Reviewing the Emoji Move and the Direction Hollywood Is Taking to Depict the Internet

by Alex Drake Manager

Hollywood cinema is still coming into grips with the Internet, which is the new medium on the block that has everyone's attention. It took them time to deal with the small screen known as television, so understandably they're also trying to figure out what to make of the Worldwide Web with similar carefulness and trepidation. The Hollywood movie and 3D animated family film "The Emoji Movie" can be seen a peek of how Hollywood currently sees the Internet, its memes, its trends, and it’s content. Apparently, Hollywood shows disdain for all things Internet and views such tripe as shallow and superficial (and this view is justifiable and confirmable in a sense). They (the studio) put in the lowest amount of effort possible for this movie. However, it still has its positives.

A Bold Move for a Bold Movie?

The Emoji Movie Is a Bold Move: The Emoji Movie, for all its faults and even though it's a critical bomb and a financial disappointment, is also a bold move for a studio to make. Sure, the studio was clueless when realizing the potential of this movie, instead viewing it as a paint-by-numbers marketing ploy in the same vein as the infinitely more successful Minions movie (which is the second highest grossing animated film of all time just behind Disney's Frozen), but the fact that they're coming into grips with a world that's more digital is a step in the right direction.

A Bold Decision Even Though It Faltered: The Emoji Movie can be considered one of the boldest mainstream American films ever made (or at least a bold topic to cover for a 3D animated movie that's not made by Pixar or Disney) because it can be seen as a multi-level allegory of sorts. Hollywood hasn't come into grips that the 2000s and the 2010s is in the Internet Age in such an impactful and palpable way since The Social Network. There are layers to be extracted from the Emoji Movie even though its execution is flawed and its attempt at conveying deeper meaning is lacking.

A Parody of Inside Out? For many people, Inside Out is automatically seen as the superior film that touches upon the emotions of those who watch it on multiple levels, from the fears that a child might have to those of his or her parents struggling to raise him or her. For good or for ill, the Emoji Movie can be seen as a parody of Inside Out, only this time as a window to the "never-before-seen" secret world of the smartphone (akin to the never-before-seen world of toys or never-before-seen world of cars). It also works as a Pixar parody in a sense.

A Good or Bad Parody? Claiming that The Emoji Movie is a "parody" of Pixar can be viewed in a negative light. Like it's not as good as a Pixar film and it misses the point of what makes Inside Out tick. On the other hand, critics of Inside Out might feel that the film is overrated with how everyone is driven by five basic emotions at a control panel. Meanwhile, in contrast, the Emoji Movie shows that there's no limit to a human's emotional states (Poop Emoji criticisms aside). The range of emojis available on your mobile phone is quite impressive, building upon the Emoticons of old Yahoo Messenger or AOL applications.

A Dystopia Rather than a World of Pure Imagination: Textopolis is an utter dystopia compared to the imaginative world of Inside Out filled with ear worms about Triple Mint Gum and a literal imaginary friend who has a sad fate await him. With the Emoji Movie, it's more about emojis occupying literal boxes before being used in text messages, trapped like little corporate drones in their cubicle, doing grunt work for obnoxious people who send these emojis out for the shallowest of messages without anything profound to say.

The Characters of the Emoji Movie: The protagonist is the "Meh" emoji named Gene (which is short for Generic) played by T.J. Miller. He's the emoji used for any response that involves indifference or cynicism, which many people in our world are feeling at the moment because they've been desensitized by the latest disconcerting news about the world today. Gene is also generic in the way he's portrayed as a misfit cut in the same cloth as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer because of his special ability to sometimes express different emotions aside from "Meh". You can watch this movie and such other animated movies online on 123movies.

Gene's Generic Quest and Its Layers of Satire: The hero quest for Gene is him getting debugged by a hacker so that he can serve his purpose of simply being a generic "Meh" emoji. While many critics are quick to point out that this is a paint-by-numbers motivation for a protagonist that's as generic as his name implies, perfects he's the perfect foil or even strawman for the Internet at large. He's the living satire of the Worldwide Web Culture that lacks as much depth as the 1980s MTV Generation and their obsession with music, fashion, and superficiality.

Subpar Animation But Good Message: Pixar undoubtedly outdoes Sony Pictures at every turn in terms of animation quality, even with set pieces involving Christina Aguilera playing a Hindu Goddess that rules over the JustDance App. Many youths will also cringe at the studio's attempts to portray or even parody familiar things, viewing their opinion as valid as grandpa's rants about Millennials at the dinner table. However, there's boldness with the way the emojis are portrayed as expressive and the message that there's infinite possibilities to be had for even virtual figments of the imagination that are limited by nature.

Bolder Than You'd Expect

The Emoji Movie deserves the flack it gets. It really does look like a parody of Inside Out the same way A Shark's Tale looks like a parody of Finding Nemo. However, even with what's shaping up to be the Plan 9 from Outer Space of animated 3D movies (Minions is the billion-dollar-earning Transformers of the same genre), there's a lot of lessons to be learned from this film even if it's a failed attempt at something good. It's a character driven piece that showcases the same message that the better Inside Out movie conveyed. There's depth to be had from the emojis and a person need not be defined by one characteristic in order to showcase depth in a world of shallowness. In this regard, it's a bolder movie than you'd expect.