— by Keith Hawkes
PARENT PREVIEWS –
Making Media Entertainment An Easier Choice For Families
Ralph Breaks
the Internet
VIOLENCE: (B-) Infrequent mild slapstick violence. One instance of two Internet avatars being
burned with a flamethrowe . A giant monster-resembling protagonist rampages through a city
and causes massive damage. This scene may be too intense for small children.
SEXUAL CONTENT: (A) None.
LANGUAGE: (A) None.
ALCOHOL / DRUG USE: (A) None.
For additional information on this film s content, visit www.parentpreviews.com
PG
OVERALL RATING:
B+
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
Released on DVD:
February 26, 2019
S
ix years after the conclusion of
Wreck-It-Ralph, arcade game
characters Ralph (John C. Reil-
ly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) have
established a routine: they work in their
games all day and hang out and grab a root
beer at “Tapper” (a classic arcade game).
While this suits Ralph just fine, Vanellope
finds herself wishing for a life with a few
more unexpected turns in the road. Even
her racing game has become too predict-
able! But when Ralph tries to help her by
modifying the track, a frustrated player
breaks the arcade cabinet for Vanellope’s
game, and the arcade owner can’t afford to
replace the part. The only place the part is
available is on the Internet, and it looks like
Ralph and Vanellope will be able to sneak
in to the worldwide web… but how will
they find it once they get there? And will
they be able to pay for it?
Now, despite some notable issues,
which I will address later, this cash-grab
of a sequel actually manages to churn out
some positive messages. The theme of the
film is focused around the changing nature
of the protagonists’ friendships as they
move into a larger world. By contrasting
the consequences of co-dependence and
jealousy with what is a (surprisingly) sweet
relationship, the film manages to provide a
good life lesson for kids: friendship does
not mean constant contact, and people can
have more than one friend without dimin-
ishing their affection for the others.
The movie’s main problem is exces-
sive and blatant product and corporate logo
placement, which is made more disturbing
by the youthfulness of this production’s
target audience. By my count, there are no
fewer than 24 instances of major product
placement, from companies like Twitter,
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon,
eBay, and Google, along with massive
plugs for every Disney franchise. In fact,
there are hardly any scenes in the movie
where you can’t see the logo of one of
these mega corporations. This kind of satu-
ration marketing is more than a little irri-
tating. Apart from the fact that shamelessly
self-promoting your other highly success-
ful film products is more than a little tacky,
doing so in a kids’ movie is irresponsible.
By inuring children to the prevalent
advertisements we see, we allow market-
ing to become the kind of background
noise that people absorb without analyz-
ing. Children growing up in the digital age
are especially vulnerable to this kind of
near-subliminal marketing. Advertisers are
aware of this: they don’t need to give you a
strong positive association with their prod-
uct, they just want you to think of them first
when you think of their product class.
Cynical and all-consuming advertis-
ing aside, “Ralph Breaks the Internet” has
a nice message about the values of friend-
ship and the importance of maintaining
healthy relationships. John C. Reilly and
Sarah Silverman both do a good job of
pouring character into their digital models,
and the writers manage to avoid being too
gratingly annoying. There’s not a lot in it
for parents, but kids and tweens will prob-
ably have a decent time. Whether or not
the saturation marketing is a deal breaker
for you, however, will determine if Ralph
breaks your patience as well as the Internet.
TALK ABOUT THE MOVIE WITH
YOUR FAMILY
Ralph and Vanellope have a few argu-
ments in the film: Can good friends argue and
still be friends? How do they resolve those
arguments? Is it okay for friends to have dif-
ferent interests and goals? How can we re-
spond to our friendships as they change?
LOVED THE MOVIE? TRY THESE BOOKS
11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass gives
readers a fun context for issues of growing
up and seeing friendships evolve.
In Farfallina & Marcel, Holly Keller
tells the sweet story of a caterpillar and
gosling who are best friends. Despite the
changes that come as they grow and trans-
form (literally), their friendship endures.
Does having a new friend mean that
old friendships are over? That’s the ques-
tion Frances has to answer in Russell
Hoban’s story for young children, Best
Friends for Frances.
Can friendships last when interests di-
verge? In The Story of Fish and Snail, Deb-
orah Freedman tells the story of two friends
with very different interests: one is adven-
turous and the other likes to stay safely at
home. A great read for preschoolers.
March 2019 WNY Family 61