It’s been 6 years since we last saw Ralph breaking havoc down at Litwak’s Video Arcade. In ‘Wreck-it Ralph’, Ralph was trying to find a sense of belonging and ended up finding out in the wise words of Zangief the “just because you’re a bad guy, does not mean you’re a bad guy”. Ralph found his place in the arcade and made a new friend in Vanellope von Schweetz. In ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet” we catch up with our friends and see what’s new with them.
It seems in the six years since the last movie Ralph and Vanellope have become inseparable. They have a daily routine that involves them playing in other games and ending the night with root beers at Tappers. While Ralph is happy with this situation, Vanellope wants more. Vanellope wants to see what is out there and break from the normal routine. Of course, Ralph sees this as a mission he has to take and ends up wrecking things, as per usual.

Ralph’s “fix” for Vanellope’s doldrums end up in her game being damaged and them traveling to the internet to find the part for her machine. Now, what I am telling you is nothing new. It’s all over the trailer, but what happens in the internet is where the story really begins.

Since we first met Vanellope, we knew she was headstrong and independent and Ralph had some insecurities issues due to his role of being the bad guy when he just wanted to fit in. We get to see how these issues have progressed in the friendship with the two as Ralph feels that he needs to be with Vanellope 24/7. This clinginess becomes a key factor during the climax of the movie and is something that he needs to break out of in order to have a healthy friendship with her. I know that sounds a little intense, but it is a great theme about friendship and also about parenthood.

Ok, how do the two connect? As with all friendships, there is a time where friends must part. Either it is a friend moving away or going to a new school, friendships face this one big moment where it is tested. Here the two friends see how well their friendship will handle this sort of crisis. Will they still be friends or will the friendship end? RBTI shows us how two best friends must come to terms with their friendship fading and what they have to do to remain friends.

How does this relate to parents? Watching the movie, it occurred to me that this was a great analogy of parenting. While we do have a small subplot of Felix and Calhoun becoming surrogate parents for the kids from Sugar Rush the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope can be seen as one of father and daughter. While the dad loves every moment he gets to spend with his daughter, there will come that moment when she will leave the house. Again, be it going away to school or when she gets married. The relationship between the father and daughter will be tested.

This is not only father and daughter, but all parents and their children will have the moment when their child wants more than the world that they are offered from their parents and as parents we want them to stay with us all the time. Seeing the movie from this perspective made me appreciate the movie a lot more and left me teary-eyed at one moment toward the end of the movie.

Is that Darth Maul I see?

Final Thoughts: The movie has a lot of great moments that will require multiple viewing to catch all of the hidden items in the background. The Oh My Disney scene is one that I can not wait to dissect and watch over and over again.

Kid Friendly: The movie stays in tune with the first movie. The themes about friendship, belonging and how the internet can be a good and bad thing are great for all ages. The final protagonist might be a little uneasy to watch but is necessary to show the length of Ralph’s insecurities.

Violence: There is no violence in the movie. The scenes during Slaughter Race might be a little too intense for some younger viewers. The scene in the Dark Web might also be a little too scary for younger viewers.

Fandads Rating: 5 out of 5