History WesternAnimation / TheEmojiMovie

*** Also, you can't just cancel a factory reset unless you somehow force it, which it's probably the last thing you would want to do because of the huge chance that your phone could be damaged and turn into an expensive brick. And digital files don't regenerate from nothingness if they are deleted but then you don't want to. You can use external tools to recover them or have backup copies of your files.

The film's setting is inside the core of a teenager's smartphone. One of the smartphone's residents is Gene (Creator/TJMiller), a "meh" emoji who discovers he has the ability to make multiple expressions, an ability that no other emoji has and one that proves to be dangerous to the entire smartphone. Destined to fit in with the rest of the emojis, he teams up with his friend Hi-Five (James Corden) and ends up on an adventure of a lifetime alongside the rebellious Jailbreak (Creator/AnnaFaris), blazing through various smartphone apps and meeting other emojis along the way to discover his meaning.

* ActorAllusion: As Alex begins deleting the phone, [[Creator/PatrickStewart Poop]] [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration is seen sitting in a chair calling a “red alert”]]

* AnAesop: Probably one of the most message-heavy recent films. BeYourself along with [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill don't value freedom.]] There is also a [[{{UsefulNotes/Feminism}} feminist message,]] a message [[GoodParents about how to be a supportive parent,]] an IndecisiveParody of [[PhoneaholicTeenager Phoneaholic Teenagers,]] a lesson about not being a [[ItsAllAboutMe narcissistic jerk to everyone,]] a subtle GayAesop and to top it off, we get a good helping of ProductPlacement.

* AppealToInherentNature: Gene and Jailbreak's paths both involve learning that it's unacceptable to change the identity that they were born with. Even if said identities nearly cause the deletion of their homeworld or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking promote gender stereotypes.]]

* BigRedButton: Hi-5 has a compulsion to hit these.

** Mel and Mary shout this as they [[spoiler:throw themselves in front of Gene as Smiler's bot prepares to delete him. In contrast to Mel's which is loud and serious, Mary's is rather slow and drawn out, of the SlowNo kind.]]

* BrokenAesop: Taken to such extreme levels [[BrokenAesop/TheEmojiMovie that it has its very own page.]]

* CloseOnTitle: Though the opening credits are shown, the movie's title isn’t displayed until before the credits start.

* CursedWithAwesome: Gene's "malfunction" (the ability to change faces) [[spoiler:allows him to evade the bots by making himself look like a different emoji.]]

** Jailbreak's outfit and personality are very reminiscent of [[WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie Wyldstyle]]. Others have noted similarities in appearance to that of [[VideoGame/LifeIsStrange Chloe Price]] and [[VideoGame/{{Overwatch}} Sombra]]. On top of that, she's highly derivative of [[spoiler:[[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph Vanellope]]; a tough-talking female misfit who can hack the code of the electronic setting, and is secretly a princess.]]

* FantasticRacism: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], then played straight. At first nobody cares that Gene is walking down the street while making more than one facial expression. But just before he arrives for work, he is called out by a few Emojis for laughing. Then this is [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggerated]] as Smiler sends the bots to [[NeverSayDie delete him]] for [[IndividualityIsIllegal his special ability.]]

* FourLinesAllWaiting: Count the subplots. Gene [[IJustWantToBeNormal trying to conform]] and later learning to [[BeYourself be himself.]] Jailbreak understanding that she shouldn't value freedom. Hi-5 learning to stop being a [[ItsAllAboutMe narcissistic jerk.]] And while this is going on, Smiler's bots are hunting down Gene, Alex is trying to ask Addie to the school dance and Gene's parents are having relationship issues.

* LostAesop: Good luck trying to discern what we were meant to learn. Is [[BeYourself being yourself]] all about standing out in society, not caring what others think, or does it mean conforming to societal expectations and never changing your identity? The latter ties into [[UsefulNotes/{{Feminism}} the feminist lesson.]] Jailbreak is at first meant to be an independent-minded female character who rejected the sexism of Textopolis, [[RealWomenDontWearDresses and forms her identity around this.]] And then we run into the lesson about not valuing freedom, which apparently means that she should fully embrace those exact same sexist gender roles.

* MagicCountdown: [[spoiler:When the phone is being deleted and Gene is processing one last text to get Alex to change his mind, it takes a rather long time for the texting center to completely vanish into nothingness [[TalkingIsAFreeAction given the time Alex receives the text, sends it to Addie and tells her how he feels before stopping the deletion.]]]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Gene's search to find the ability to just make simply ''one emotion'' actually results in several apps getting deleted and [[spoiler:the entire phone getting erased temporarily.]]

* VocalDissonance: Jailbreak's high-pitched voice doesn't match her [[RealWomenDontWearDresses generic tough girl archetype.]] {{Justified|Trope}} because [[spoiler:she was originally a princess Emoji who took on a different persona. This makes perfect sense, but this actually resulted from a casting change.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

->''"The world we live in, it's so wonderous, mysterious, even magical. (...) The smartphone. Each system and programmed app is its own little planet of perfect technology. All providing services so necessary, so crucial, so unbelievably profound."''

