This month on Dispodopolis we discuss the movie “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” We go in depth discussing the many parts and characters of the movie. Fiona and I have very different views of the movie as our perspectives are tainted by our references and experiences. She loved it before it began and I hoped for the best.
Fiona and I were able to view the movie on Thanksgiving at the AMC theater in Disney Springs. We had actually never been to this movie theater. Though we have spent a lot of time in Walt Disney World, we hadn’t been to Disney Springs in 10 years. A lot has changed in those 10 years. All of what we saw was definitely for the better. Now it is a much more immersive cohesive environment.
“Ralph Breaks the Internet” was an interesting direction to go for Ralph and Vanellope’s second journey together. They start at the arcade where we left them 6 years ago. We get a quick over view of the last few years and how their lives have been caring-on. They have fallen into their routine, but Vanellope has grown tired of their everyday experiences. This leaves Ralph trying to fix his friend’s problem and in doing so sets them off on a wild adventure through the internet and wifi.
I thought the movie started off strong and was throughly intrigued by the world that was created for the internet. The physical creation of buildings for the internet were beautiful and haunting. The height of the building was based on the size of the company. The Google and Twitter buildings towered over the smaller lesser known urls. Peoples’ identities were represented as block head people roaming around the sidewalks connecting the buildings. Vanellope and Ralph quickly learned how to move around this environment but were slow to understand the fundamentals of this land.
This lead to the movie turning into an overview of the environment, which I titled Internet 101. We learned about searching on the internet, scamming, and biding on eBay. There were lessons in gaming and what lengths people would go to obtain imaginary items in these games. One of lessons was how a video platform company like, “BuzzzTube” works and how you get paid for likes. This included a quick PG-rated view of how people are unkind in the comments sections of social media websites. The final lesson was in viruses and how destructive they can be on a server and on relationships. The viruses lead to a reimagined ending scene that borrowed from the first film.
Vanellope and Ralph’s friendship is able to with stand the wrong decisions that were made in the movie, but their friendship will never be the same. Ralph is left, I felt, where we started in the beginning of the first film. This is why I was left not too thrilled about this movie, but Fiona saw past all the weak points of the movie and loved it.
One of Fiona’s favorite things about “Ralph Breaks the Internet” is its inclusion of a new game. As a gamer she loved the admittance and creation of “Slaughter Race.” It is a game that borrows a lot from the very adult game, “Grand Theft Auto.” I had a problem with the tone in this part of the movie. Especially since I am dealing with trying to censor certain experiences until my younger child is older. Even Fiona would have a problem with “Grand Theft Auto.” “Slaughter Race,” is definitely a PG-rated version of the game.
After our conversation about “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” we have a quick discussion about our day at Walt Disney World on Thanksgiving. We discuss our room transfer from Wilderness Lodge to the Polynesian. We were so grateful for our last minute reservation we were able to make, due to someone’s cancelation at the Polynesian. Before we made the Polynesian reservation, we had made reservations for the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian. This was a wonderful experience and a great Thanksgiving feast. We didn’t realize there would be an option on the menu for a Thanksgiving meal, but we were pleasantly surprised with the option, price, and the meal.
Before we jump into our discussion of “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” we ask ourselves the question “What real world job would we give a Disney character?” Some of us choose our favorite character and some of us dive deep to fit our character into the real world. This was inspired by the moment in the movie where Vanellope visits “Oh My Disney” and the Disney characters have jobs at the site.
We would love to hear from you and your family. If you have any comments, questions or fun and fancy free thoughts for us, email us at comments@dispodopolis.com. Please enjoy our latest podcast, Dispodopolis.