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In 2012, WRECK-IT RALPH became an instant audience favorite for Disney, also delivering one of the best video game movies ever made… even my mom loved it, and she hates video games. A sequel seemed inevitable, and now six years later we’re finally getting one. This time Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (Sara Silverman) must travel into the internet to find a replacement part that will save Vanellope’s arcade game, Sugar Rush. But are these two arcade game characters ready to take on the expansive world wide web?

As Ralph and Vanellope enter the internet, the film begins a series of nods to other Sci-Fi or tech-based films, emulating the music of THE MATRIX and even making red pill/blue pill joke. It’s also the beginning of a considerable amount of self-referential humor in the production, which contains plenty of in-jokes for fans of the first movie and other Disney classics. At first the mission seems easy enough, head to eBay and just “buy” the part they need to fix Sugar Rush, so Vanellope can go back to her daily routine in the somewhat repetitive racing game. But they realize money is needed to secure the item they desire, so they must find a way to raise cyber-cash in various ways, either finding items in online multi-player video games, or posting engaging videos on a YouTube-esque trend-making site called “BuzzzTube”, headed by an algorithm named Yesss (voice of Taraji P. Henson). At this point in the film I was a little worried the story was going to be a little too focused on the concept of money being the most important thing when getting what you want or need. Thankfully, that is a small plot point that doesn’t consume the screenplay more than necessary. With the assistance of an anticipatory search engine algorithm called KnowsMore (Alan Tudyk), who runs The Searchbar, Ralph and Vanellope find separate ways to reach their goal, but that separation strains their friendship and could potentially destroy it.

The running theme in RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET is that of caring enough about your friends to allow them to follow their dreams, even if it means letting them go from your routine. It’s a great lesson for kids, as when you think about it, many of the kids who fell in love with WRECK-IT RALPH six years ago may potentially be going into high school now, and at some point in life we go separate ways from our friends. It’s one of many ways this RALPH adventure shows a maturity and grows intellectually from its predecessor. But co-directors Phil Johnston and Rich Moore rather smartly still find a way to make this a film that appeals to all ages, just one that has some more adult themes buried within that the parents will identify with and appreciate. Ralph and Vanellope are essentially simple characters, video game personalities that are used to their day-to-day lives and satisfied with them, but mainly because it’s all they know. It stands to reason visiting a wild and exciting world they’ve never seen before would create a temptation to break from the norm. One of the reasons the first film worked so well we due to the chemistry between Ralph and Vanellope, voiced so perfectly by John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman, and that chemistry is back in full force for the sequel. In some ways, this is a stronger and more emotional outing than the first film, and has at least one or two moments that got me pretty choked up, in the best possible way that a Disney animated movie can do.

The supporting voice cast is crazy too, filled with a who’s who of Disney royalty and Sci-Fi greats. One of the best new characters is a Grand Theft Auto-like tough girl racer named “Shank” voiced by WONDER WOMAN star Gal Gadot, who becomes a source of fascination for Vanellope, a gateway to a more interesting and perhaps fulfilling life. Shank is smart, sexy, and sort of feels like what Vanellope could become if she exists long enough in this realm. Taraji P. Henson is a clever and inspired choice as Yesss, a sort of living embodiment of the trending online craze, showing the good and bad sides of it. Jane Lynch is back as Calhoun, Jack McBrayer is back as Fix-It Felix, and Alan Tudyk is back too, only this time as the KnowsMore character, which is another memorable character for the talented actor’s roster. And if you’ve seen the trailers, you’ll know there’s a scene or two involving ALL of the Disney princesses, for which the filmmakers impressively brought together almost all of the surviving voice actresses to play… Kelly Macdonald is back as Merida from BRAVE, Kristen Bell as Anna and Idina Menzel as Elsa from FROZEN, Mandy Moore as Rapunzel from TANGLED, Auli’i Cravalho as Moana from MOANA, Ming-Na Wen as Mulan from MULAN, Anika Noni Rose as Tiana from THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, Jodi Benson as Ariel from THE LITTLE MERMAID, Irene Bedard as Pocahontas from POCAHONTAS, Jennifer Hale as Cinderella from CINDERELLA, Paige O’Hara as Belle from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Linda Larkin as Jasmine from ALADDIN, Kate Higgins as Princess Aurora from SOFIA THE FIRST, and Katherine Von Till as Snow White from SNOW WHITE. Wow! Now granted, it’s more of extended cameo appearances, but still, for Disney to get all those Princesses back together is a huge deal. There’s even some STAR WARS and MARVEL STUDIOS nods that are quite hilarious, including Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. The story takes full advantage of the wide-reaching world of the internet.

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET only suffers from a bit of slow pacing in parts, as while it’s only one hour and 52 minutes, it feels longer at times. There’s a moment about two-thirds through where it feels like things are starting to wrap up, and then a new plot point in introduced and the story just keeps going and going and going… and then finally wraps up, but thankfully the wrap up is nice. Johnston and Moore handled the first WRECK-IT RALPH, as co-writers and Moore as director, and then worked together again on ZOOTOPIA, so it seems they’ve found a groove with creating timely family films with messages that are meaningful without ever feeling forced. RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET is another strong entry for them, and one I found in some ways to be even better than its predecessor, if only because it shows a definite maturity and evolution from where it started. Is it actually a better movie? That’s for the viewer to decide, but it’s definitely a strong sequel regardless. Make sure to stay through the credits for not one but two credit stingers.

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