Arcade game characters Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz live a happy, contented life, which falls apart when the controller of Vanellope’s game Sugar Rush breaks down. Arcade owner Mr. Litwak can’t afford the rare spare part -- available on eBay -- and shuts down the machine. There is an immediate crisis as the many characters in the game suddenly become homeless and foster homes have to be found for them. The arcade has now got Wi-Fi, and Ralph and Vanellope enter the internet in order to go to the eBay and get the controller from there. A goofed-up eBay auction leaves them twenty-seven thousand dollars in debt and they have to raise the money on a tight deadline in order to pay it off. They enter many of the internet’s get rich quick schemes to get it done. Their big idea, of turning Ralph into a BuzzTube (YouTube) star pays off and his retro celebrity status earns him enough points for him to turn them into real money and pay off the debt. Vanellope meanwhile, gets enamoured by a Grand Theft Auto like game called Slaughter Race, which offers broader avenues to someone with her razor sharp abilities. Ralph thinks the game is bad for her and that she might wish to leave him and chose to live there and this sets him off into spreading a virus in the race. Things go awry and the virus, which feeds on insecurities, gets lose on the internet, cloning itself into millions of Ralphs and literally starts breaking the internet from within. Now it’s up to Ralph to own up to the mistake and somehow set things right with the help of Vanellope...
The first film can be interpreted as a treatise on job anxiety where the central character wasn’t happy with his work environment and wanted a happier place to work in. This film goes into the relationship space and tells you that it’s healthier to let go in order to give someone space to flourish. That you can’t be dependent on someone’s love all the time. Vanellope isn’t happy with the small town environment of arcade and wants to explore the glitzy big city called internet. Ralph suffers from separation anxiety and at first selfishly blocks her attempts but thankfully afterwards learns to let go. It’s also a critique on how internet is fast ruling every aspect of our lives, submerging itself into everything we do. Shameless product placement of all big internet companies is done here, nevertheless, as also of the different titles available to both Disney and Marvel. The best cameo is by the entire range of Disney Princesses, voiced by their original cast. They all combine to rescue Ralph in one of the most imaginatively executed scenes of the film.
The film offers a taste of what’s both good and bad on the internet, and also teaches us a couple of life-lessons along the way. The kids will love the animation, the fans will fawn over the cameos and the true geeks will watch it again and again for the in-jokes...
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