Awhile ago, back in “Spider-Month”, I talked about the most recent effort from Sony Animation, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”. In that review, I called the film that studio’s crowning achievement in an otherwise spotty (at best) record. Still, in hindsight, that was a completely unfair assessment of the studio’s combined output, given that they have another timeless animated classic to their name, and given how famous they are for this cinematic achievement. Yes, dear readers: It’s time for another reverent look at an underrated favorite of mine: “The Emoji Movie”. It’s just a sad state of affairs that this surprise piece of perfection made some bad first impressions with some cringe-worthy marketing following its release. Still, if there’s anything I’ve learned after years of covering films as a hobby and as a contribution to La Salle’s entertainment columns, it’s that hindsight is always 20/20, and while my initial expectations for this movie were about as low as the standards of Ben Kingsley’s agents, I’ve found that almost two years of existence has vindicated the unanimous critical praise that has been heaped upon “The Emoji Movie”. Today, I’ll be taking a look at how this timeless, hilarious and meaningful animated classic succeeds on almost every level.
Alex is a fairly unremarkable schoolboy, save for the fact that his smartphone houses a sprawling city of emojis called “Textopolis”. The story that unfolds in this wonderland of phone apps and product placements (which takes no cues whatsoever from any animated movies before it) follows Gene (T.J. Miller), a misfit “Meh” emoji that finds himself diverging from the role of his apathetic-by-design parents by developing emotions beyond his chosen boredom. This is dubbed a “glitch” by Smiler (Maya Rudolph), the leader of the city, who sets Gene up to be deleted from the phone. Fearing this fate, Gene flees and seeks the aid of a hacker emoji, who he believes can fix this perceived defect. What follows is a substantial fable of acceptance of one’s own self, populated by worthwhile characters like the ineffectual, yet hilarious Hi-Five (James Corden), the trickster hacker turned princess named Vanell- I mean Jailbreak (Anna Farris), and the poop emoji, voiced by Patrick Stewart in a casting decision that, much like the concept of the film itself, never at all loses its novelty and goes out of its way to give the base premise some variety.
I’ve said before that familiarity need not necessarily breed contempt, and in the case of “The Emoji Movie”, that little kernel of truth stands firm. For instance, the characters are instantly endearing and memorable, and the world-building is truly unique. One may call the shifting rules of the Textopolis and the functions of the emojis inconsistent and hackneyed, but I’m one to defend such decisions, as the unexplained nature of flitches in Textopolis encourages the audience to leave the facets of the world to their imaginations. Furthermore, the characters’ memorability and endearment work wonders for an already inspired premise of “world inside a smartphone”. Patrick Stewart’s Poop, for instance, has all but ten lines in the whole film, therefore ensuring the one-note joke is still very much funny by not overstaying its welcome, and Hi-Five’s unintentional escalation of the danger our protagonists get into, which is and always has been comedy gold that in no way makes the character a walking annoyance. Add that to pop cultural references that remind us all of the genius of “Casablanca”, and you have a stand-out comic formula Still, those are merely the comic elements of the film, and thankfully, the story of a misfit in a colorful world apart from our own makes the film stand out even more. I could go on and on, but I’d rather you watch this movie based on what I’ve recommended so far, and if you haven’t ever seen…
- Toy Story
- Inside Out
- Wreck-It-Ralph
- Coco
- Monsters, Inc.
- Shrek 1 & 2, or…
- Come to think of it, most of the greater Pixar filmography…
Then this could very well be the film of the century. And saying that has only caused FIVE blood vessels to pop inside of my brain!
Yes, that’s all. April Fools, dear readers. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I shall now bleach my brain in preparation for actual review content down the line.
Rich Reviews 