Ralph Breaks the Internet

The sequel to WreckIt Ralph, Ralph Breaks the Internet, was released in China on November 23. With a remarkable 86 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the film devoured the Thanksgiving box office in the United States after its release on November 21st. Fortunately, I was able to watch the movie on the day of its release in China.

Ralph Breaks the Internet is a 1-hour 56-minute long film about the two main characters, Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz, traveling to the World Wide Web to find a replacement of the broken handle of Vanellope’s “Sugar Rush” game to prevent her game from being unplugged from the arcade center. On the internet, the two of them meet netizens and other gaming characters who help them earn sufficient money to purchase the $27,001 gaming handle (Yes, they placed a bid of $27,001 on an eBay auction.) Throughout their journey, the two best friends experience conflicts as Vanellope’s dream of racing in a new game clashes with Ralph’s stubbornness of not wanting to leave Vanellope.

The writing below may contain spoilers.

The film’s success in the United States seems reasonable after watching it. As a person who watched the first sequel, Wreck-It Ralph, I believe that the second sequel surpassed the first sequel in its quality and content. If Wreck-It Ralph was about Ralph getting to know Vanellope and them fighting against their common enemy, King Candy, Ralph Breaks the Internet dives into Ralph and Vanellope’s friendship and their rift. An interesting aspect was that unlike any other films, there were no clear antagonists in this film who seek to harm the main characters. Surprisingly, the antagonist who appeared at the end of the movie was not a certain villain but Ralph’s sense of insecurity. To slow down the racing cars so that Vanellope no longer finds the game interesting and returns to Litwak’s Family Fun Center with him, Ralph sets free a self-replicating virus, Zero, in the Slaughter Race game. However, Zero takes advantage of Ralph’s insecurity of losing Vanellope and copies Ralph’s insecurity to spread it across the World Wide Web, causing network breakdowns and a complete chaos.

Many people might see the movie as a time-killing childish adventure movie specifically targeted at young children. Undeniably, I entered the cinema with the exact same expectation but little did I know that I would be laughing in my seat and leaving the cinema with a slight lump in my throat. As mentioned above, the film illustrates arguments between Vanellope and Ralph as three important themes are developed – friendship, the pursuit of dreams and new against old. After successfully purchasing the gaming handle, Ralph wants to return home with Vanellope and continue living their ordinary everyday life while Vanellope wishes to stay in Slaughter Race and drive on the exhilarating new tracks. During the climax, KnowsMore, the search bar host, gives Ralph a zinger by saying how Ralph’s clinginess and neediness are hindering Vanellope’s dream. At last, Ralph learns how to respect Vanellope’s dream and how distance does not affect a strong friendship as he finally lets Vanellope go.

Hyun Bin O., a senior who also watched the movie on the day of its release, expressed that Ralph’s clinginess on to Vanellope throughout the entire movie was annoying – even slightly uncomfortable – to watch. Also, he commented that he would prefer to watch Japanese animations over Ralph Breaks the Internet as they are more emotionally appealing. Overall, he claimed that the movie was a decent one. On the contrary, Andy Jeong who watched the movie with Hyun Bin O. was fascinated by “how the movie portrayed the internet world through animation” and “really enjoyed the creativity in the film”. However, Dylan C. could not help but to express his disappointment towards the movie. “The conversations held between Ralph and Vanellope was unbearably cringey because nobody talks like how they do in real life”, commented Dylan. In addition, he added that the movie is great for kids to watch but he would certainly not recommend it to adults.

The decision to watch the movie or not is yours to make but I hope this review gave you a great preview of what to expect from the film Ralph Breaks the Internet.