Ralph Breaks the Internet: A Trend-Worthy Follow-Up

     Disney has been a powerhouse game in Animation creating some of the best Animated Features of all time, however when it comes to sequels, it tends to be a bit of a mixed bag. Despite their partner company Pixar making some pretty stellar sequels most of the time, the sequels associated with Disney Animation are viewed in a lesser light, often seen as the mostly mediocre to bad direct to video sequels made over the years not made by them. In regards to the sequels actually made by Walt Disney Animation Studios, it is too few and far between to really dictate how good they are with sequels despite these sequels being decent in their own right. In this new age of fantastic Disney movies from Princess and the Frog to Moana, Disney is giving another attempt at a sequel with one of their most well received movies in recent memory with Wreck-It Ralph. The first Wreck-It Ralph was primed for a sequel with so much to do with the idea of a video game world and thankfully this sequel continues Disney’s excellent track record on quality films. Ralph Breaks the Internet even with some missed opportunities and some over-crowdedness, the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph is a well-deserved followed up that expands on what made the first movie so good like any good movie sequel should do.

     Ralph 2’s story takes place a few years after the first movie with Ralph and Vanellope being very contempt with their current situation in their games; however until tragedy strikes for Sugar Rush, Ralph and Vanellope need to go to the internet to help find a solution to make sure their home won’t be completely gone. The story is pretty straight forward on the surface, with the characters trying to find the object that is said to make their lives back to normal, however in the case of Wreck It Ralph 2, there does seem to be a lot happening that might make it feel a bit over crowded. Every time a character has an obstacle to face, once they overcome it, they’re faced with a new thing that immediately gets them into a new situation. It does create some tension sure; however, it also feels like it happens too often to the point where the movie might feel like it gets a little too carried away with conflict. Although the biggest issue in terms of story is despite there being so much conflict portrayed through-out the film, the film doesn’t have a sense of urgency when it comes to Ralph and Vanellope returning to their home, which contradicts the first Wreck-It Ralph considering that was one of the main goals for that film. It’s not enough to break the film, but there will definitely be a thought going through your head when seeing Ralph not as concerned with returning to his game. Even with that, it might feel overcrowded at points; the film does a great job of being a lot of fun as this movie definitely gives you a ton of variety as there are so many different set pieces and characters to watch that it never really becomes boring. Also helping is the fact that the writing is consistently clever with a lot of pop-culture references done right and some fun internet commentary that feels very true and reflective of internet culture. Being a film about the internet is a risk because it has an easy chance of being incredibly dated, and while there can be some argument for it being dated instantly, it won’t be dated in the same way films like The Emoji Movie is where it is easy to mock how out of touch it is. Instead, it feels dated in the same way A Goofy Movie is with the 90s in terms of how it’s laughing with the audience in terms of how it interacts with the times.  It makes for a much cleverer movie than one would initially think it would be.

     Clever writing is an element that both the first and second Wreck-It Ralph has, but one clear improvement the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph has is the world building. The first Wreck-It Ralph had an amazing concept of being a world of the arcade giving so many opportunities to go to so many video games world, but the biggest issue with the first film is that most of the runtime was dedicated to Sugar Rush. While Sugar Rush was an appealing looking world in its own right, it felt a little cheated that for a movie about video gaming, there was only one world witnessed and it was a racing game for a good 75% of the movie. The sequel doesn’t have that issue at all as not only we have the great worlds of the first film, but as mentioned earlier, the internet makes for a lot of variety of different set pieces for Ralph and Vanellope to come across. Every set piece is unique from one another giving a lot of insight to how the internet could work as an animated world in the same vein of Toy Story or even the first Wreck-It Ralph with a lot of jokes commentating on daily struggles or finds that the internet provides us. Though considering the first film was a video game themed movie, there’s some fear that the sequel could ignore all of that in favor for the internet and while it is more internet focused yes, the film doesn’t betray its video game roots as there are still plenty of jokes in relation to playing video games. It still understands the world of video games quite well, especially in the set piece of Slaughter Race which ends up easily being one of the highlights with some excellent jokes told regarding the gaming world. It also benefits the film big time when each world and character look absolutely amazing, even only being a slight upgrade to the first film, the Disney Animators created a world with tons of visual flare and spectacle. It is a visually amazing movie with so many stunning set pieces from beginning to end thanks to some talented artists.

