Ralph Breaks the Internet is almost out in theaters, which means the movie`s review embargo has lifted. Check out our full review if you want to know what we thought, and keep reading to discover how the movie treats the internet`s darker side.As social media and other online spaces that we once naively hoped would provide a platform for real dialogue and make the world a better place continue to lose ground to spam bots, trolls, and clandestine fascist political operatives masquerading as spam bots and trolls, Ralph Breaks the Internet is preparing to send the two lovable, oddball heroes from Wreck-It Ralph to the least safe place in the world: the internet. Thankfully, the movie`s creators at Disney Animation Studios aren`t shy about discussing what role the internet`s darker side will play in Wreck-It Ralph 2.In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ralph and Vanellope head online to find a new steering wheel for Vanellope`s candy-coated kart racing game, Sugar Rush, before Mr. Litwack scraps her home for parts. The internet comes to life as a vibrant, bustling cityscape teeming with net users--real people represented by block-headed, app icon-inspired avatars--and `netizens,` which are personified websites, companies, and algorithms that come in all shapes and sizes.There`s plenty of fodder for jokes here. In the trailers, an Ask Jeeves-like search engine called KnowsMore rudely interrupts Ralph`s queries as its autofill turns `a touch aggressive.` At the physical manifestation of eBay, brash auctioneers--including one voiced by real world reigning US auctioneering champion Brian Curless--tally digital votes cast by net users` avatars. But as has become excruciatingly clear in the last few years, the internet is not an inherently good place; it`s a tool that can be used for good or evil. And whether in Ralph`s trip to the dark web later in the movie or their willingness to talk about this potentially thorny subject, this movie`s creators seem aware of that fact.In one ...
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