Ralph Breaks the Internet Blu-ray Review - Fun Extras Equal Adventure

By: Lynn Barker

Ralph Breaks the Internet continues the adventures of Wreck-It Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and bestie “Sugar Rush” racer Vanellope (voice of Sarah Silverman) six years later. Arcade game play has taken a dive and Vanellope is getting bored racing the same old tracks. One of the broken games will be unplugged and sold for spare parts and arcade owner Mr. Litwak has installed Wi-Fi. Learning that a replacement part can be gotten from something called eBay, clueless Vanellope and Ralph enter the net. Can they return to the arcade and how will their quest change them?

The internet world is huge and confusingCourtesy of Disney

Ralph Breaks the Internet Trailer

Six Years Later…

At the Litwak Arcade, BFFs Vanellope and Ralph just hang out and play other games. The “Tron” one is fun but it’s broken. Vanellope is tired of racing in “Sugar Rush” and wonders if there is more to life. Ralph is happy with things as they are. He creates a new track for Vanellope in her game but it confuses a player who breaks off the game’s steering wheel! The game is unplugged and Vanellope and the racers are homeless. The gang is adopted by Fix-It Felix Jr. (Jack McBrayer) and wife Tammy (Sgt. Calhoun Jane Lynch) who have no idea how to care for fifteen new kids.

Fix-It Felix Jr. and Sgt. CalhounCourtesy of Disney

Internet Bound

Learning that a new wheel for “Sugar Rush” can be found on the internet at something called eBay, Ralph convinces Vanellope that they have to go get it! They pass via Wi-Fi into the net; a whole new world with buildings marked Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc. Visitors in the outside world have little avatars here. It’s so overwhelming for Vanellope that she keeps shorting out, “glitching”. Search engine Mr. Knowsmore (Alan Tudyk) guides the duo to eBay where they find the wheel being sold, bid for it and win but have no money or credit cards! They are given 24 hours to pay or lose the wheel!

Vanellope asks Mr. Knowsmore directionsCourtesy of Disney

Get Rich Quick!

Pop-ups are everywhere advertising stupid ways to get rich quick.

A Pop-Up advertises a get rich quick schemeCourtesy of Disney

Most pay nothing but one buyer wants a car from the popular game “Slaughter Race”. If they can get the car for the buyer, money troubles are over! Vanellope and Ralph go into the race and Vanellope tries but fails to steal the car from the sexy and excellent driver Shank (voice of Gal Godot) who is impressed with Vanellope’s driving skills. Feeling sorry for these two friends, Shank tells them they can get money quickly on something called BuzzTube. Make funny or interesting videos, get tons of hits and “likes” and get money. BuzzTube boss Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) tells Ralph to make a video. He does but only gets $43.00. When word gets out that he is the Wreck-It Ralph from the 1980’s game, he gets tons of likes, makes more videos and Vanellope goes out as a Pop Up to gain more hits.

BuzzTube boss Yesss tells Ralph to make a videoCourtesy of Disney

Princesses

Vanellope meets just about all the animated Disney princesses on a family-friendly site as well as C-3PO, nasty Stormtroopers, Marvel characters and more! The princesses and Vanellope have a friendly sleepover. Meanwhile, Ralph reads negative comments about him and is really hurt but he now has enough likes to get the money for the wheel! He gets it and tells Vanellope they can go home now but she has been accepted by Shank and her racers and loves this fast-paced new game. She doesn’t want to go home!

Vanellope with the Disney princessesCourtesy of Disney

A New Home?

Vanellope is have a great time as part of “Slaughter Race”. Ralph is devastated and his massive insecurities make him try to sabotage the racing game to get Vanellope to return home with him. Will he be successful? Will the besties split up as friends? Will anyone survive when Ralph’s sabotaging efforts start to “break” the internet?

Maybe hot racer Shank and her crew can helpCourtesy of Disney

Bonus Extras

• Surfing for Easter Eggs – gives you inside jokes and hidden references to past Disney movies. Among them: Zootopia, Frozen, Big Hero Six, Star Wars etc.  Some are pretty subtle. Fun but if you had rather find these things yourself, don’t watch.
• The Music of Ralph Breaks the Internet –This extra completely examines the film’s score as a combo of classic and modern. Producers and composers discuss the musical style of the internet, songs for Vanellope sung by Sarah Silverman, recording with [kwlink 30647]Gal Gadot[/kwlink], Imagine Dragons etc. Fun!
• BuzzTube Cats is an adorable collection of very short animated videos created by animators for early research into the internet world. All are fun. My cat really does all this stuff! Love it.
• How We Broke the Internet is the big “making of” featurette. The multi-parter covers filmmakers on coming up with the internet story, developing the character relationships, creating new characters and creating the “look” inside the net, the car races, including Disney princesses etc.  Super interesting and detailed. Very informative and worth a watch!
• Deleted Scenes – 5 of them, are introduced by the two directors and are in storyboard or completed forms. All are fun to watch.

One of the deleted scene storyboards

• Music Videos – You get the silly/fun Imagine Dragons version of “Zero” and the Julia Michaels song “In This Place”. Both fun to watch and listen to.

Wrapping Up

Ralph Breaks the Internet explores the good and bad sides of the net as well as examining the workings of a friendship, mutual support of dreams etc. It has a lot of heart, is colorful and very imaginative. This Blu-ray disc also offers some very interesting and fun extras in depth. Great to learn how the whole visual concept of “inside the internet” was thought out and developed. Etc. The film is a little long so we gave it four stars in theaters but this home entertainment offering adds enough delightful extras for us to go five stars.

Ralph and Vanellope are enjoying the strange new worldCourtesy of Disney

Ralph Breaks the internet Blu-ray Rating: 

Courtesy of Disney

But Ralph Breaks the internet starting Tuesday, February 26^th.

Express Yourself!

Do you think the internet has good and bad sides? Do you still play arcade games or are you on PlayStation etc. all the time? Will you collect or gift this home entertainment version of Ralph Breaks the Internet? Comment below or speak up on your Kidzworld profile page!