“This is the most beautiful miracle!” exclaims Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) upon entering “the internet”. This charming buddy comedy, follow-up to Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph, sees the animated video-game characters from Litwak’s Arcade, Ralph (John C Reilly) and Vanellope, go online for the first time, where they head straight for eBay in search of a replacement controller for the latter’s soon-to-be-unplugged racing game, Sugar Rush. When the pair accidentally bid $27,001 for a one-of-a-kind steering wheel, they must find a creative way to come up with the money – and avoid being sabotaged by a virus that replicates its victims’ insecurities.
Ralph goes viral on BuzzzTube, there’s a nasal, talking search bar called KnowsMore, (“My autofill is a little aggressive today”) and at a Disney Princess sleepover, Vanellope is advised by her fellow pyjama-clad heroines to go full princess and “stare at important water” while singing about her dreams (hers involve relocating to the Grand Theft Auto-esque Slaughter Race).
The film’s playful attitude towards internet culture is ultimately good-natured; sceptic Ralph learns to embrace it, through the character of Vanellope, as an engine of adventure, curiosity and change.
