Wreck It Ralph Duology Review

Well, new year, a new set of movies, shows, and whatnot I can dig myself into if I so choose. But also more stuff that I tend to miss out on for a variety of reasons. One of them was Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph from 2012 (I’m awfully surprised that it took me 7 years to finally give notice to this movie). And given that the recent sequel was out for awhile in theaters, and soon to be released on DVD and Blu-Ray, I decided to give the Wreck-It Ralph Duology a shot.

Now I am certain from my own perspective that there are other people who have not seen Wreck-It Ralph. So I’ll break it down to you: it’s set in a world where video game characters have a life of their own beyond their programming. So when the a local arcade’s closed, the characters spring to life during after-hours and live out and socilaize like pretty much any other normal human being.

We are introduced to our main protagonist, Ralph, the villain of the fictional video game “Fix It Felix Jr.”, as he is tired of playing the villain and being treated as one beyond the game by its local populace. In an attempt to get on their good graces, Ralph goes beyond his video game world to seek out a medal as proof that he’s one of the good guys. This results in an unintended consequence of Ralph’s game being shut down, thus the danger of erasing that game’s world and its population, prompting Ralph’s rival Fix It Felix Jr. to look for Ralph and bring him home.

Ralph’s journey has him end up in another game called Sugar Rush, where he meets the movie’s secondary protagonist, a little girl named Vanellope von Schweetz. Together the two concoct a plan to help Vanellope win the race on Sugar Rush and present Ralph with the medal he needs. But Sugar Rush’s King Candy plots to ensure Vanellope doesn’t even get to finish the raise at all costs.

The main selling point of Wreck-It Ralph is its various references to video games throughout history, and is quite the nostalgia trip for someone like myself who has played games like Sonic The Hedgehog or Street Fighter II back in the day. It does gradually transition to the plot, and despite that there’s a lot going on, it’s still easy enough for younger viewers to grasp into. I in particular love the chemistry between Ralph and Vanellope, which is enhanced further by their respective voice actors, John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman.

In 2018, Disney released Ralph Breaks The Internet, the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph. As the name suggests, the sequel goes beyond the video game references and into the internet and social media. In this movie, Ralph causes a freak accident in Sugar Rush that resulted in the game’s steering wheel in the real world to end up broken. The game is thus shut down and its population forced to seek refuge in other video game worlds. Ralph and Vanellope learn that the only remaining Steering Wheel replacement is found on eBay. So the two journey to the World Wide Web to find the steering wheel, deliver it to the arcade, and put Sugar Rush back in order. Of course being two video game characters who don’t know a thing about the real world, let alone the internet, hilarious shenanigans are about to come their way – and my god there’s a ton of it.

Ralph Breaks The Internet is essentially its own version of Shrek 2. The latter gained fame in that its comedy is from the numerous pulp culture references you find throughout that film. In Ralph Breaks The Internet, the references are through internet culture. And given that the majority of the human population has experienced the internet at one point, you can easily spot the reference and have quite a laugh at it. This is added further later in the film when Vanellope encounters the Disney Princesses (all reprised by their respective voice actors) and poke fun at the tropes those films have. I’m also surprised the film delves into a bit of dark comedy in the mid-credits scene.

If there is one thing I do have an issue with the sequel is that it lacks an actual antagonist. Instead, the conflict this time is the characterizations of Ralph and Vanellope, which has an impact on their relationship that gradually results in the name of the title. Ralph does have a knack for causing a lot of trouble even with his good intentions, which makes him his own worst enemy. That said, the focus on character development for Ralph and Vanellope is executed very well, and the emotional resolve between the two near the end of the film is quite heart-warming, and also a coming-of-age progress so to speak for the two characters.

If I were to choose, I’d pick the 2nd film as it’s the funnier of the two. I just wished it had more references for me to look at. Regardless, these films are worth watching even if you’re not a fan of gaming or the internet. It’ll be another 6 or so years before we see a third film, but I don’t mind at all. The Wreck-It Ralph films are pretty fun and I can’t help but ask myself why I missed out on these films for so long. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give both films a 4 out of 5.