** Poop is played by Sir Patrick Stewart himself and got his own character poster as well as appearances in most of the trailers and TV spots. He has about five lines in the movie, all of which are either puns or punchlines. Go figure.

* InformedAbility: Jailbreak is supposed to be a superb hacker, but at no point in the movie do we actually see her display any sophisticated hacking abilities. Her two greatest displays of "hacking" ability in the movie -- (guessing the password to Alex's firewall and deprogramming the bot to save Gene at the end) -- are upstaged by ''[[TheLoad Hi-5]]'' of all people. Arguably this could be foreshadowing for the plot twist that [[spoiler:she's actually a princess emoji, not a hacker emoji]], but that's probably giving the writers far too much credit.

* BrokenAesop: [[UpToEleven Taken to such extreme levels]] [[BrokenAesop/TheEmojiMovie that it has its very own page.]]

* FantasticRacism: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], then played straight. At first nobody cares that Gene is walking down the street while making more than one facial expression. But just before he arrives for work, he is called out by a few Emojis for laughing. Then this is taken UpToEleven as Smiler sends the bots to [[NeverSayDie delete him]] for [[IndividualityIsIllegal his special ability.]]

* ProductPlacement: Not just for the emoji icons[[note]]Emojis themselves aren't copyrighted since they are just a specification but the depictions can be, similar to how you can copyright your drawing of a smiley face but not the idea of smiley faces themselves[[/note]], but also for the real-life phone apps that appear in the film including Website/{{Facebook}}, Website/YouTube, Website/{{Twitter}}, Shazam, and more. There's even [[UpToEleven whole sequences dedicated entirely to]] ''VideoGame/CandyCrushSaga'' and ''VideoGame/JustDance'', and Dropbox is a crucial plot point.

* TakeThatAudience: Kids these days, always using their phones, totally disconnected from RealLife. This comes across as being extremely [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]] since the film panders to {{Phoneaholic Teenager}}s by jamming in as many technology and Internet references as possible. [[UpToEleven This is especially ironic]] considering that the writers [[ArtisticLicence take so many liberties]] with technology.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Smiler is treated as a despicable ControlFreak despite the dangers of an emoji making more than one face. Meanwhile, the film glosses over everything bad that Gene does, who doesn't even offer an apology. [[spoiler:Gene leaves Akiko Glitter to die with the trolls]], can't hold a face without panicking, feels {{entitled|ToHaveYou}} to fall in love with Jailbreak and his adventure actually accelerates Alex's decision to erase all the phone data.

* WorldWreckingWave: When the phone is being deleted, a green pixelated wave washes over everything before vanishing out of existence to a black void.

* MethodActing: [[UpToEleven Taken to the extreme.]] Gene is pressured by Emoji society to act "meh" for his entire life just so that smartphones can generate pixelated images.[[invoked]]
* MoralDissonance: The movie works hard to make sure you understand that Gene's an innocent victim and Smiler is a despicable control-freak dictator, despite the fact that ''everything she says about him is correct.'' Gene is not only directly responsible for the destruction of multiple apps, and for Alex wanting to wipe his phone, but he actually passes up several attempts to repair the damage he's caused (like when he [[spoiler:leaves Akiko Glitter to die with the trolls,]] despite the fact that it was ''his fault'' she was there in the first place).

* AppealToInherentNature: Gene and Jailbreak's paths both involve learning that it's unacceptable to change the identity that they were born with. Even if said identities nearly cause the deletion of their home world or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking promote gender stereotypes.]]

** The main conflict is that Alex needs to takes his phone to a store to get it factory reset when [[https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201252 that's a basic]] [[https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.androidcentral.com/how-factory-reset-android-phone%3famp feature of most phones]]. The only reason someone would need outside help to perform one is if they didn't know the option existed at all, and Alex explicitly knows what a factory reset is, but still books an appointment at the store for the sake of providing the Emojis [[ExactTimeToFailure a time limit to complete their journey]] instead of just immediately ending the movie in an anticlimactic DownerEnding.

* AreYouSureYouWantToDoThat: The phone store attendant asks Alex this if he really wants to delete everything on the phone. His response is simply, "Do it!"

* OneTrueLove: Gene sees Jailbreak as the one for him, even giving up his goal of working on the phone in order to be with her. He even alludes to the FairyTales. It hits hard when she rejects him, becoming a permanent "meh." This suggests that [[EntitledToHaveYou he felt entitled to her.]]

* MagicCountdown: [[spoiler:When the phone is being deleted and Gene is processing one last text to get Alex to change his mind, it takes a rather long time for the texting center to completely vanish into nothingness given the time Alex recieves the text, sends it to Addie and tells her how he feels before stopping the deletion.]]

