“Ralph Breaks the Internet” is not nearly as good as the first film, but it may be perfect for a parent looking for a funny film to teach their kids some lessons on friendship.

The two biggest complaints against the “Wreck-It Ralph” sequel have to do with plot. First, it takes a while to find its central conflict. To its credit, this sequel does not undo the character development and progress made in the first film like a lot of sequels do. This time, a well-intentioned move by the lovable oaf that is Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly, “Stan and Ollie”) breaks Vanellope’s (Sarah Silverman, “Battle of the Sexes”) game right around the same time the arcade finally gets internet access. So, of course, the two venture into the world wide web to fix Sugar Rush – the go-kart-racing game of which Vanellope is a quasi-princess.

This premise is reasonable, but the movie cannot seem to decide how it wants to go about solving that problem. The goal is clear – get the part to fix the game from the almighty eBay, which might as well have a voice actor with how big of a role it plays in the film. How the two achieve that goal, however, is often all over the place. Is it through a pop-up challenge? Nope. What about through discount YouTube? Maybe. By the end, the story eventually settles on a central conflict and path, but the result feels like a desperate attempt to tie all the loose ends into a messy knot.

The second biggest problem with the film is how predictable it is. In “Wreck-It Ralph,” Ralph saved the arcade after accidentally breaking it, and six movie-years later, he is back to save the internet after accidentally breaking it. And the friendship lesson–though great for kids–is practically shoved down audiences’ throats, and it was obvious the story was going for that lesson from the start. A few things are a little surprising, but nothing is refreshingly new.

That said, Disney does a good job continuing its wave of entertaining and endearing movies with a twist, which makes the movie worth at least one watch. Though some product placement in the film is unnecessary, and the Oh My Disney fan service is a bit excessive, it does drive the plot in a fun way. Any person with at least a vague liking for Disney princesses will delight at the way they are used in the movie, so props to Disney for that one.

Like quite a few of Disney’s recent films, “Ralph Breaks the Internet” also pokes plenty of fun at its parent studio, with jokes that mega-fans and newbies alike can enjoy. The jabs about internet culture and online gaming are perfectly accurate too, so audiences will laugh plenty.

It pretty much comes down to this: “Ralph Breaks the Internet” was made for a fundamentally different audience than “Wreck-It Ralph.” The first film was made for families with parents who grew up in the ’80s loving video games. There was enough to satisfy the parents’ nostalgia with a great story and lovable characters. This time, though, the film is made for kids and middle-schoolers who grew up on the internet loving Disney.

Because of that disparity, it is very likely that plenty of parents may find “Ralph Breaks the Internet” to be the light, lesson-filled movie they have been waiting for, and many kids will likely delight at seeing their favorite characters brought to life. But for those non-parents who loved the first movie, they might leave the theater a little disappointed.

Image from Walt Disney Animation Studios via YouTube