I’m revisiting my One True Ace/Aspec Pairing series after a long time with a pair I’m surprised I overlooked: Ralph and Vanellope.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed the chemistry between these two characters. They had a great dynamic and a great relationship arc. This is very clearly a platonic pairing, and the reason this fact is worth mentioning is because of the importance given to the relationship, the depth of the relationship, and how much the pair come to mean to each other, are unusual in platonic pairs of opposite genders. Of course, with any opposite-gender pairing, there is the possibility of reading romance into the relationship, but in this case, because Ralph has the appearance of a middle-aged man and Vanellope of a child, that would be kind of weird. Technically, they are ageless digital characters. So they do not have a adult-child dynamic. They are actually equals.
I also applaud the fact that the sequel move, Ralph Breaks the Internet, took a deep dive into their relationship to explore where the relationship can go. After the first movie, the two have become best friends whose lives are deeply entwined. But in RBtI, Vanellope reaches a point in her life when she wants to grow in a different direction, and the movie is about how Ralph has a difficult time coming to terms with this. And eventually, while they do go their own ways, their bond remains as strong as ever.
Ralph and Vanellope’s relationship, which is very much a friendship, is just as well developed and well explored and given as much attention (if not more) as any romantic relationship in similar movies (including the romantic pairing in the same movie, Felix and Calhoun, whose relationship was played for laughs anyways). I really appreciated the inclusion of this kind of relationship in popular media.
I'm Overthinking This 
Glad you wrote about this one. Ralph and Vanellope are a pretty great example of a platonic love story. I especially appreciate how the second movie took Ralph’s love for Vanellope and fear of losing her seriously. Yes, it did criticise him for being overly possessive, but it never implied that he should care about her less put less importance on their relationship.
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I agree! And I have a small child who has watched the 2 Wreck-It Ralph movies 1000 times. The first one I’ve grown to like more and more. Seriously the first movie is perfect. But “Ralph Breaks the Internet” the plot was like… they need money… so the internet is gonna pitch in and help and make their videos go viral so they earn thousands of dollars, which is, ahem, unrealistic. Also a lot of the experience of watching it was being excited to catch a glimpse of the various logos in the background (like tiktok).
And I wrote a blog post about Felix because he’s my favorite character: The Privilege and Complicity of Fix-It Felix Jr I also love Felix and Calhoun’s relationship.
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