Movie: Ralph Breaks The Internet (2018)

All the spoilers all the time.  You have been warned!

My Thoughts While Watching:

Son, Daughter and I watched this at the theater.  Earlier in the day we watched the first one so I would be up to speed on the background stories.  While I thought both were solid cartoons with life lessons for the kids who watch them (and some hidden adult humor for the parents who suffer them), I would not envision either being “Oscar” animations.

Something interesting for every Disney movie and theme park is the “Hidden Mickey“.  Because Disney and Mickey Mouse go hand in four-fingered-gloved hand, they like to include the iconic three-globed shadow of Mickey’s head and ears.  I paid extra attention during Ralph and, sure enough, there are a couple.  No, I will not tell you where – that takes away the Disney fun.  Likewise, there were tons of cameo and image appearances made by (what felt like) every Disney character ever (exaggeration, I know, but still felt like it).  Then there are the product placements, corporation logos, social media programs, etc.  To try to find them all and notice them was almost overwhelming.  But all of that is a great marketing ploy.  It is how they get people to watch it for a second time (or buy the DVD, or rent it) to see if they can spot as many product placements or Hidden Mickeys or company names as possible.  (Side note: one of the best examples of re-watch marketing HAS to be Sixth Sense.  At the end you realize that every time the color red was shown it was an indication that something was about to happen and a connection to the dead AND that Bruce Willis was dead throughout.  You have to watch it a second time to catch the swatches of red and try to understand if he ever touched or moved something that would have given away his deadness.)  Slash Film put together a comprehensive (yet not complete) list of some of the cameos and Easter Eggs you might have missed HERE.

I liked both movies, don’t get me wrong.  But…deep inside I cannot help but feel as if I just finished watching a 111 minute cross over commercial.  I would still recommend watching.  To see the oldest of toons like Clarabell The Cow and all of the Princesses in the same feature is pretty amazing. My takeaway life lesson for this particular Disney film is the importance of friendship, how it means different things for different people and it is important to be loyal to those who stood by you through it all – oh yeah, and the importance of clear and truthful communication.

Have you seen it?  What did you think?

Some Interviews and Extra Video:

 

IMDB Synopsis: Six years after the events of “Wreck-It Ralph,” Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them into a new adventure.

Starring:

	John C. Reilly	…	Ralph (voice)
	Sarah Silverman	…	Vanellope (voice)
	Gal Gadot	…	Shank (voice)
	Taraji P. Henson	…	Yesss (voice)
	Jack McBrayer	…	Felix (voice)
	Jane Lynch	…	Calhoun (voice)
	Alan Tudyk	…	KnowsMore (voice)
	Alfred Molina	…	Double Dan (voice)
	Ed O’Neill	…	Mr. Litwak (voice)
	Sean Giambrone	…	The Eboy (voice)

Director:

Phil Johnston
Rich Moore

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My ranking scores –

0-19 Levels of: Ugh

20-39 Levels of: Meh (aka I cannot reach the remote)

40-59 Levels of: I don’t hate it?

60-85 Levels of: That was solid.

86-100 Levels of: I Loved It!

I rank this movie a 65.48!

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Trailer:

Additional Movie Info:

It received a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 89% Fresh.  It received a Rotten Tomato audience rating of 67% liking it.  Average Rating: 3.6/5 with a number of User Ratings: 6,142.

Movie Reviews:

• Roger Ebert
• NY Times

Specs:  Release date: 21 November 2018 (USA) / Runtime: 111 minutes / Budget: $175M

IMDB Trivia:

• Mary Costa is the only (living) original voice actress not to reprise her role as her Disney Princess, Aurora. Due to her age, she could not play a 16-year-old princess.
• When an Internet advertisement tells Ralph “Sassy housewives want to meet you,” the woman on the image is Aunt Cass from Big Hero 6 (2014).
• When Vanellope runs along the corridors eluding the stormtroopers, “Sector A113” is visible on the wall, referring to the infamous Cal Arts classroom A113 where several Pixar animators and producers studied.
• During the princess “pajama party” scene, many of the Disney princesses are wearing tee shirts that reflect their own films. Examples: Tiana’s says “NOLA,” which references her hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. Moana’s has a picture of a large crab that reads “#Shiny,” just like the song sung by Tamatoa in her movie. Anna’s shirt reads “Finish Each Other’s” and a picture of a sandwich, a lyric to a song she sang in ‘Frozen.’
• The second time the shark is seen in Slaughter Race, it opens its mouth to reveal a Louisiana “Sportsman’s Paradise” license plate, which is a reference to the plate pulled from the tiger shark’s digestive system in the movie Jaws.
• Merida and Buzz Lightyear are the first characters from a Pixar Film to make their first full appearance in a film not by Pixar.
• At one point, Ralph arrives at a sort of “dumping ground” for the Internet and encounters “relics” from the web’s past. These include an ad for the web hosting site Geocities, a large ship’s helm representing Netscape Navigator, and a reference to personal chat rooms which flourished before the advent of instant messaging and texting.
• An IMDb logo is prominently displayed when Ralph first falls into the Internet. It can be seen at 45 seconds into the first teaser trailer.
• The calendar on the computer at the beginning of the film is Wednesday 11/21. The film’s release day.
• The producers were able to get permission from Lucasfilm to cameo some of the characters from the Star Wars films and to include some jokes in it. However, one character they were unable to do so was Kylo Ren. The script originally had a joke where Vanellope calls Kylo a spoiled child. Upon showing the idea, they requested directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston not show that for it sounded disrespectful for the character who is the principal villain in the current Star Wars trilogy.
• The end credits go on for nearly 17 minutes.
• WILHELM SCREAM: Heard during the stormtrooper chase sequence, naturally.
• When a pigeon lands on Vanellope’s finger, it is missing a leg and looks exactly like a pigeon in the Disney movie Enchanted that helps Giselle clean.
• Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 57th Film.
• Knowsmore asks if Ralph wants to search for (among other things) “Urkel, as played by Jaleel White.” Though TV’s Steve Urkel remains White’s most famous role, he was also the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in animated shows during the 90’s. Sonic appears in this film, though he is not voiced by White.
• There is a post credits scene which teases a sneak peek at the hotly anticipated ‘Frozen 2.’ Instead, we see Ralph recreating the video for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” In other words, the movie ends with Ralph “Rick-Rolling” the audience.
• During the Disney Princesses room scene, Merida can be heard speaking in a heavy Scottish accent after which the other princesses tell Vanellope that no one can understand what she says because she comes from another studio. Brave (2012), the movie Merida stars in, is from Pixar Animation Studios, and that movie had a similar joke where one character had such a thick Scottish accent that none of the other characters could understand him.
• There is a scene where Vanellope is singing. The scene includes her dancing and singing among the characters of the game she longs to join. One shot takes place in the middle of the street on an intersection where on the bottom left corner of the screen, we see a man dressed in white turn the corner on the sidewalk while dancing to the music. His attire, dancing style, and setting the scene took place could be a possible reference to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” video, where Michael is seen walking on a similar looking sidewalk in a sketchy and beaten down area of town.
• At one point Ralph gets angry and breaks a sign in the Internet resulting in crushing an avatar. When they break to the user that avatar represents, we can see that it’s Colleen Ballinger, also known as famous YouTuber Miranda Sings.