Going in, I knew the general premise was that the Sugar Rush steering wheel was going to break and the goal for Ralph and Vanellope was to get a new one to save the game so all the characters had a home to go back to since having your game unplugged was a huge deal, based on the events of the first movie. And how would they get a new steering wheel? The internet.
So I kind of figured they'd get the steering wheel with relative ease, maybe a hiccup here or there, while going on some fun adventures in the internet based on what I saw in the trailers specifically in reference to the Disney Princess scene.
I was slightly disappointed to learn that getting the steering wheel would be the goal throughout the entire movie. On their way to accomplish their goal, while creative at times, sometimes felt contrived based on the worst parts of the internet.
So while on their way to eBay to win the auction for the steering wheel, they meet characters that represent a pop up. They decide to use the pop up which brought them to the racing game which makes sense because, pardon my pun, as that's in Vanellope's wheel house. We meet Gal Gadot's character Shank who gets way too many lines and way too much screen time. It felt like the people in the game were trying to be the Fast and the Furious family, but I never got a sense of family from them.
After failing to achieve their goal in the racing game per the direction of the pop up character, Shank tells them to go see Yes who runs Buzz Tube or something very similar to Youtube. Yes helps Ralph make videos which get likes which gets them money. They get enough money to buy the steering wheel and their mission is accomplished.
But the steering wheel wasn't, again sorry for the pun, driving the story, but the friendship between Ralph and Vanellope was supposed to be focus. Vanellope was tired of the same thing day in and day out and dreamt of something bigger / more out of life, while Ralph liked things the way they were for the past six years. Their friendship is tested, they fight, and eventually Ralph learns to deal with his insecurities and is able to let her go. So Vanellope decides to stay in Shank's game and Ralph still gets to talk and visit his friend when he can i.e. when an upgrade is happening for the online game that Vanellope is now a part of.
So while I appreciated the overall message, I think the execution was a little lacking. I loved the Disney Princess stuff and wish they were more involved with the story than they were. I would have much rather had more of them and less of fake Youtube and fake Fast and the Furious plot lines.
In summary, I enjoyed the original more. It needed more Disney Princesses. C+
