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| Scene from Ralph Breaks the Internet |
As any of the countless studies have proven, the internet is a crucial tool to how we communicate with one another. So why then is it so hard to capture the feeling of digital relationships on film, itself a medium of equally limitless potential? Disney's latest Ralph Breaks the Internet is a film that attempts to be everything all at the same time. It tries to make the internet seem like a world of wonder, where Disney Princesses can be pulled up in a second's notice, while discovering something darker and more unpleasant about humanity. Ralph may be a video game character, but his insecurity is a real feeling and something that Disney has been grappling with in the past two years with many films exploring toxic masculinity (Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, Coco, etc.). For a character who was built in the first film as sympathetic and misunderstood, it's a bit of an odd shift. However, it makes the film one of the studio's boldest films in a long time, serving more as an essay on internet culture than genuine entertainment. It may hurt the film, but it also makes it a unique achievement.
