Why I’m Excited To Take My Kids To See Ralph Breaks The Internet – No Spoiler Review

Today’s November 21 – and you know what that means, right? Ralph Breaks the Internet is playing in theaters EVERYWHERE and I’m taking my whole family to see it.

I attended the Ralph Breaks The Internet World Premiere in Hollywood, CA, and I’ve been waiting for so long to share my review with you, and no, it won’t have spoilers, as usual, but it will give you a good idea of what to expect as a mom. I’m sharing why I’m excited to take my kids to see Ralph Breaks The Internet, too!

In the sequel to 2013’s Oscar nominee Wreck-It Ralph, we reunite with best pals Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) where they left off: Wreck-it Ralph had learned he could be someone’s hero, and maybe he wasn’t such a “bad guy” after all, and racing-game President and misfit Vanellope von Schweetz learned there was more to her than her glitch, and that she is indeed a princess.

Wreck-It Ralph was a hit in the nostalgia department because it was based in a gaming arcade, with tons of references and inside jokes for parents, as well as an entertaining plot and positive lessons for the kiddos.

Wreck-It Ralph 2 / Ralph Breaks The Internet takes us to the exhilarating world of the Internet, a world we all know and yet, most parents are not quite as familiar with as kids are. 

The filmmakers of Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks The Internet are brilliant. These two films document the complex gaming and Internet culture in a way that is so simple and visually stimulating, so we can always relive these memories with generations to come. Ralph Breaks The Internet was sure worth the 6-year wait!

The way I see it as a mom, in Ralph Breaks The Internet, Litwak’s arcade becomes an analogy for growing up and growing apart, and that hits home hard, moms!

Wreck-It-Ralph loves his simple, predictable life in the arcade, while Vanellope wants more. She wants adventure – danger, even. She’s a strong girl seeking variety (at least more than just having 3 racing tracks to choose from in her child-friendly game).

Holding on to the usual, to the familiar, to the way things were, can get the best of you, and sometimes, some of us, including Ralph, have to learn this the hard way.

When Wi-Fi is suddenly added to LitWak’s Family Fun Center, Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope use this connection to travel to the overcrowded, fast-paced metropolis of the Internet in a quest to save and repair Sugar Rush, Vanellope’s game. 

The Internet is a different world. Ralph and Vanellope have access to a boundless colorful playground, filled with fascinating e-commerce websites, social media platforms, memes, viral videos, and pop-up ads.

Ralph and Vanellope soon learn that things don’t work quite the same. The Internet can be “the most beautiful miracle you’ve ever seen,” but it is also not a world for the naive, and you do have to be careful if you want to remain unharmed.

As it happens in the real world, clicks can take you toward the “Dark Side,” and your insecurities, inadequacy, and need for validation can get the best of you. There are activities that can prove humiliating and scams that can get you in trouble.

These messages are great and can spark amazing conversations with kids, aided by the dazzling futuristic cityscape the Walt Disney Animation team brilliantly illustrated to bring the Internet to life.

I got teary when -in my mind- I saw Vanellope as a child that suddenly gets full access to the web. Ralph is like a mom, wanting everything to stay the same, but inevitably, as in every relationship, new horizons (and new ages and stages) can pull people who love each other in different directions. 

As moms, we can become needy, desperate, and clingy as our children grow up, and though I never thought I’d see myself as a huge 8-bit video-game bad guy, the story sure fits with our over-protective tendencies and our sometimes warped ideas of parental controls.

With a new environment come new characters. We see ourselves represented as netusers, and we meet the netizens who run the web, like KnowsMore (Alan Tudyk), our friendly search bar, LootFindr CEO J.P. Spamley (Bill Hader), and head algorithm of BuzzzTube, Yesss (Taraji P. Henson).

There is so much animation eye candy, so much attention to detail, and a feast of clever puns about online culture that it will take a few times to get it all. And even though I call myself Internet savvy, I am looking forward to watching it again with my kids today, because I know they will notice some things that went over my head.

My teenagers were impressed when I told them that Internet influencers and personalities like Overly Attached GF, Chewbacca Mask Lady and Nuggs for Carter were at the Premiere – and that I actually know who they are!

The Walt Disney Animation Studio story team not only watched countless cat videos and viral memes, but consulted with people of viral fame to increase accuracy, which makes the movie funnier, but also more thoughtful and honest, especially in the depth of the pain that can exist beneath the laughs.

