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Review: Ralph Breaks the Internet

Sarah Silverman and John C. Reilly star in Walt Disney's RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

Wreck-It Ralph popped up and surprised a lot of people when it was released by becoming one of the most highly regarded animated films in recent years. Six years later, Ralph Breaks the Internet finds itself attempting to follow up that success. At first, I wasn’t sure it could come close to duplicating what came before it. Sequels living up to what’s been previously set is seemingly impossible in many instances. Luckily for us, this isn’t one of those times.

In the follow up to Wreck-It Ralph, we join our protagonist (John C. Reilly) and his best friend Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) as they venture out of Litwak’s arcade in order to prevent her game, Sugar Rush from being shut down. To stop that from happening, they leave behind all they’ve ever known to enter the vast and unknown world of the internet. While there, they meet people who might be able to help them complete their daunting task, but they’ll have to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds along the way.

I found Ralph Breaks the Internet to be comparable to Wreck-It Ralph in terms of its all-around quality. I can’t say it surpasses it, but it makes a strong case to be seen as at least close to equal to it when everything is taken into account. That’s saying a lot since the first one is such a fantastic picture. In that sense, even just coming close to what was brought to us back in 2012 can be viewed as an achievement in itself.

One reason this sequel is equal to its predecessor is the sheer level of detail that’s been added to it. They relied on mostly video games the first time, but in this instance, they depend on the internet and most of what comes with it. Since it’s such a broad property to use, this really gave them a ton of options to utilize. On the surface, this could obviously be a good thing, but attempting to execute this could have ended badly if they got carried away.

That and the fun that’s being had by the characters that we both follow throughout and encounter for short periods of time make this movie the enjoyable adventure that it is. Honestly, I don’t know how many other animated films released this year have a chance to even compete with Ralph Breaks the Internet. As 2018 comes to a close, it’s looking like this will easily be the best of the bunch from this genre unless I’m missing a film or two.

The entertaining adventure that’s happening is what most will notice, but you can’t ignore how carefully constructed and fluid the entire picture is. I marvel at this kind of thing when looking at movies these days. It’s something I’ve grown to appreciate even more in an era when making movies with this level of refinement isn’t always considered as important as it should be. It still happens, but it doesn’t take place nearly enough at this point in time.

The brainstorming and care put into both Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet are obvious. Aside from the journey we get being comprehensively pleasant, this sequel is also just a project brimming with thoughtfulness. That’s why it deserves to do well. Let’s just hope they can keep this up with future films if they decide to make more of them. If that happens, I wouldn’t be against there being more sequels in the future. And if that’s the case, hopefully, we won’t have to wait for six more years for the next one.

Rating: PG

Directors:
Rich Moore
Phil Johnston

Cast:
John C. Reilly
Sarah Silverman
Gal Gadot
Jack McBrayer
Jane Lynch
Alan Tudyk
Alfred Molina
Ed O’Neill
Timothy Simons
Ali Wong
Hamish Blake
Glozell Green
Taraji P. Henson

Release Date: November 21, 2018

Film Length: 112 minutes

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

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