Ralph Breaks the Internet is meant for 2018, where the World Wide Web is murky yet informative, generous yet fraudulent, supportive yet disparaging. It feeds on insecurities and validation but also gives a platform to all voices and builds communities. The Internet has it all to be a lucrative universe for cinematic exploration, which films like Ralph Breaks the Internet and Searching have dived deep into this year, bringing out some intriguing perspectives and displaying visuals that are relatable and introspective.
Disney’s sequel to Wreck-It Ralph sees Ralph (John C. Reilly), the former video game villain, and Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) from candy-racing game Sugar Rush , navigate the Internet in search of a gaming console to save a damaged arcade machine. In the process, the characters stumble upon various online phenomena like viral videos, spam, memes, viruses and bots, displaying as much naïveté as a first-time user.
- Director: Rich Moore and Phil Johnston
- Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Jane Lynch, Jack McBrayer, Alan Tudyk, Alfred Molina, Ed O’Neill, Taraji P. Henson
- Storyline: Ralph and Vanellope enter the Internet to find a gaming console
The film reminds you of the time when you first logged in into the World Wide Web and were instantly addicted to the endlessness of it. Ralph Breaks the Internet is aware that it’s an animated film meant for children yet it surprisingly ventures into dark subjects like existentialism. After getting the taste of an edgy Internet, Vanellope wants to stay online but Ralph prefers an analogue world, where comfort is rooted in routine and familiarity. At one point in the film, he enters a chamber where all comments are stored and as he begins to read, his self-confidence is instantly affected. The Internet can be both toxic and liberating depending on who you are and how you use it.
Ralph Breaks the Internet has its heart in the right place but it often loses the plot by falling prey to quick laughs. It is unable to be as insightful as Inside Out , which took you inside a human brain in an incisive manner. The film also plugs way too many brands like eBay, Facebook, Amazon, Google and Pinterest without being critical of any, which is counter-productive for a film trying to, in many ways, promote post-capitalism.
Hands down, the film’s high point is the congregation of all Disney princesses in one room, parodying the various situations they have classically been in. Wearing pyjamas and t-shirts and letting their hair down (literally), they look at a distressed Vanellope and ask her what makes her a princess: “Do you have daddy issues?”, “Were you woken up with a kiss?”, “Were all your problems solved because a man showed up?”, “Did you try staring into the magic waters?”. It’s a landmark scene considering the closest we have gotten to this princess meet-up is in a series of Saturday Night Live sketches. In Ralph Breaks the Internet, it’s exciting to see Disney mock its own legacy of infusing tales with toxic masculinity, and if this scene is anything to go by, better narratives lie ahead for princesses all over.
