Ralph Breaks The Internet

Maybe I was in an overly cynical mood, but I found Ralph Breaks The Internet to very annoying, to the point of detestable. The fifth of the nominees for Best Animated Feature at the last Academy Awards, the movie is visually stunning but it is a lollapalooza of product placement and incestuous character use that made me seethe.

A sequel to 2012's Wreck-It Ralph, the new film returns to the arcade (I wrote in 2012 that I doubt there are any more video arcades, I'm even more sure they don't exist in 2018). Ralph and Vanelope (John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman) are fast friends, and enjoy their time together when the arcade is closed. But they have a fundamental difference in philosophy: Ralph likes doing the same thing every day, while Val likes the unpredictable.

One day the arcade owner installs Wi-Fi, which intrigues the characters. When the steering wheel on Val's game breaks, and the only replacement is available on eBay, the two go off into the Internet to try to buy it.

This is where the cynicism sets in. Several Web sites are given prominent product placement. In addition to eBay, we get Amazon, Google, Facebook, and several more. Instead of YouTube we get BuzzzTube (maybe YouTube didn't play ball?) and since this is a Disney film, all of their tentacles are represented, from the Princess line to Marvel. Even Ee-Yore makes an appearance.

The directors, Rich Moore and Phil Johnston, give the Internet a fantastic look. There are extended sequences in a Grand Theft Auto-type game, which also look great. But the simple message that friends should allow friends to follow their own dreams is buried in corporate reach-arounds. I got the impression that this film was made with several memos making sure all these companies were treated respectfully.

The plot also careens out of control. Initially, Ralph and Val must make enough money to buy the steering wheel, but that gets taken care of in fairly short order. The real plot becomes a virus that preys on insecurity, and escapes into the Internet at large. This is all very clever, but couldn't make up for the pro-business message.

Of the five films that were nominated, I'd go with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as the proper winner. Poor Ralph comes in fifth place.