«Cy-Bugs would chew up that game faster than a chicken hawk in a coop of crippled roosters.»
«Wreck-It Ralph»
Not exactly a fan of Disney. They have made some of the best movies ever done, only to go completely woke. Which invariably comes with adding topics in contexts where they do not belong. Sorry, not everything has to be about «the message». Rarely anything should. When it comes to good storytelling, the story, its character and motivation count. Any ideology poisons it and turns it into crap.
Luckily, while some artworks have been «wokefied» (esp. books), the original movies are mostly untouched (so far — get DVDs). And when it comes to «Wreck it Ralph» (2012) and «Ralph breaks the Internet» (2018), they are mostly non-woke. If you can ignore Vanellope’s voice actor, yeah, then these are pretty good movies. (There is also a scene in «Ralph breaks the Internet» in which the Disney princesses save him. Strange how many princesses it takes to save one single person. 😉 )
«Wreck it Ralph» is a nice throwback to Arcade days. Despite my age, I’ve only seen the tail end of it, but still, enough for a trip down memory lane. The story is also surprisingly sweet, with a heart-jerking scene in which Ralph destroys a car.
and also some other emotional moments …
Plus the interaction of the virtual character with the player is nicely done:
Here’s the trailer:
«Ralph breaks the Internet» is the sequel and it is actually better than the first movie. It has two beautiful reflective moments:
«I can’t believe I don’t have a game any more. I mean, like, what am I gonna do all day?»
«What? Come on, are you kidding? You sleep in, you do no work, then you go to Tapper’s with me every night. I’ve literally just described paradise.»
«But I loved my game.»
«Oh, come on. You were just bellyaching about the tracks being too easy.»
«No, that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it. Yeah, sure, it was kind of predictable … but still I never really knew what might happen in a race. And it’s that, it’s that feeling, that not-knowing-what’s-coming-next feeling. That’s the stuff. That feels like life to me. And if I’m not a racer, Ralph… what am I?»
«Well, you’re my best friend.»
«That’s not enough.»
«Hey.»
«No, I just.. I’m sorry, I know I’m being weird. I think maybe I just need to be alone right now.»
Vanellope and Ralph in «Ralph Breaks the Internet»
and (well, technically, she is a Disney princess, so she’s looking for her song)
«Come on, song, come on. I’m reflecting. What is it that I want? What is my quest? (IN SING SONG VOICE) What is my dream? (GROANS) Well, ladies, I tried. No song for this princess, I guess.»
Vanellope in «Ralph Breaks the Internet»
The song itself … nicely done. Oh, it’s online (with part of it cut, meh):
And the trailer:
Overall, two very sweet stories. Just the right thing to escape the world for a while.
Highly recommended.
(In «Ralph breaks the Internet», there’s also a short scene in the credits, with a «Pancake Milkshake» game. Puh, laughed pretty hard. 😉 Oh, someone put it online:
)
