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The Emoji Movie - A modern classic in the making
∞/10
The medium of the movie has been an iconic staple of our culture for decades. We have become engrossed in these pictures flashing on a screen which manage to tell us a story that we can enjoy. Yet, it is very hard for many of us to define what makes a good movie. Of course, this definition can be subjective for many people, but at what point does a bad movie turn into a good one?

We could point to the critics, who tell us which movies are to be loved and which ones are to be abhorrent. Our reliance on these strangers to tell us what we should and shouldn’t watch is a big mistake on our part. True brilliance in filmmaking and storytelling is often very hard for those who deem themselves of the higher class to detect. It seems that in their mind, their opinions must be valued the most and all others are repugnant. We see this in history all the time such as Vincent Van Gogh’s work, whose paintings have only been thought of as masterpieces just recently. Therefore, it must be ourselves who point to what is good and bad. While the general consensus among critics is that the Emoji Movie is a repulsive excuse of a movie, history will soon see the true magnificence of the movie and will hail it as a classic among those such as Citizen Kane.

The Emoji Movie is a true masterpiece that excels at everything it sets out to do in the movie. The movie’s core principles stand out in a dazzling display of animation and music, while seamlessly joining together an intelligent plot to really emphasize its messages. One of the Emoji Movie’s prime messages is that of individualism, something that critics seem to be ignoring. At first glance, this message is obvious. The movie does a great job of making this message sparkle in the movie through its whole plot, but certain key factors push this message into the real world. The movie makes a statement to the current state of our bitterly divided world right now. As It’s a Wonderful Life became a classic to box office failure, the Emoji Movie is destined to become a classic despite the horrendous opinions of critics.

First off, the Emoji Movie also explores brilliant characterization. Every aspect of each character has been decided to make a point and portray a true character as best as possible. Character development runs rampant in this movie, and it is simply amazing to watch. Gene manages to progress from an ostracized emoji who can’t accept himself to a self-loving emoji also loved by everybody else. Jailbreak grows from an emoji who can’t accept the rules of the phone to an emoji who is able to accept the world around her. Even Hi-5, the emoji intended for brilliant and subtle comedy gains development from a popularity-obsessed emoji to an emoji who cares for others. However, character development can come in any film, but the Emoji Movie manages to set itself apart in this aspect. The Emoji Movie is a film where it is hard to have much characterization. After all, each emoji can only show one emotion. However, this forces the viewer to really think and analyze everything an emoji says or does because this can affect the meaning of what they say or intend to do. For instance, Smiler must always be happy, however, we can tell through the Emoji Movie’s masterful voice acting, brilliant animation, and careful script what Smiler means and intends to do. We can obviously tell, then, that the Emoji Movie has spent a lot of time with its characters.

All throughout the movie, the plot and the characters manage to have multiple eloquent messages expressed. The idea of being yourself is explored in-depth in the movie. Gene’s main issue is that he isn’t who he is “supposed to be,” though the movie later makes a point of how he should be himself. The fact that is able to be who he is, a multi-faceted emoji, really pulls through in the end and prevents the entire phone from being deleted. Meanwhile, Jailbreak is much more sure of who she wants to be. She is all about going against the norm. She was originally a princess emoji but wanted to be a hacker. Eventually, in the end, she does change back to be a princess emoji in a sudden twist, but her ability to accept who she is really gave a great ending to her character development. Even Gene’s parents gain a sense of who they are, with Gene’s dad, Mel, revealing he has multiple feelings, which manages to bring Mel and his wife, Mary, closer together. Ultimately, this film does a great job of accepting individuality and diversity. It truly does fit its slogan, “Express yourself.”

The characters themselves are very well done, but does the Emoji Movie work in making sure that these characters work well together? This is an obvious yes. Gene, being multi-expressional, is the perfect fit for a protagonist. He manages to be a sort of bridge between Jailbreak and Hi-5. Jailbreak represents a more serious, dramatic side of the movie. Jailbreak is consistently portrayed as the more serious and less energetic one, whereas Hi-5 is the opposite. Gene, being the multi-expressional one, also is the one who can bridge the gap between these two ideas. Gene turns the film into one where it can manage to seamlessly tie together comedy to keep the movie going and the main plot of the movie to create a powerful piece of film. These three work together to accomplish each other's goals. Gene helps Jailbreak and Hi-5 realize that it shouldn’t always be about themselves with truly inspirational quotes like “Why be number one if there are no other numbers?” Meanwhile, Jailbreak helps Gene realize that he shouldn’t always be complying with what society thinks and that he should be himself. These characters work well together and forward the film as a whole.

