Today’s quick review: The Emoji Movie. Gene (T.J. Miller), a “meh” emoji from Textopolis, suffers from a rare condition: unlike every other emoji, he can make more than one facial expression. Shunned for his difference, Gene leaves Textopolis with Hi-5 (James Corden), a has-been emoji hoping to reclaim his former popularity. Together they seek out the hacker Jailbreak (Anna Faris), whose skills can give both emojis what they want most.
The Emoji Movie is a CGI-animated family comedy based on the popular text-messaging icons. The Emoji Movie features a colorful cast of anthropomorphic smiley faces living in a stylized interpretation of the inside of a smartphone. However, the film’s creative attempts to bring its world to life are largely misguided. A thin plot, unsuccessful humor, vapid characters, and a hit-or-miss premise make The Emoji Movie a rough watch.
Unlike other movies that struggle with changes in the technological landscape, The Emoji Movie dives head-first into modern smartphone culture. From its cast of emojis to its pit stops in apps like YouTube or Candy Crush, the film embraces the contemporary tech landscape and uses it as its main source of humor. But the decision comes with a steep price: its reliance on such a new domain results in a world that feels brittle and shallow.
Much of The Emoji Movie’s problems stem from its sense of humor. Individual jokes are sometimes worthwhile, but these few diamonds in the rough are vastly outnumbered by cheap visual gags and blatant appeals to the lowest common denominator. The movie does show faint traces of social commentary, a few sly gibes about the effect of smartphones on interpersonal communication, but it backs away from these quickly and never weaves them into a broader point.
Due to the bare-bones nature of its characters and setting, The Emoji Movie offers an unusually transparent look at the kids’ movie formula. Gene is a stock protagonist, Jailbreak a stock love interest, and Hi-5 a stock best friend. Their development as characters follows a strict progression with few surprises or flourishes. The beats of the plot are just as predictable, an impression heightened by the episodic nature of Gene’s journey through the phone.
All told, The Emoji Movie is hard to swallow. Its flimsy plot, unlikable characters, and reliance of the shallowest sorts of humor make it an unsatisfying watch for anyone but the most uncritical viewer. The Emoji Movie does earn points for a few good jokes and its handling of a difficult premise, but these minor virtues are not enough to outweigh its many failings. For a vastly more successful take on a similarly open-ended premise, check out The Lego Movie.
3.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 3.5 for pervasive flaws and questionable taste.