6 years after "I'm gonna wreck it" became somewhat of a cult phrase, the big man is back with his adorable little friend. Ralph and Vanellope have been friends for six years and Ralph could not be happier. They work in their respective games all day long and when the arcade closes, they hang around through the night, jumping from one game to another.
For reasons best left out (spoilers), they enter the world wide web and that is when the film zooms past the previous outing.Ralph breaks the internet takes the two lead characters forward naturally. Hence, as a viewer, you never question the intention of the characters even once. The beauty of this film lies in bringing difficult and sometimes complicated things to life in the most simple ways.
Things like connecting to the internet, online persona, pop-ups, shopping on e-bay/Amazon are visualized in the most entertaining manner. Add to that trending videos, likes to posts and numerous other things. What I love is that the film never gets preachy about online practices. It rather keeps a 'to each his own' kinda approach.
The icing on the cake is the treatment of the film. Ralph breaks the internet takes the quirkiness of the original to the next level by throwing puns after puns. It uses the premise and its surroundings to come up with incredible moments. The e-bay auction of a single nacho that has the surface resembling the face of Beyonce is hilarious. The King Kong reference with Google replacing the Empire State Building is an instant classic. And the use of the giant pin from Pinterest to fight off a giant, magical.
If that was not enough, director Rich Moore gets full support from Disney to take the puns to new heights. Disney has a uncanny ability to laugh at itself and Rich Moore uses it brilliantly in this film. There are a plethora of meta references starting with the Oh My Disney section of the internet. This is followed by appearances from a bunch of Stormtroopers, Grumpy, Stan Lee, C3PO etc. Honestly, there are so many others that I am sure I missed more than a few.
To top all that is the scene written to perfection, featuring the Disney Princesses
It does not get more meta than Disney making fun of its treatment of female leads. It gave all of them unnecessarily difficult lives and made them wait, only to be saved by a Man. The film even makes fun of the way they dress all the time. Always being prim and proper rather than wearing comfy clothes like tees and sweatpants etc. It is the most fantastic moment in the film and ends on such a high. The high is thanks to a cheeky comment about studio rivalry within Disney (read Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar) riding on Princess Merida's (Brave, 2012) Scottish accent.
I honestly need another viewing just to make sure I have not missed any meta references or puns.
Ralph Breaks the Internet does have hordes of memorable moments (and hordes of Ralph too, literally). In spite of that, it never forgets where its heart lies. The heart lies in the deep bond of friendship between Ralph and Vanellope. This friendship forms the base and is the reason for the film to work. You see this world through your eyes but you also feel what they feel. Their dreams, their insecurities, their fears and above all their love.
This film needs to be seen and enjoyed by at least the following people
- Kids - You will love it
- Adults - You will love it more than the kids
- Parents - You are basically adults with children and you can't send your kids alone, so buckle up and show your kids a good time
- Nerds - You are gonna go crazy identifying all the meta references
- Teenagers - Watch, reflect and have a blast
Did I leave anyone out? Oh yeah, the snooty people who respond with 'I don't watch cartoons' when someone asks them to watch an animated film. First of, they are not cartoons, and second, tough luck, you really don't know what you are missing.
Rating: 4/5