Ralph Breaks the Internet

I loved the first one. LOVED it. There was a great message to the movie about accepting who you are, and moreover, accepting that you can't be everything to everyone. Everybody had a strong character arc, and the references were cute without being obtrusive. This ... does none of that. The Ralph that was content with who he was and his place in the world? Yeah, he's gone. Back to being a neurotic mess. Vanellope's growth from selfish to self-assured? Right back to square one. This movie hits a giant reset button because the plot requires it. It's sad and disheartening. It either renders the first movie a massive waste of time, or these characters have amnesia, and we're just supposed to be okay with it. And then, the internet references. OH GOD. THEY'RE EVERYWHERE. Rather than being clever and subtle and integrated, they're blatant and shoehorned and obnoxious. I wanted to like this movie. I really did. But MAN, is this phoned in. Everything that was great about the first is chucked overboard for a sequel that doesn't expand on anything, doesn't fill in holes, doesn't do anything but tabula rasa the characters for the sake of a sequel. If the original was Disney at its most inventive, this is Disney at its most greedy.