     Nevertheless, what is a pretty animated movie without a good world without some characters to be set in it? One of the biggest strengths of the first Wreck-It Ralph was how it created so many great characters in that one film who are so memorable. The sequel continues that trend quite well but has a few missed opportunities in the character department. The first film had a decent amount of cameos of famous video game characters to add to the world of Wreck-It Ralph being a gaming world, and while you would expect more of them here, it does come across as a little disappointing when there isn’t a whole lot more cameos in this sequel compared to the first. However, more disappointing than that is that two of the first film’s most memorable characters, Fix-It Felix and Calhoun are given a back seat as there is very little time for these characters to shine in this new movie. Granted though, to the film’s defense, this movie is less about the two side characters and video game character cameos and shifts it’s focused more on the previous films’ central characters and thankfully a good portion of the scenes with Felix, Calhoun and the video game characters are still hysterical and arguably funnier than they were in the first. Instead of Video Game characters, the film has been marketing itself as more of a Disney showcase for the Oh My Disney set piece with Vanellope, which also sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Though again, there are not a whole lot of cameos and appearances by Disney properties and while we get a few that are definitely gratifying to watch, a lot of it is regulated to background stuff which is neat for those Easter egg hunters, but does leave you wanting to have more extensive cameos of these characters. Though the sole exception in terms of extensive cameos really belong the Disney Princesses, which even they don’t have a whole lot of screen time, their sequences are absolutely phenomenal, with all these characters being voiced and animated excellently  as their expressive selves from the original movies. Not to mentioned a ton of hilarious jokes regarding these characters and even some downright epic moments showcasing how awesome Disney Princesses can be.

     Outside of the cameos and Princesses though, Ralph 2 does have some new characters to be included, mainly being Yess, a business type character showcasing what’s trending on the internet and Shank, one of the main characters of Slaughter Race. Both characters serve the plot very well as they become very supportive and unique in the world of Wreck-It Ralph and not quite falling into the trappings that many would argue other Disney films have come across in the past few years. Even with all of that in mind, the main highlight that makes this sequel great is how it expands upon its two main characters of Ralph and Vanellope. The main reason this film ends up being more timeless and less dated is that it is first and foremost a character driven story that end up developing Ralph and Vanellope as more complex and three dimensional characters. Their friendship is the key factor that makes this movie go to places that were honestly unexpected and without giving away too much, this film ends up having one of the most powerful messages about friendships told on screen. It may seem weird given how many films about friendship have been made, but this movie has a theme of friendship and dreams that not only makes it more relevant to today’s time with the advent of social media and the internet, but also showcase how a true friendship can be and how sacrifices may have to be make for different people’s goals in life but should never be a factor in destroying a true friendship. It comes across as a very mature theme that should be seen and helps elevate this film to a whole new level in regards to it being a character piece for characters as well loved as Vanellope and Ralph.

     Ralph Breaks the Internet is at the end of the day, an excellent follow up to a phenomenal animated film. Even with some characters having less screen time, some over crowdedness at parts and some odd contradictions to the first movie, Wreck-It Ralph 2 still accomplishes more of what should be done in a sequel than most average sequels often do. Its humor is funny, its world building is excellent, its characters enjoyable and its themes of friendship are surprisingly deep and more profound than one would initially expect from a simple sequel like this. It does nearly everything a good sequel should strive to be and while not quite a masterpiece sequel, even compared to other animated sequels out there, Wreck-It Ralph 2 deserves to be seen for its charm. It is a movie that is definitely easy to like, especially for Disney and Animation fans, and it most definitely worth a recommendation. For everyone thinking about how bad a sequel Wreck-It Ralph could have been, it exceeds those expectations and is not bad at all and a good step for Disney to create more worthwhile sequels in the future.  

The Grinch: Three Words, Stink, Stank, Meh

     Theodore A. Geisel, or what many people may know as Dr. Seuss, was one of the most ingenious creative minds in history. A person who not only made reading interesting for kids with such imagination, but also was ahead of his time creating stories that are much more profound thematically than one would initially expect from a children’s book. Unfortunately, many do not understand the subtly and reflective motifs of Dr. Seuss’ stories and just create current movies that are nothing more than basic children movies with nothing too much special to offer. The case continues with Illumination’s adaptation of The Grinch, a movie that is so bland and unremarkable that there is barely anything worth noting even compared to some of Seuss’ other adaptations.

     Grinch’s story follows mostly how the original story does with the Grinch being a person who hates Christmas and the joy it brings so much that he feels the needs to take away everyone’s fun by stealing Christmas. The original story itself is tightly told and many would argue to extend a story like this would be excessive, which this new Grinch movie does that exactly. Instead of adding worth of substance to an already great story, the Grinch just adds nothing but filler and not just filler, but filler and subplots that have been done time and time again. Clichés that we’ve seen so many times in every other Christmas related movies, and this movie has no moment that doesn’t rely on a cliché. It doesn’t really focus on what made the Grinch so iconic and instead make it a typical Christmas movie with nothing new to offer. Outside of a few small moments in the end that are cute and do add a bit of substance to the original story, there’s nothing that makes this hour and a half long movie worth being as long as it is. It plays it too safe and does nothing original, which although not quite as cringe worthy as other Dr. Seuss movies, like many other Illumination movies, it just ends up being another bland animated film with nothing special to offer.

