The Emoji Movie Movie Review

STORY: Set in a fantasy world inside the smart phone of a teenager, the film revolves around an emoji called Gene. Unlike his 'meh' parents, he can't stick to expressing just one emotion. Tagged as a 'malfunction' for being multi-expressional, he flees the digital city along with his friends Hi5 and Jailbreak so that he's not 'deleted'.

REVIEW: ‘Embrace yourself just the way you are and why fit in when you can stand out?’ is the message that lies at the heart of this digital tale. The thought is sweet but just an idea can't salvage a predictable advertisement parading as a film.



A second-rate concoction of Pixar's fantastic Toy Story and Inside Out, this Sony Pictures Animation outing is not a patch on the two classics. While Toy Story infused emotions in toys which moved us to tears, the impact of this Emoji movie is as long-lasting as an IPhone battery. Speaking of brands, the film blatantly promotes apps and emojis — Instagram, Facebook, Candy Crush, etc. Even if you were to overlook the branding, there’s absolutely nothing in the story that can keep you from dozing off.

The film’s biggest flaw is its concept to begin with. In times of ‘going offline’ being considered as the new luxury, a boring survival tale of an emoji as he navigates through various apps of a smart phone is anything but escapist.

Also ironically, the very use of emojis is to cut short the words. Thus, the emoji that can best describe this film is its very central character — meh! Also last but not least, our sympathies for Patrick Stewart, who lends his voice to the poop emoji. Yes, you heard that right.