The Emoji Movie’s directing is simply a wonder to behold as well. Take for instance one scene where Gene, Jailbreak, and Hi-5 are traveling through a shortcut to get to Dropbox. The directing here is simply superb. It is very notable to see that the emojis are never separated by something on the screen. There is no bit of code that can form a line between them. The lines that do exist cut these three from the outside world, rather than between themselves. This represents how they are all united by a single cause and all have similar problems. They are united both literally and metaphorically and this directing shows it. Meanwhile, that line cutting them off from the rest of the screen represents how they are so focused on their goals at the moment. For example, Gene is focused on fitting in and so can’t see that he should just be himself. It’s like tunnel vision; he is only looking towards his goal and not at anything else, hence why he is cut off. This is simply just one example of the Emoji Movie’s superb and meaningful direction.

The animation as well is also beautiful to see. The people making the Emoji Movie have evidently put a lot of effort in the animation. The animation flows smoothly with 3D models emphasizing how the world inside the phone is something that is a reality to the emojis. The visuals of the movie are simply stunning as well in scenes such as the Spotify scene. The Emoji Movie is a beauty to behold.

Though, in all of this, it comes down one of the biggest and most subtle themes of the movie that almost everyone has missed: the theme of living life to its fullest. You see, the Emoji Movie’s supposed main theme is that of being yourself, but it branches off into a bigger one. When watching the movie, it was one that was very subtle, but it was a few key themes that set the alarm and made me truly recognize the masterpiece the Emoji Movie was.

Take the scene in the Trash, where Hi-5 is supposedly doomed to die. Here, a troll explains that they have until the end of the day until they are deleted. The Emoji Movie explores death in a way that most animated movies do not. Whereas in most movies, death is much more prominent as a grand and scary threat, the threat of death in the Emoji Movie is much less noticeable because we never explicitly see any death similar to death that humans experience. Death is introduced as something much more foreign to us. Since it is emojis and more digital beings that are being deleted, we cannot relate to this as much. While some critics say that this could be a negative aspect of the movie, I’d say it contributes to its core message. Death is much less noticeable to us because it represents how we think of death itself. Most people don’t think of death as this big, looming threat because usually, it’s not. We live in a world where death is most often far away from us. It’ll happen when we’re much, much older because of heart disease or cancer. The Emoji Movie recognizes this and so puts death in a way like this. The Emoji Movie then goes on to pull Hi-5 out of the trash. While there is much symbolism in this already, we can also acknowledge how this contributes to the main theme. We are directly faced with a more prominent threat of death in the trash. It is dark, gloomy, and scary but suddenly we are pulled out. The entire point of this scene is to face the viewer with death and then pull the viewer back into the light. In the movie itself, Hi-5 is faced with death and is pulled back into the wallpaper and given a second chance. This is the part of the movie where the character development really starts to shine and where the characters change the most. This represents how when faced with death, people tend to change themselves and usually start to live life to its fullest.

This loops back to our core message: living life to its fullest. Once faced with a prominent threat of death, everything begins to change. Gene, Jailbreak, and Hi-5 begin to accept who they are and start to live life to its fullest. We learn that since we will die someday, it is important to live every day as if it is your last in order to have the best life you can possibly have. It is important to treasure life and no movie knows this better than the Emoji Movie. The Emoji Movie truly encapsulates how people should be valuing their life and what decisions they should be making. In the end, the Emoji Movie leaves viewers with a poignant message of the value of life, albeit subtly doing so with its usage of the emoji. In the end, this is what truly pushes the Emoji Movie above the rest. The creators of the Emoji Movie has crafted a story of excellence despite its premise’s limitations, and for that, it will truly be remembered as a masterpiece and a modern classic by history.