RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

If Disney can't make a movie about a princess, why not make a movie that includes all of them? That is exactly what Disney did with their latest animated flick that revisits their Wreck It Ralph character (John C Reilly) and his buddy Vanellope (Sarah Silverman).

Directors Rich Moore ("Zootopia", "Wreck It Ralph") and Phil Johnston ("Zootopia", "Brothers Grimsby") teamed up to present a kiddie sized take on "Ready Player One". Not really, but there are some stark similarities. The funniest is the humorous homage to everything Disney including a ton of Easter Eggs to find throughout the film.

Remember how Steven Spielberg referenced a bunch of his old films in "Ready Player One?" Johnston and Moore reference everything from Star Wars to Marvel Comics to the aforementioned Disney princesses; in essence turning this into a lightweight princess movie. If you have a good eye, you'll even catch a glimpse of the recently deceased Stan Lee.

It all starts when the steering wheel of the Sugar Rush Game were Vanellope races, gets broken at Litwak’s Family Fun Center and Arcade. There is only one remaining part in the world and it's only available on Ebay in someplace called the internet. Ralph and Vanellope decide to enter the internet through a new WIFI modem installed at the arcade. Low and behold they are exposed to an entire universe unknown to them before.

There is Google Tower, IMDB (which made me chuckle), Twitter, Amazon and pretty much every internet entity willing to spend bucks to have their company represented. There's even a Disney building - which Ralph and Vanellope enter - that contains Star Wars, Marvel characters, and a realm of princesses that will have you rolling on the floor. Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Tiana and a roughish Merida explain their lives while trying to justify why princesses sing!

There's also the trademark Disney "Let this be a lesson to you" which allows a computer virus to get loose and attack insecure glitches. There is a brief nod to "World War Z" and "The Mummy" (1999) as well as an editorial about how damaging consumer comments can be.

There are interesting technical hints that may stick in your mind, especially when Yesss (Taraji P Henson) explains how the Ebay bidding and You Tube loves work. You will crack up at the pop-up ads that are all too familiar.

"Ralph Breaks The Internet" is extremely well done, though its subtle humor is piled on so heavily you will miss much of it. This is a fun-for-everyone toon that will certainly vie for tops during the award season. -- GRADE A -- GEOFF BURTON

GEOFF BURTON