This year, Walt Disney Pictures released two sequels years after the original films to two beloved modern classics. One was an interesting meditation on friendship and the toxicities that can creep into even the most well-intentioned people, and how that can lead to not only the friendship, but the entire world crumbling around that person. And the other was “Incredibles 2.”
That’s where “Ralph Breaks the Internet” pulls the rug out from underneath audiences. It’s a story about the internet and also about toxicity. It’s a story about social media and insecurities. These things are never directly linked together though. They’re merely sly inserted near each other, providing a subtle wink and nod to the dangers of modern-day technology, without ever making them the point of the film.
Rather the point is still smartly where it belongs: on the characters. Ralph and Vanelloppe don’t venture to the internet for no reason. The events that start them on their quest feel just as important to the story as the digital road they travel. When most movies would merely spend five minutes creating an event to catapult their characters into a new realm, co-writers/directors Rich Moore (“Wreck-It Ralph,” “Zootopia”) and Phil Johnston (“Wreck-It Ralph,” “Zootopia”) and writers Pamela Ribon (“Smurfs: The Lost Village,” “Moana”), Jim Reardon (“Zootopia,” “WALL·E”), and Josie Trinidad (“Zootopia,” “The Ballad of Nessie”) make sure that the original film’s events and world aren’t simply tossed out and forgotten to make room for this new adventure. It feels simple and natural, giving this sequel an easy jumping off point.
Ralph and Vanelloppe, voiced again by John C. Reilly (“Step Brothers,” “Chicago”) and Sarah Silverman (“School of Rock,” “The Sarah Silverman Program”), respectively, are still a great pair to hang out with, and their friendship and banter feels genuine and perfectly juvenile. New characters like dangerous racer Shank, voiced by Gal Gadot (“Wonder Woman,” “Fast & Furious (2009)”), hyper-intelligent search engine KnowsMore, voiced by Alan Tudyk (“A Knight’s Tale,” “Firefly”), and video sharing algorithm Yesss, voiced by Taraji P. Henson (“Empire,” “Hidden Figures”), all mange to be gentle parodies of their respective corners of the internet, as well as endearing characters in their own right.
“Internet” is without a doubt the sillier of the two films. It’s clear that the executives at Disney really let the creative team run wild, creating amusing sequences poking fun at the internet as a whole, Disney’s lucrative licenses and even dipping into some of the weirder and darker elements of modern-day technology.
Comparisons to last year’s cinematic travesty “The Emoji Movie” are inevitable, but there’s an easy difference. Besides the fact that “Internet” has heart and soul inside of it, it never lets the brands or sites its riffing on takeover. eBay may be a part of the plot, but its still made fun of extensively, and every other major brand is reduced to window dressings and jokes. It manages to be fun and funny while taking place within the Internet without feeling like it becomes a shill to the brands that populate it.
Speaking of jokes, “Internet” may very well be funnier than its predecessor. Without a doubt its sillier and contains more belly laughs than before. This even extends to the credits, where the fun-poking and satire continue as jokes about the movie making process keep flowing until the very last frame of film. Even a pop song cover of the movie’s Alan Menken penned original song manages to maintain is amusingness, as the satirical lyrics paired with serious vocals just emphasize the joke.
All jokes aside, if “Internet” was merely a funny film with a new story, it likely would’ve been perfectly fine. However, with their first direct sequel in eighteen years, Disney Animation Studios has stepped it up a notch in one area in particular: the film’s central message.
There’s a deep underlying theme of insecurity and self worth to this film, with Vanelloppe’s frequent glitching moments clear parallels to anxiety attacks and even computer viruses being called “Insecurity Viruses.” Friendship is also mentioned, although instead of being about the unending power of friends, the film shifts its focus to being about friends who are apart.
There are much deeper themes contained in “Internet,” including self-worth, toxic friendships and being bad friends versus not being a friend at all. It’s seemingly heavy stuff, although delivered with the same sly smile that fills the rest of the film’s silliest antics, allowing everything to have a warm appeal even as things turn dark.
A few hiccups are present, like a subplot in the arcade that’s seems to have been forgotten about until the end, but you’d be hard pressed to notice it in the moment. “Ralph Breaks the Internet” keeps so many silly moments and intriguing meditations at its center, that any flaws seem to melt away while watching. It’s a brightly colored blast of satirical fun and whimsy, with its darker moments being cherries on top. It may even be better than the first film. 4.5/5
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