Life seems to be pretty simple for Ralph and Vanellope. They work in their games during the day and hang out all night – grabbing root beer at Tappers and playing in the other games in Litwak's (Ed O'Neill; Modern Family) Arcade. When Vanellope expresses her boredom Ralph tries to help her out of her rut by creating a new track in her game but when things go awry the steering wheel gets broken and Sugar Rush is shut down. Suddenly Ralph and Vanellope only have a few days to get a new steering wheel before Litwak sells her game for scraps.
In an effort to save Vanellope and her game, she and Ralph venture out into new territory – the internet. There they find one wheel – on eBay. Unfamiliar with how eBay works they end up bidding $27,001 for the replacement part only to discover that they have 24 hours to come up with the money to buy it. At first they find a shady guy who tells them if they can steal Shank's (Gal Gadot; Wonder Woman) car from Slaughter Race they will have enough to pay for the wheel but when that fails they get hooked up with Yesss (Taraji P. Henson; Hidden Figures) who created viral videos for Ralph to raise the money. Meanwhile, Vanellope loves Slaughter race but doesn't have the heart to tell Ralph she wants to stay.
Reilly and Silverman are terrific together which is what makes this film (and its predecessor) work so well. Their vocal talents really make these two come alive for fans and it's great that they chose to reprise their roles. The additions of Gadot and Henson add another layer to the story and they are perfectly cast as the bass ass and the wheeler/dealer respectively. Alan Tudyk (Firefly) offers a fantastic cameo (but I expect no less from him) and it is a real treat that the original voices of the Disney princess agreed to reprise their characters for this film – and have some of the best scenes in the movie! There is also a bittersweet animated cameo of the late Stan Lee.
The animators really outdid themselves with this sequel. The colors are incredible and the attention to detail is amazing. They created so many truly memorable characters like Mr. KnowsMore (Tudyk) and Shank that the audience can't help but be taken with them. The story is also well done and engage if just a tad too long. The messages of endearing friendship and embracing change hit home although they do so in a melancholy way that brought a tear to my eye.
As sequels go this one hits the mark. It is enjoyable and entertaining and offers TONS of Easter eggs for the audience to dissect. The Disney team did a wonderful job visualizing what the internet might look like from the inside and gives visuals that are exciting and funny. This a certainly a film that the whole family can go to see and find something they can each relate to. With a heartwarming story and humorous moments peppered throughout, Ralph Breaks the Internet swings and hits a home run.
Grade: A-
