I liked Wreck-It Ralph so much that I was almost disappointed to learn of a sequel -- because it might negate my fanfic in the works! Nevertheless, I understood why not everyone thought highly of W-IR. The complaints I've read mostly trace to the same problem: the difficulty of making a family movie about video games. Disney sought to appeal to children, adults, boys, girls, old-school gamers, new-school gamers, and non-gamers. This meant dilution, so some viewers wanted more pandering to their demographic than they got. Thus, I was not surprised that the sequel chose a new titular focus that promised to be more universally relatable, and I was only marginally surprised that both my parents came with me.
Six years after the events of W-IR, Ralph (John C. Reilly), hulking designated villain of early-'80s game Fix-It Felix Jr.; and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), a player character from relatively modern kiddie racing sim Sugar Rush, maintain a sibling-like close friendship, hanging out together when the arcade's closed for the night. (Apparently, her inability to leave her game has been fixed, even if she still glitches.) When Sugar Rush has a hardware malfunction, all its characters must look for new lodgings and vocations. Ralph and Vanellope hope to save the game (NPI) from a permanent shutdown by entering the Internet and buying a replacement part on eBay. Of course, they need to raise money online fast, whether by gaming or making viral videos. Amid this strain, friendship also gets strained. And as the title implies, Ralph's tendency to wreck things whether he wants to or not still causes trouble.
Vanellope seems to deserve equal billing this time. I think she has about the same amount of screen time as Ralph, and it's just as much her story, even if she's not in the web videos. The overarching theme pertains to Vanellope wanting to get out of her rut, possibly taking up residence online instead. Since it took Ralph a long time to find the happiness he has now, he doesn't relate to her desire and comes to resent it. Viewers young and old can relate to the sad fact of friends diverging.
Wondering about Felix (Jack McBrayer) and Calhoun (Jane Lynch), the secondary heroes of W-IR? I'm afraid they have almost no part in the present plot, so they appear only toward the beginning and after the resolution. Calhoun acts a lot less bitter now, which figures, but I feel like she has less personality on display.
Getting far more attention than those two are numerous humanoid newcomers, among them Yesss (Taraji P. Henson), an algorithm who's all about the latest online trends; J.P. Spamley (Bill Hader), a seedy clickbait guy who promises money for collected in-game items; Shank (Gal Gadot), a smooth villain in rough online game Slaughter Race, the only new fictitious game of note; and KnowsMore (Alan Tudyk again), a nerdy search engine who keeps trying to finish others' sentences. Oddly enough, they all offer to help the heroes at no charge. The closest we get to overall antagonists are Double Dan (Alfred Molina), a worm; and Arthur (John DiMaggio), his pet virus.
And then there are all the cameos. In addition to characters from actual games (seemingly all of whom appeared in W-IR), we get plenty of real website brands beyond eBay, suggesting that a home viewing with a finger on the pause button may be in order. Disney could not help plugging its own preexisting properties big time by sending Vanellope to OhMyDisney.com, for reasons that make a little sense in context. You may have seen a trailer that highlights the princess lineup in particular, poking gentle fun at itself. The princesses get a few minutes all told, but they have a noticeable impact on our enjoyment. Vanellope even has what may be the funniest Disney musical sequence ever.
Yeah, quite a few moments got us laughing, including the post-credits sequence. Still, I'd best warn you that the humor is probably hit and miss for any given individual. Those viral videos may or may not fly on the real Internet, but to my eye, they're just eye-rolling half the time. Ralph comes across as a major ignoramus, not having Vanellope's excuse of youth, tho I realize there was only so much he could experience within the arcade. Overall, it's no more lowbrow than W-IR.
In several ways, RBtI reminds me less of the Toy Story series and more of Inside Out. It creates a vast realm of visual metaphors and personifications for things that aren't especially tangible, sometimes with questionable premises if not holes. The humans on the outside are unknowingly affected but not utterly baffled, fitting events into their understanding of the world. There is no true villain. And the lesson is pretty bittersweet for a family film.
Dismiss these flicks as crass commercialism if you will, but they deliver on their promise. Kinda like some clickbait.
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