The Emoji Movie’s first trailer is 150 seconds of kids’ movie cliches
Sure, The Emoji Movie never sounded like a good idea, but if there’s anything Hollywood has has proven in the past decade, it’s this: flagrant cash-grabs can be salvaged when the right talent is given enough creative control — 21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie, 22 Jump Street. Okay, I’m just talking about movies made by Chris Miller and Phil Lord.
The Emoji Movie isn’t made by Miller and Lord, and that is immediately obvious from the trailer, which appears to superficially borrow from their work without quite getting its deeper appeal. The pitch is nearly as generic as its title.
“Welcome to the world inside your phone,” says Jean the Meh Emoji, “where everyone is expected to act one way their whole life.” The remainder of the trailer is…
