Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1885. The Emoji Movie (2017)

    1885. The Emoji Movie (2017)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on September 10, 2017 2017, 6 - 7.9, 80-89 mins, Animation, Comedy, Kids', Movies Of 2017, Review, Sep 17, United States
    7.0 A pleasant family adventure
    • Acting 7.1
    • Directing 7.2
    • Story 6.6
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: T.J. Miller, Anna Faris, James Corden

    Director: Tony Leondis

    Running Time: 86 mins


    The Emoji Movie is an American film about Gene, a ‘meh’ emoji who can pull more than one face, who ends up going on a journey of self-discovery after he is chased out of his home of Textopolis by the community of single-expressioned emojis.

    I didn’t mind The Emoji Movie. It’s not a brilliant film, nor is it anywhere near as funny as it thinks it is, but it’s a vibrant, upbeat and light-hearted family adventure that put a big smile on my face. Yes, it may be a generic family movie, and some of its painfully blatant product placement is a real downer, but when it’s on form, it can be a genuinely entertaining watch.

    If there’s anything that I really liked about this film, it’s how bright it is. Its generic ‘be who you truly are’ message doesn’t feel all that emotional in practice, but set against a vibrant visual pallette and a few imaginative takes on the world inside the smartphone, it does make for a lot of entertaining sequences, and above all visuals that will easily make you smile.

    Another plus comes from the film’s pacing, which is both consistent and rapid-moving enough to keep you interested throughout. Too often do kids’ adventure movies set out on a story that has only one end goal, and as a result feels like a 90 minute slog to get to the eventual happy ending (I’m looking at you, Trolls), but The Emoji Movie manages to keep things interesting by jumping between different scenarios (and I’m sure ultimately video game levels) that break the story up well, helping to keep the energy in the plot that would have otherwise been dissipated within seconds.

    Also, the voice performances are pretty entertaining. I can’t say that the film’s characters are written all that well, but the likes of T.J. Miller and Anna Faris put in bright and smiley voice performances that keep the light-hearted and fun-loving vibes strong throughout the movie, while a few supporting characters, including Maya Rudolph as Smiler, and Stephen Wright and Jennifer Coolidge as the ‘meh’ parents, do a great job as their respective generic characters.

    However, I don’t want to get carried away praising The Emoji Movie, because it’s still full of problems that prevent it from being a properly entertaining family movie. It’s nowhere near on the level of The Lego Movie like it wants to be, given its very thin story, but it still struggles to be a properly funny and entertaining movie anyway.

    Above all, the comedy really isn’t that great. Although I chuckled a good few times, and the film’s vibrant atmosphere helped to make things more fun, The Emoji Movie very rarely makes for hilarious laughs, falling flat in a huge proportion of its many, many jokes, and even often creating cringeworthy silences where you should be laughing.

    Also, and rather unfortunately, it’s filled to the brim with product placement. The film already starts off on the wrong foot by suggesting that smartphones are the only thing that children ever look at nowadays, but then it goes the whole hog and starts shoving adverts for various apps and technologies in your face, and not in a cleverly satirical way that would have been acceptable.

    So, when the characters land in the Candy Crush app and the game’s logo is thrust in front of you, or when the Twitter logo itself comes flying down to save the day, you know things are just a little too much, and that really disappointed me, given how well the film does as a simple, lightweight family comedy.

    Overall, however, I did enjoy The Emoji Movie. It’s not a perfect film by any means, and definitely isn’t as funny or heartfelt as it thinks it is, but it’s by no means an awful movie, thanks to a vibrant, energetic and fast-paced atmosphere that should put a smile on your face and give you 86 minutes of simple family fun, which is why I’m giving it a 7.0.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.2
    Review
    May 30, 20220

    3754. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

    9.3
    Review
    October 25, 20140

    730. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

    8.8
    Review
    October 15, 20220

    3893. Heat (1995)

    8.4
    Review
    September 12, 20190

    2678. Kahaani (2012)

    8.0
    Review
    February 3, 20130

    41. Planet Of The Apes (1968)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.