AN EXAMPLE OF THE PERFECT SEQUEL
It's becoming pointless waiting for Disney to slip up. They just can't seem to do any wrong.
After the critical and commercial success which was Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Disney was bound to make a follow-up. Although it took six years to get made, I'm glad it took that long - because boy oh boy, did this movie deliver the goods.
I thoroughly enjoyed Wreck-It Ralph. I thought it was very original with its smart concept as well as shamelessly nostalgic in the best way possible with its plethora of nods to classic games of a golden generation.
Paired with some wonderful heart that only a Disney animated feature can deliver, and you get a very memorable movie experience.
While the first movie tackled the retro video game world and its share of easter eggs and references, Ralph Breaks the Internet now tackles the even bigger world which is the world wide web. That's no easy task.
Much like the first movie, they found ingenious ways to symbolise human traits and actions through the subject matter at hand - with the first movie dealing with the video game world, while the sequel took it a level higher with the absolutely massive world of the Internet.
The movie could have very easily derailed from that point on - as many sequels do when they get too distracted by the whole concept of having a need to make sequels "bigger".
Many times, "bigger" doesn't mean "better" when it comes to the hundreds of sequels we've seen over the past couple of decades.
Take the Die Hard and Rocky sequels for example. Those movies got so carried away with making their scales larger with the stakes getting higher and higher that they completely forgot about the quality of the movie they were making.
With Ralph Breaks the Internet, it seems like they've nailed the sequel formula to a T.
Never do they get carried away with the larger scale of things, with the central focus of the movie never straying away from Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman).
It was nice to see returning cast members like Fix-It Felix Jr. (Jack McBrayer), and his wife, Sergeant Tamora (Jane Lynch) return to reprise their roles, and the new cast members were a lovely addition too, with the talents of Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson and Bill Hader among others lending their voices for the characters of Shank, Yesss and J.P. Spamley respectively.
Perhaps the standout among that bunch is the character of Shank, a badass female racer in the Internet game Slaughter Race, played brilliantly with charisma to spare by the amazing Gal Gadot.
She even has a fun little musical number together with Vanellope which makes for a good laugh.
I can't move on from the cast without talking about the much-anticipated appearance of many classic and modern Disney princesses in the movie, and their inclusion was nothing short of genius from the filmmakers.
Whenever they appeared on screen, they immediately lift the mood and it makes it even cooler to have that moment where you actually recognise the voices behind the princesses because most of the original voice actors returned to reprise their roles in this movie.
On the topic of Disney properties, this movie really was Disney shamelessly flexing their muscles with the many acquisitions and properties they now own such as Marvel Studios and Star Wars, just to name a couple.
Things could very easily have gotten out of hand with the display of properties but thankfully, they managed to filter it and these properties are featured to a degree where moviegoers can enjoy and laugh at certain characters' cameos without reaching a level where it appears as though they were blowing their own trumpet.
Like the first movie, this one is directed very well by Rich Moore (who's joined by writer Phil Johnston as co-director) and with a very clear narrative, paced excellently. The animation is also top-notch, as you'd come to expect from a Disney animated production.
On to the negatives, of which there were a couple.
For one, the plot is extremely predictable, especially in the final third.
I also felt that within that final third, the movie could have taken two very different directions in terms of the story and the outcome of certain characters. I felt as though they decided to take the easier route of the two with the manner in which the movie wrapped up, which I was slightly disappointed by.
Should they had gone with the more complicated finale, it would've upped the stakes and made for a more climactic ending.
All in all, Ralph Breaks the Internet was a 112-minute lesson on how to craft the perfect sequel.
It managed to achieve the very difficult task of balancing a larger scale with a solid story and more than enough substance to make it even more enjoyable than the first movie.
It does meander off in the final act, but by that point, the movie has already told its story and charmed you enough with some truly brilliant scenes to make you forgive the slightly weak conclusion.
It's rare for a sequel to be better than the original movie. Off the top of my head, I can only think of three - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Spider-Man 2 (2004), and The Dark Knight (2008).
Sorry fans of The Godfather Part II (1974), I personally prefer the original - unlike most of the world.
