Film Review - Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It-Ralph 2 (2018)

Let’s face it, shall we? Disney is taking over the world, one film at a time until their global dominance is assured and we will be watching a new House of Mouse film every week – at least, that’s how it seems. In recent weeks, the studio have debuted new looks atMary Poppins Returns is right around the corner. Before then, however, it’s sequel time with the return of the Litvak’s Arcade and loveable goofball Ralph, who takes a break from wrecking buildings to take on something larger: the internet.

Picking up from the events of the first film, we reconvene with Ralph and his new BFF Vanellope as their friendship continues to grow as they both live in their games, Fix IT Felix and Sugar Rush. Their connection is heartfelt and genuine, the two inseparable as they get up to mischief in the inner workings of the arcade world but Vanellope has started to become disillusioned with her game and yearns for something new for her, and indeed Ralph, to explore. Enter a new inclusion at the arcade: the internet.

It was always going to be a tough challenge to top the original Wreck-It Ralph given how near-perfect it was: a smart, colourful and hugely inventive adventure that embraced our love of nostalgia with a funny and satirical edge. With most sequels going bigger, isn’t always better but in Ralph Breaks The Internet’s case, it has worked a treat with the vastness of the web providing both a larger scope but also a stronger focus on its narrative, in this case a story of real friendship in a world of fake ones and our almost feverish relationship with the net and our electronics.

Told with a biting satirical edge by Zootropolis duo Rich Moore and Phil Johnston, itself a wonderfully crafted story of race, immigration and buddy-cop films, Ralph 2 takes great joy in presenting both a visually luscious universe with a sharp wit that sits alongside the more magical moments perfectly. There are true moments to savour here – whether its Ralph vlogging his way to the top only to “look at the comments”, a fast-paced car race in the new Slaughterhouse Rulez game (featuring Gal Gadot) and the much-talked about Disney Princesses sequence that is absolutely pitch-perfect – and while the film takes a little while to get going, the payoff is so rich and rewarding that it doesn’t matter one iota.

A whimsical, enthralling and mesmeric animated film, Ralph Breaks The Internet is an absolute joy from start to finish with two stellar turns from John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman at the heart of it. And while it may not hit the heights of Disney’s true classics, it isn’t far off. Wonderful.