Ralph Breaks the Internet has many highs and lows, but nothing quite equals the peak it achieves in a sequence in which Vanellope (voiced again by Sarah Silverman) lands up at the dressing room of Disney princesses. Since Vanellope is an intruder, she encounters the glass shoe of Cinderella, which turns into a jagged weapon, Jasmine’s genie lamp, and other items the beauteous ladies are known for.
Vanellope gets questioned about her magical abilities and whether she was captured, enslaved, poisoned or cursed. She answers in the negative, and they all wonder. But one final question solves the quandary. Do people assume all her problems got solved because a big, strong man showed up? Yes, says Vanellope, of course referring to Ralph in her mind. And all the princesses break into a united jubilation of her being a princess as well.
Disney has traditionally celebrated the idea of the beautiful but hapless princess who appeals to a worldwide audience. But the feminist blaze is slowly making them change this narrative, evident in their recent outings such as Frozen, Moana and Brave. What has been a deliberate choice to reconstruct the images they have built has bared its teeth finally in a sequence that shows chins strong enough to take a little bit of self-deprecation.
In this sequel of the 2012 hit Wreck-It Ralph, directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston have extended the universe of the original from a gaming arcade to the vast land of the internet. Imagination is plenty in this territory to dazzle and entertain. But what really gives it wings is the sly, subversive spirit that it reflects without compromising on the thrills for its younger audience.
The film begins by addressing one of the devils of modernity: ennui. Vanellope is bored of her predictable daily routine, and her existential crisis leads to a series of events that prompt her and Ralph (voiced ably by John C. Reilly) to journey into the colourful cosmos of the internet. The big world of the internet in the film’s fancy is a place that would rival any shining metropolis cinema has imagined so far, teeming with pop culture artefacts and towers that you can easily recognise, along with many cross-pollinations.
Because it’s a family-friendly film, the world is mostly sanitised, ignoring Twitter bots or nasty threads about race or politics. The only area of darkness is a place called Slaughter Race where Vanellope meets the cool racer Shank (voiced by Gal Gadot) and her band of fighters. The thrill of a deadly race makes our bored heroine find her true calling which leads her best friend Ralph down the rabbit hole of insecurity.
Despite all the zip-zap-zoom machinations of an animated adventure, Ralph Breaks the Internet shows its willingness to subvert expectations. The real villain of the feature is not an outsider who is easily blameable, but an insider who lives within us.
Drawing from World War Z, King Kong and other horror/thriller films, it erects a monster that shows the toxic masculinity at large in our virtual lives. And before we know it, in the garb of a fun-filled escapade, we are amidst a satire about our vicious online culture, a life that can turn any of us into those dreaded leviathans.
(The writer is a journalist, a screenwriter, and a content developer who believes in the insanity of words, in print or otherwise. He tweets @RanjibMazumder)
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