For Ralph Breaks the Internet to join among those ranks is truly high praise.
8.5/10.
After the critical and commercial success which was Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Disney was bound to make a follow-up. Although it took six years to get made, I'm glad it took that long - because boy oh boy, did this movie deliver the goods.
I thoroughly enjoyed Wreck-It Ralph. I thought it was very original with its smart concept as well as shamelessly nostalgic in the best way possible with its plethora of nods to classic games of a golden generation.
Paired with some wonderful heart that only a Disney animated feature can deliver, and you get a very memorable movie experience.
While the first movie tackled the retro video game world and its share of easter eggs and references, Ralph Breaks the Internet now tackles the even bigger world which is the world wide web. That's no easy task.
Much like the first movie, they found ingenious ways to symbolise human traits and actions through the subject matter at hand - with the first movie dealing with the video game world, while the sequel took it a level higher with the absolutely massive world of the Internet.
The movie could have very easily derailed from that point on - as many sequels do when they get too distracted by the whole concept of having a need to make sequels "bigger".
Many times, "bigger" doesn't mean "better" when it comes to the hundreds of sequels we've seen over the past couple of decades.
Take the Die Hard and Rocky sequels for example. Those movies got so carried away with making their scales larger with the stakes getting higher and higher that they completely forgot about the quality of the movie they were making.
With Ralph Breaks the Internet, it seems like they've nailed the sequel formula to a T.
Never do they get carried away with the larger scale of things, with the central focus of the movie never straying away from Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman).
It was nice to see returning cast members like Fix-It Felix Jr. (Jack McBrayer), and his wife, Sergeant Tamora (Jane Lynch) return to reprise their roles, and the new cast members were a lovely addition too, with the talents of Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson and Bill Hader among others lending their voices for the characters of Shank, Yesss and J.P. Spamley respectively.
Perhaps the standout among that bunch is the character of Shank, a badass female racer in the Internet game Slaughter Race, played brilliantly with charisma to spare by the amazing Gal Gadot.
She even has a fun little musical number together with Vanellope which makes for a good laugh.
I can't move on from the cast without talking about the much-anticipated appearance of many classic and modern Disney princesses in the movie, and their inclusion was nothing short of genius from the filmmakers.
Whenever they appeared on screen, they immediately lift the mood and it makes it even cooler to have that moment where you actually recognise the voices behind the princesses because most of the original voice actors returned to reprise their roles in this movie.
On the topic of Disney properties, this movie really was Disney shamelessly flexing their muscles with the many acquisitions and properties they now own such as Marvel Studios and Star Wars, just to name a couple.
Things could very easily have gotten out of hand with the display of properties but thankfully, they managed to filter it and these properties are featured to a degree where moviegoers can enjoy and laugh at certain characters' cameos without reaching a level where it appears as though they were blowing their own trumpet.
Like the first movie, this one is directed very well by Rich Moore (who's joined by writer Phil Johnston as co-director) and with a very clear narrative, paced excellently. The animation is also top-notch, as you'd come to expect from a Disney animated production.
On to the negatives, of which there were a couple.
For one, the plot is extremely predictable, especially in the final third.
I also felt that within that final third, the movie could have taken two very different directions in terms of the story and the outcome of certain characters. I felt as though they decided to take the easier route of the two with the manner in which the movie wrapped up, which I was slightly disappointed by.
Should they had gone with the more complicated finale, it would've upped the stakes and made for a more climactic ending.
All in all, Ralph Breaks the Internet was a 112-minute lesson on how to craft the perfect sequel.
It managed to achieve the very difficult task of balancing a larger scale with a solid story and more than enough substance to make it even more enjoyable than the first movie.
It does meander off in the final act, but by that point, the movie has already told its story and charmed you enough with some truly brilliant scenes to make you forgive the slightly weak conclusion.
It's rare for a sequel to be better than the original movie. Off the top of my head, I can only think of three - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Spider-Man 2 (2004), and The Dark Knight (2008).
Sorry fans of The Godfather Part II (1974), I personally prefer the original - unlike most of the world.
For Ralph Breaks the Internet to join among those ranks is truly high praise.
8.5/10.
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