''The Emoji Movie'' is a 3D [[AllCGICartoon CGI]] film produced by Creator/SonyPicturesAnimation and distributed by Creator/ColumbiaPictures, released on July 28, 2017 (originally set for August 4th). It is the second theatrical film to be directed by Tony Leondis (known for ''WesternAnimation/{{Igor}}'' and the direct-to-video ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch2StitchHasAGlitch''). The film centers largely around the UsefulNotes/{{emojis}} in cell phones.

* AnAesop: Probably one of the most message-heavy recent films. BeYourself along with [[BrokenAesop don't value freedom.]] There is also a [[{{UsefulNotes/Feminism}} feminist message,]] a message [[GoodParents about how to be a supportive parent,]] an IndecisiveParody of [[PhoneaholicTeenager Phoneaholic Teenagers,]] a lesson about not being a [[ItsAllAboutMe narcissistic jerk to everyone,]] a subtle GayAesop and to top it off, we get a good helping of ProductPlacement.

* FlatCharacter: Pretty much all of the characters never undergo much CharacterDevelopment throughout the film, especially Hi-5, who remains a narcissist even after learning the value of friendship. Alex stands out even more for not standing out, having no discernible character traits beyond being a generic teenager. And yet the film wants us to care about his romantic subplot with Addie.

* BigDamnMovie: For Emoji, duh.

* ButThouMust: In the text center, once an emoji is being scanned, it cannot be cancelled.

* CloseOnTitle: Though the opening credits are shown, the movie’s title isn’t displayed until before the credits start.

** ''Just Dance'' characters have a very distinct style, which Akiko Glitter looks nothing like. For one, [[https://ubistatic2-a.akamaihd.net/emea/justdance/website/fb-images/JD17-BoxArt.jpg they don't have faces]].

The film's setting is inside the core of a teenager's smartphone. One of the smartphone's residents is Gene (Creator/TJMiller), a meh emoji who discovers he has the ability to make multiple expressions, an ability that no other emoji has and one that proves to be dangerous to the entire smartphone. Destined to fit in with the rest of the emojis, he teams up with his friend Hi-Five (James Corden) and ends up on an adventure of a lifetime alongside the rebellious Jailbreak (Creator/AnnaFaris), blazing through various smartphone apps and meeting other emojis along the way to discover his meaning.

** An ice cream Emoji tells a story about a falling out he had with his boss over his job, and says "It's such a load of--" before [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar the camera pans to]] [[VisualPun Poop]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** A very literal case. See CurseCutShort above.
** Two of the emoji girls showcased in the DancePartyEnding are clearly meant to be ''Playboy bunnies''. Have fun explaining that one to your kids, dads!

-->"Gene and Jailbreak pass through the Spotify app and ride a music stream, because this is somehow the fastest way to the trash. I'll agree that modern music sucks, but this is a pretty harsh burn, movie."

* StealthInsult: To quote the review by Possum Reviews:

* [[ArtisticLicense Artistic License - Technology]]:
** [[spoiler:Alex is able to stop the factory reset process mid-way, a feat impossible under normal circumstances. The Emojis could still be recovered later on, as phones lack the capacity to delete their data]].
** The main conflict is that Alex needs to takes his phone to a store to get it factory reset when [[https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201252 that's a basic]] [[https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.androidcentral.com/how-factory-reset-android-phone%3famp feature of most phones]].

** The main plot point of "Emojis can only convey one emotion" is not exactly true. Ignoring that [[http://mentalfloss.com/article/70879/9-emojis-look-completely-different-other-phones emojis can look entirely different depending on what device they're on]], plenty of emojis have been used to express different things, either ironically or unintentionally (the eggplant emoji being a popular example of this). Yes, there's a lot of emojis that only have one meaning and are solely used for that meaning, but it's far from what the movie seems to portray.

** The emoji are able to interact with Internet trolls, even though trolls are real people and not smartphone programs.

** Akiko Glitter looks nothing like an actual ''Just Dance'' character. For one, [[https://ubistatic2-a.akamaihd.net/emea/justdance/website/fb-images/JD17-BoxArt.jpg they don't have faces]].

* CluelessAesop: People don't usually want smartphones that [[BeYourself be themselves,]] they want phones that promptly follow their commands at all times. Thus, the movie presents [[CosmicHorrorStory an environment]] where it makes sense for Smiler to want Gene deleted for a relatively small transgression. And yet the movie never truly calls out this system based entirely around serving an owner, despite the fact that the Emojis were momentarily deleted. Also, a film filled with constant ProductPlacement is a terrible way to get across social commentary about smartphones.

** Jailbreak's outfit and personality are very reminiscent of [[WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie Wyldstyle]]. Others have noted similarities in appearance to that of [[VideoGame/LifeIsStrange Chloe Price]] and [[VideoGame/{{Overwatch}} Sombra]]. [[spoiler:On top of that, she's highly derivative of [[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph Vanellope]]; a tough-talking female misfit who can hack the code of the electronic setting, and is secretly a princess.]]

* ShoutOut: The anti-virus bots, with their CyberCyclops design, HoverBot nature, and arms equipped with twirling blades, are clearly evocative of Maximilian from ''Film/TheBlackHole''.