    What is a Grinch movie without the Grinch himself being an entertaining personality to come by, which unfortunately, this movie failed to make the Grinch being the least bit interesting The character himself doesn’t come across as a person who is truly filled with hate to the point of never finding joy in anything, but instead a character that just seems more annoyed with the people around him. It doesn’t make for an interesting new interpretation of the Grinch because he doesn’t even feel like the Grinch and instead feels like an average annoyed character like Squidward from Spongebob. Not only is he written in a generic fashion with not much development but surprisingly isn’t even portrayed that well by the actor. Benedict Cumberbatch is honestly an excellent choice to play the Grinch as he has proven himself to play a variety of characters including ones with a slimy evil edge to them like the Grinch, but the way the character is portrayed he sounds way too casual to be the Grinch we all know and love. It’s a shame that someone thought it was a good idea to take such a talented actor with so much range like Benedict Cumberbatch and have him not used that potential for a character like the Grinch by making him give the most casual and uninteresting performance in his entire career. As for the rest of the cast, there’s nothing much to them either outside of being forgettable generic characters that are either there to be comedic relief or to add to the film’s overly cutesy nature. Characters needed to make this film memorable and it’s just generic cutesy mediocrity in terms of how these characters are written.

     If there is any sort of positivity to be said about this movie, it is a very appealing movie to look at. Out of all the films to come from Illumination entertainment, this is probably their best looking film with so many bright colors and visually awesome background. The character animation is incredibly expressive and fun to watch as well. The movie might be the best looking Dr. Seuss movie giving into a lot of great color that Seuss is known for and also some very expressive characters. The only downside to the look is that there could have been more work done on the character designs. The Grinch barely has that threatening edge to him and looks way more comedic than he needs to be in this. The character from his fluffy texture to his perfect teeth look too clean cut and casual to be the Grinch, even with the animators doing a decent job making him an expressive character. Even despite some of the downfalls with the character designs, The Grinch is an overall appealing film to look at.

     The Grinch from Illumination is nothing more than a generic and mediocre at best film with very little substance or character to it. It’s far from the worst movie even by Dr. Seuss films standards, but it is so lifeless and generic that it almost makes it worse than some of the other Seuss films. It’s not even so bad it’s entertaining and unless if you’re a kid who are interested, isn’t really worth your time. This movie can be described in three words and I quote, “Stink, Stank, Meh”.

Bohemian Rhapsody: Not Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind but Killer at Parts

     

     There’s no denying how much of an icon Freddie Mercury has become for the music industry. Queen is masterful when it came to creating some of the music memorable songs in history, so a movie about the band deserves to be excellent. The downside is Bohemian Rhapsody does miss the mark of it being one of the best biopics of this generation. Even with that though, there is a lot to enjoy about Bohemian Rhapsody as a retelling of Freddie Mercury’s life and as a big giant tribute to arguably the greatest rock band that ever exist.

     The film of course is an overview of Freddie Mercury’s career in the band Queen, from his early days of how he joined the band, to the concert days where Queen became a worldwide Phenomenon. It has the decency to include many of the important aspects of Freddie Mercury’s life, including the aspects that many feared would not be touched upon, however it does discuss things a bit out of order compared to how they actually occurred in real life. For anyone who is truly in the know, Mercury’s life didn’t played out like exactly how the film goes. That tends to be the case with most biopics though and but what really kind of makes this movie no as spectacular as it probably should have been is that in a way, it’s a standard biopic. It goes through all the basic elements of a biopic, showcasing the ups and downs of a person’s life but doesn’t tell it in a way that makes it especially interesting compared to other biopics out there. This comes across as concerning because as the film mentions itself, Queen was known for being innovative and revolutionary when it comes to their music and the fact that the film plays it kind of safe makes it feel like there was a missed opportunity. However, the film fortunately doesn’t forget going into decent detailed on what made Queen as iconic as a band and showcases the band’s influence very well through the filmmaking techniques and performances on screen. It doesn’t excel at it, but Bohemian Rhapsody does a decent albeit slightly disappointing job of showcasing Mercury’s life.

     What really hold the film together despite some of it’s lacking in narrative department are essentially two factors. The first is the film aesthetics, as the film does an excellent job with sound and visuals in terms of showcasing the feeling of being at a concert for the iconic band. Every concert sequence is filled with breathtaking moments that are creative when it comes to cinematography and editing. Visually it looks impressive how the musical moments show the creativity Queen has with their music and also are the moments where the film is the most stylistic as well. This film also needs to be seen with a good surround sound, because it helps when the film has many moments of actual concerts, the sound is a key factor to how this movie works and it sounds beautiful at points. They’re already some of the greatest songs in existence, so a film featuring some of these songs being played live sounds amazing and adds to the experience of actually watching Queen in concert. However, even with that in mind, the true element that brings this movie together is the performance of Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. Malek is phenomenal in the role as he not only looks the part fairly well, but he also does an excellent job showcasing the mannerisms during both his personal life and the concert moments. He’s awesome when showing Mercury’s flamboyant side along with a lot of the great talent his has when it comes to being a live performer. The script may not be strong enough for Malek to get an Oscar win, but the performance is good enough for him to at least get a nomination.

     Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t the Oscar deserving biopic that maybe many were hoping for, but it’s a solid enough film especially for Queen Film that serves as a good attempt to showcasing one of the best bands that ever existed. It script could have taken more risks that could have made the story more authentic, but still treats the band with a ton of respect with some great visuals, mentioning about the important ideals that made Queen iconic and a great performance by Rami Malek. It is far to guarantee to blow your mind, but in regards to showcasing Queen and all of their glory, it’s pretty killer at points.