As the streaming wars continue to heat up, any studio that owns and operates their own platform will be desperate for the various distribution deals to expire so that they can gather as much in-house content under one roof as possible. Disney Plus may be lagging far behind in terms of originals with the obvious exception of The Mandalorian, but the sheer strength in depth of the Mouse House’s back catalogue has seen the service gain over 70 million subscribers in the first year of its existence.
This Friday, a new haul of titles will arrive and one movie in particular is guaranteed to go down well with parents who need to distract the little ones for a couple of hours, because as soon as Netflix’s option on animated sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet expires, the video game-inspired adventure is heading straight to Disney Plus. That’ll leave Mary Poppins Returns as one of the only Mouse House films still available on Netflix, but that’ll change next month, too, as the pop culture monolith reacquires even more of their leased properties from the world’s biggest platform.
Starring John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman and Gal Gadot, Ralph Breaks the Internet is a rare animated sequel that outperformed its predecessor in terms of both box office dollars and critical reactions, with returning director Rich Moore being joined by Phil Johnston for an altogether bigger, brighter and more expansive family film that increased the scope and scale but retained the heart which made Wreck-It Ralph so popular in the first place.
The follow-up leans hard into self-aware and meta territory by roping in countless Disney Princesses to reprise their voice roles, while characters from Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe also appear as Ralph Breaks the Internet successfully treads the fine line between keeping the kids entertained and also appealing to adults.
