#also Spamley. if only he existed in a better movie

[king-crawler]

The only good line in ralph breaks the internet

[moomingitz]

What did you think of Wreck-It Ralph 2?

Now that I finally got to watch it(matinee when everyone was still at school and work, so I had the theater nearly all to myself), I can finally answer you.

Spoilers ahead! Don’t keep reading if you haven’t watched it yet, and don’t want to be spoiled!

I, for most of the part, enjoyed the film.

I liked how all of the aspects of the internet and it’s websites were personified in an actually very relatable and realistic way, and it actually tied into the film’s story well, instead of it being very cynical and blatant like in the Emoji Movie. If you’re someone who keeps comparing it to the Emoji Movie, or think it’s going to be on the same level as it, well don’t worry, because Ralph Breaks the Internet is a way better film. I was amused by seeing all of the websites for seedy hotels/motels outside of the Disney website.(Anyone who’s even went down to Florida around outside of Disney World will know exactly what I’m talking about.) I got a kick out of seeing a beat up sign for “Geocities” in the internet wasteland Ralph landed in. There’s really only two particular nitpicks I have for how they portrayed a certain part of the internet, but that’s for another post.

I like the new internet characters in the film, including the ones for the “Slaughter Race” game. When it comes to the internet specific characters, my favorites were J.P. Spamley and KnowsMore.

However, there are two big gripes I have with the film’s story, and it’s not only what I think kept this movie from being just as good as the first film, but almost completely soured the entire film for me:

I didn’t really like how the whole conflict between Ralph and Vanellope was handled. Unlike people who try make it about how evil and controlling the horrible menz are, I didn’t like how one sided it was. Yes, Ralph was being petty and childish over not wanting Vanellope to leave Sugar Rush and join Slaughter Race on the internet. But, as far as I see it, Vanellope was also not only being very impulsive with her decision to leave, but I would go as far to say she was even being kind of selfish about it. And when I say that, I don’t mean it’s because Ralph wouldn’t be able to see her all the time like before, but her leaving could have easily have made things worse for the state of Sugar Rush, even after it got it’s new steering wheel.(She was apparently the most popular character in the game after the events of the first movie, after all.)

Vanellope’s whole, “I’m bored because nothing ever changes here, and I want to follow my dreams.”, reasoning for wanting to leave and stay in Slaughter Race only comes off as more weak when, as far I’ve seen from the movie altogether, she never really made an effort to try and make things work throughout the whole film. It especially seems like all the more of an excuse when you take into consideration that what set the story in motion the first place was the result of a gesture of kindness Ralph tried to make for her by making a new track in her game. So it’s not like Ralph never took her wants or needs into consideration to begin with. Vanellope could have tried to make things work without having to leave Sugar Rush, even after that whole big virus clusterfuck happened, by having new tracks added to her game at night(so future players wouldn’t suddenly be caught off by surprise and break yet another steering wheel), go visit Slaughter Race at night when the arcade was closed so she wouldn’t be stuck doing the same things in the arcade at night, or even help make some kind of Slaughter Race/Sugar Rush crossover happen or something to help spice things up. It’s not like Slaughter Race ever officially turns off or doesn’t have someone playing it once nights comes. Instead she just basically went, “This place is more cool and fun than my old home! I’m just gonna move here right at the drop of a hat, now.”, and then also not even being outright honest to Ralph and straight up tell it to him to his face, even though he may not want to hear, but instead do so behind his back while he’s putting himself through cringey clickbait videos to correct his mistake of getting her game unplugged.

And you know what? I would have been fine with Ralph and Vanellope both being selfish in their own ways and putting their own needs over others, not taking full consideration how the other side feels and vice-versa, and how just because they’re best friends doesn’t mean they need to agree on everything and have the same goals in life. However, I did not like how it was Ralph and only him who was unquestionably in the wrong throughout the entire film, and not once was Vanellope ever held accountable or even challenged in any real meaningful way in the film in the slightest. She’s bored and wants something new, oh no! Doesn’t mean you should just up and permanently leave your game/home just because of that, without weighing in other and less drastic options first. Just because you like the place you’re vacationing to, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to just up and move to that place immediately after your vacation to it is over. Anyone with enough life experience will tell you that it’s not a good idea to just suddenly up and move to a place you’ve only visited once, and do so just because that first and brief visit gave you a good first impression. Visiting a place and living at ‘said place are not the same experiences. What happens if Vanellope eventually gets bored of Slaughter Race just like she did with Sugar Rush, or it turns out that the game isn’t that great of a place to permanently stay in as she thought it would be at first glance? Is she gonna move to yet another racing game, then? The whole thing just seems like a temporary solution, if anything.

It feels like Ralph and Vanellope regressed more as characters if anything in this sequel. Like the development they got in the first movie was mostly just forgotten or it didn’t happen, and when the whole drama between them started to get into full gear, I was thinking to myself, “Really!? Are we seriously going through this, again?” This movie makes the mistakes allot of sequels do, which is going back to square one. It just felt out of character for both of them, and it made both of their inner conflicts and needs seem very insignificant and childish as a whole. How the whole conflict between Ralph and Vanellope was executed, how one-sided it was, and their reasons for it even happening in the first place, left a bad taste in my mouth and it nearly ruined the whole film for me. It’s like when you’re eating something that tastes really good, and enjoying it and you’re having a good time… but then you suddenly you feel the crunch of something really gritty in it, and it almost ruins your appetite for the rest of meal.

My second big gripe, but not as big as the one I just went on and on about up above, is how they sorely underutilized the other already established characters from the first movie. I figured Felix and Calhoun weren’t gonna be the main characters in this sequel, but I was at least hoping they were going to have as much of a part they had in the first film. Even having them join Ralph and Vanellope on the internet, and having their own B plot together, would have been better than having them just completely disappear until the ending of the movie like they never even existed. What was seriously even the point of having them adopt the other Sugar Rush racers if we don’t even see it play out during the course of the film?(Though I like to imagine that Calhoun basically smacked them all upside the head the second the scene with their new “children” being little shits to them cut away.) Like I’ve seen other people suggest, they should have just made that whole thing a short before the movie or something. Hell, after this movie I would really like to see them make shorts, or even a series, based in the Wreck-It Ralph universe, taking place after this sequel, to hopefully rectify the underutilization of the characters outside of Ralph and Vanellope.

I came in expecting and knowing it to be a mainly Ralph and Vanellope focused movie, so that helped me not be majorly disappointed when I finely got to watch it earlier today. For what it was, the movie was mostly entertaining, and if anything I actually enjoyed the more commercialized aspects of the film. I just think this could have been a better sequel as it should be, and I feel like they wasted a perfectly good opportunity to expand on the other side characters, and on the video gaming world and what’s left of arcades in the US. And again, how that whole conflict between the main characters was done rubbed me the wrong way. If you come into this film knowing what to expect, and for what it is, you’ll most likely enjoy it for most of the part. But if you come in wanting to see Felix, Calhoun, and the other characters from the arcade again, and do more with them this time around, well, expect to be disappointed.