The original Wreck-it Ralph was a solid movie with a lot going for it. It told a story different from Disney’s standard fare, more about a working class guy finding his place and happiness in his job and gaining the respect of his colleagues that the stereotypical “wish upon a star, you can do anything” mantra that is oft espoused by their productions. I personally hold it to be much better than the other Disney product that year, Brave, which somehow beat it out for the Oscar. So when a sequel was announced shortly after the firsts success it seemed like a good idea.
Currently, that sequel entitled Ralph Breaks the Internet, is six months out. The first trailer was release a little bit ago and while it didn’t seem astonishing the prospect of exploring mobile games, as opposed to arcade cabinet ones, presented intriguing concepts. However, a second trailer was recently released and, unless the movie is drastically different that what is being teased in it, kills any interested I would have had in the sequel.
The beginning is innocuous enough, with Ralph and Vanellope meeting up and going into the internet, seeing logos of the corporate titans that currently dominate the internet and then getting in a search bar joke. And then it gets bad. It turns from any sort of narrative story to what looks like what could end up a giant commercial for other Disney products. One of Disney’s official sites, Winnie the Pooh, Marvel, Pixar, Muppets, Star Wars and Disney Princesses all show up. While the original Wreck-it Ralph did have plenty of Easter Eggs and character appearances, it all integrated well with the overall feel and world created, in fact it was almost essential. It was not gratuitous marketing. But here it is. Disney is hardly near the top of the list of associations when thinking of the internet. I even had to look up if “Oh My Disney” was a real site.
So unless this turns out to be a few minute part of the film, done and gone, I’d rather not watch an hour and a half commercial.
