‘Ralph’ is clever, charming sequel

‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’

Grade: 21/2 stars (out of 4)

Rating: PG for some action and rude humor

Running time: 1:52

By Jake Coyle

AP Film Writer

In a battle between the internet and John C. Reilly, who among us wouldn’t root for the latter? Leave us IMDb.com and a few podcasts, John, but by all means, go smashy-smashy with the rest.

Having liberated arcade game characters from their rigidly ordained roles in 2012’s “Wreck-it Ralph,” its sequel, “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” sends our charmingly lopsided duo – the hulking, big-fisted Ralph (Reilly) and the glitchy pipsqueak candy-colored racer Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) – into that expansive netherworld where clickbait lurks and pop-ups proliferate.

In trading Qbert jokes for eBay ones, “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston, does more than shift the puns. If “Wreck-it Ralph” was a nostalgic “Toy Story”-like trip into ’80s arcade games, “Ralph Breaks the Internet” is more current. It’s ultimately about male-controlling impulses run amok.

Life inside the arcade has gotten repetitive for Vanellope, who’s tired of winning the same old rainbow-colored races in her game, Sugar Rush. But while the video-game characters are convening in their Grand Central-like terminal, a new plug labeled “WiFi” arrives above. “It’s either Wiffle ball or an arranged marriage,” says Ralph. Soon after, the impending unplugging of Sugar Rush (due to a malfunction) prompts a kind of migrant crisis. All of the game’s characters flee before they get trapped in the shutdown and need new, adoptive homes.

Vanellope crashes with Ralph, but he can see his friend – and their friendship is indeed endearing – is feeling lost. Ralph resolves to journey into the internet to purchase the replacement part that will save Vanellope’s game. Crawling through the router, they speed through optical cables and arrive in an infinite, glittering cityscape populated by towers of tech (Amazon, Google) and byzantine byways of zipping digital avatars.

The pair’s initial plans prove more complicated once they discover the online world isn’t just a game, but a place dictated by real money. To raise the money, Ralph quickly turns video star, churning out meme-inspired videos with the help of a Buzztube executive (Taraji P. Henson).

There’s much that’s clever in “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” but it’s the film’s heart – thanks to Reilly and Silverman’s voice work and easy rapport – that has made them more than a whiz-bang graphical blast. These are fragile and sensitive protagonists trying to be themselves in a world of pop-culture-prescribed roles. In “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” it’s Ralph who has to do some soul-searching.

The movie isn’t always quite up to the task. It would be better if it went further and wrestled more with the online world than used it as another bits and bytes background. Really, it doesn’t quite live up to the title. Ralph could have done more damage.