blinking lights and characters running amok. Blinking names of games and companies hurl by like Times Square times a thousand. Gotta love when Ralph gets the pronunciation wrong calling Google, “goggle.” There’s also Snapchat, e-Bay, with Disney and Marvel flashing along with familiar characters like Storm Troopers from Star Wars running around. There’s even a cameo of Marvel’s famous creator, Stan Lee, who recently died, that drew a warm reaction from the audience.
The story isn’t that exciting, but the script is very clever without being too cute. There’s potty humor and some competitive name-calling which make it more realistic for kids, and entertaining for parents. When Reilly first considered taking the role of Ralph in the original, Wreck It Ralph, he thought it might be more like working alone in a void. He talked with Johnston and Moore into having actors record together. The result is better quality of character interaction and their relationships because they’re able to bounce off each other in the studio. That also allowed for more improvisation which resulted in Reilly also getting a writing credit for the film. And Silverman got in her licks in improvising too. Many think of the actress as strident, but her adorable soft, little girl voice fits Vanellope quite well.
The most entertaining scene in this film is the most unexpected. It’s Disney poking fun at Disney! Vanellope ends up in a beautiful room filled with all of the Disney princesses who each poke fun at themselves and various themes from their own stories. It’s too clever to give away here. You have to see it. Even Silverman calls the move by Disney courageous, having at it with these princess icons. It’s classic. You’ll laugh out loud.
Ralph is a big, brawny character. Reilly based his characterization in the first film on the attitude and stance of his tough South Side Chicago uncle. He’s still brawny, but also endearing because he’s so naive in this new tech setting. And he’s just trying to be a good friend helping his best friend Vanellope. Their being so out of the loop about the new technology causes some fun moments dealing with all the frantic high speed activity.
Vanellope was getting kind of tired of doing the same ol’ same ol’ with Sugar Rush, but she never expected this. She gets into a new high speed racing game called Slaughter Race with a course she doesn’t know. The pace is set by some pretty fast drivers, Shank (Gal Gadot) and Yess (Taraji P. Henson). Good patter from all while racing. Ralph creates a short cut to help his friend win, but he gets afraid she likes this game too much. Will he lose her friendship forever? The message is that you can grow in different ways but there are many ways to still remain close friends. Stay till the very, very end of the credits to see Ralph in rare form.
There is not only so much to see in Disney’s colorful interpretation of the internet, but you become aware of how things have changed seeing the dark as well as positive side of our new high tech world. Ralph and Vanellope play well together, no matter what game they’re in. And the performances by Reilly and Silverman help Johnston and Moore score bonus points. For family entertainment, boot up and log in.
Walt Disney Animation Studios 114 minutes PG