Ralph Breaks The Internet is an enjoyable film for the whole family, and I’m also taking my 5-year-old to see it, but I do know that the themes and messages about the online world will most resonate with tweens and teens that live and breathe this phenomenon we call the Internet in their daily lives.

And if you’re asking yourself whether Ralph Breaks The Internet is a safe movie for little kids, the movie is 112 minutes long, so not too bad in the attention span arena. There are some dark and scary parts that add to the plot of the duality of the web, but depending on how sensitive your child is, a warm mommy hug will do.

There is nothing sexual in Ralph Breaks The Internet and other than Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer), and Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch), there are no love interests.

Ralph Breaks The Internet is rated PG for some action typical of a racing online game, mild violence, and crude language (“butt,” “doody,” “stink brain,””dummy,” and “stupid”). There is one violation of the third commandment, so if you’re Christian, watch out for that.

And whether edgy video games and potty humor are your thing or not, it’s a representation of the real world, and my philosophy is better to have parental guidance than leaving them on their own for the sake of sheltering them.

Slaughter Race is a dangerous place, but this is also where we are introduced to Shank, a new character Vanellope becomes close to, voiced by the one and only Gal Gadot. Warning: there will be a surprise involving songwriter and composer Alan Menken that will almost make you cry – or so I’ve been told. LOL

And speaking of EPIC moments, one of the most anticipated scenes in Ralph Breaks The Internet (which actually broke the Internet) involves Disney poking fun at its most classic animated characters, including the Disney Princesses.

You can read my interview with the team that brought this scene to life here, and I’m excited for our little ones to watch this scene because it explores the Disney Princess tropes to portray our favorite princesses in a fresh, whole new light, that is more in alignment with the female characters, narratives, and themes we moms want to see on the screen.

Pamela Ribon came up with this sequence in one sitting, and she also wrote Ralph Breaks VR – plus she voices Snow White and “belly fat pop up” in the film!

See the women in this picture? Interestingly enough, these women are best known for their voices and not their faces, which is kind of cool. They gave life to our classic Disney Princesses in Tangled, Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, Princess and The Frog, Brave, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Pocahontas, Frozen, and Moana, and collaborated in creating the new looks and stories for the Disney princesses in Ralph Breaks The Internet.

You’ll also love the cameos from Pixar, Star Wars, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe characters, including a special Guardian of the Galaxy crew member and our beloved Stan Lee! I get goosebumps just thinking about it, because he was still with us when I first saw Ralph Breaks The Internet! 

Ralph Breaks The Internet is a must watch family movie filled with action and sweet, tender, wholesome fun. It goes beyond the Wreck-It-Ralph theme of self-image and self-acceptance, to explore what healthy attachment looks like in our friendships and relationships – even in motherhood.

It will teach us that trying to break the Internet can break our hearts, that validation starts from within, and that best friends (and princesses) can evolve and pursue their own interests while fully supporting one another.

Ralph Breaks The Internet will be a great film to start conversations about likes, comments, online shopping, clickbait, addiction, cyberbullying, and the meaning of being a true friend.

Can you tell I love Ralph Breaks The Internet? I love every part -even the ones in which I felt like a creepy momster! As I look at these pictures, I feel so grateful to have been in these rooms, with the genius minds behind the movie and I hope my excitement is contagious!

Don’t forget I’m hosting a giant gift pack giveaway with the hottest Wreck-It Ralph 2 toys on the web, too! Click HERE to ENTER for a chance to win!

Ah and before I go I should tell you, while at the theater, there is a mid-credit and a post-credit scene that you don’t want to miss!

The credits are long because there was a 900-cast member crew and no one went unthanked. Even the “production babies” list was longer in this film. Baby fever!

Stay connected to all things Ralph Breaks The Internet by liking WRECK-IT RALPH on Facebook,  following WRECK-IT RALPH on Twitter, following  WRECK-IT RALPH on Instagram, and visiting the official RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET website and YouTube Channel. The official hashtag is #RalphBreaksTheInternet, and our event hashtag is #RalphBreaksTheInternetEvent

Founder of the Positive MOM® and creator of the S.T.O.R.Y. System: a blueprint to craft and share powerful stories that will transform your results and help others do the same. Dr. Elayna Fernández is a single mom of 4, an award-winning Storyteller, Story Strategist, and Student of Pain. She’s a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and 5x TEDx speaker. She has spoken at the United Nations, received the President’s Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award, and was selected as one of the Top Impactful Leaders and a Woman of Influence by SUCCESS Magazine. Connect with Elayna at thepositivemom.com/ef and follow @thepositivemom. To receive a gift from Elayna, click HERE.

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