When it was announced that there was going to be a LEGO Movie, many felt that studios were really scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas. However, to everyone’s surprise, the film was a huge hit and critically acclaimed. In August of last year however, the original perception of studios scraping the bottom of the barrel was once again reinforced with the news that a Pez Movie was in the works. This left everyone scratching their heads and up in arms that Hollywood had finally gone off the deep end.
Then, in April of this year, it was announced that an Emoji Movie had even been given the green light. Despite the fact that over 6 billion emojis are texted every day, does that really warrant a feature-length animated film? Sony Pictures Animation seems to think so and now more details have been revealed about what audiences can expect.
It has now been revealed that, in addition to T.J. Miller (Deadpool) voicing a character in the film, James Corden of Carpool Karaoke fame, and Emmy nominee Ilana Glazer (Broad City) are also members of the voice cast for what is officially-titled Emojimovie: Express Yourself. A synopsis of the film has been released and can be read below:
“Emojimovie: Express Yourself unlocks the never-before-seen secret world inside your smartphone. Hidden within the messaging app is Textopolis, a bustling city where all your favorite emojis live, hoping to be selected by the phone’s user. In this world, each emoji has only one facial expression – except for Gene (T.J. Miller), an exuberant emoji who was born without a filter and is bursting with multiple expressions. Determined to become “normal” like the other emojis, Gene enlists the help of his handy best friend Hi-5 (James Corden) and the notorious code breaker emoji Jailbreak (Ilana Glazer). Together, they embark on an epic “app-venture” through the apps on the phone, each its own wild and fun world, to find the Code that will fix Gene. But when a greater danger threatens the phone, the fate of all emojis depends on these three unlikely friends who must save their world before it’s deleted forever.”
Commenting on the project, President of Sony Pictures Animation, Kristine Belson, had this to say:
“Over six billion emojis are texted every day, and emojis have become a universal language that transcends age and culture. The power of emojis is that they allow you to express yourself in a fast and very fun way, and that is what our movie is about: self expression. We are very lucky to have some of the smartest and funniest actors today bringing their unique voices to this movie.”
You can check out an official screenshot from Emojimovie: Express Yourself, below:
Director Anthony Leondis, whose past animation credits include Igor and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch, made sure to use no shortage of hand puns while describing the characters in the film:
“Hi-5 is a high-five emoji who is a highly motivated, and highly dramatic, hand on a mission (sorry), and the brilliantly versatile, ebullient and always lovable James Corden fits this part like a glove (sorry again). For the rebel ‘break all the codes’ computer programmer emoji Jailbreak, Ilana Glazer is the kind of singularly free-spirited, fearless and funny actress to make girls really feel the empowered ‘nobody’s gonna keep me in a cage’ attitude this character exudes. And, of course, T.J. Miller has proven himself to be one of the most genuinely inventive comedic actors around, uniquely capable of connecting and who can convey just about any expression—and often does!”
Despite the fact that many might find the idea of this film eye-rolling, it could end up proving profitable for Sony. The studio most recently capitalized on the success of Angry Birds, a smartphone game, and the results were stellar, grossing over $340 million worldwide on a $73 million budget. Most recently it was announced that New Line had optioned the rights to produce a Fruit Ninja movie, also based on a smartphone app. As studios continue to seek out unorthodox properties to base their films on, leveraging our obsession with smartphones, does this bode well for the future of entertainment – or will audiences simply respond with the poop emoji?
Emojimovie: Express Yourself arrives in U.S. theaters on August 11, 2017.
Key Release Dates
Emoji
Release Date:2017-07-28
