History YMMV / TheEmojiMovie

* CriticProof: In spite of universal reviewer vitriol, the movie still turned up a small profit (grossing over $217 million on a $50 million budget), possibly due to BileFascination more than anything else, though.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Akiko Glitter is an antagonist, but you wouldn't know that from reading about her online. She forces Gene, Hi-5, and Jailbreak to dance with her (letting Smiler's bots catch up with them) and threatens them with what Jailbreak calls "digital death" if they can't copy her moves. But her GenkiGirl personality feels sincere enough that [[BileFascination "fans"]] consider her one of the best parts of the movie, ignore all the trouble she caused for the heroes, and consider her ultimate fate to be KarmicOverkill.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:

** Smiler also seems to be pretty well-liked, if the amount of people (including on this very website) believing that she's the [[RootingForTheEmpire real hero of the movie]] and supporting her antagonizing of Gene is any indication.

* EsotericHappyEnding: If Alex learns to take advantage of Gene's special ability, then several of the most popular Emojis would be out of a job. Looks like Smiler had another reason to be wary of Emojis expressing more than one emotion. Since the loser lounge is still functional despite Smiler's defeat, they might possibly be sent there one day.
** Alex [[FlatCharacter learned absolutely nothing through the entire movie]] and so the CosmicHorrorStory remains intact. Given Alex's rash decision making, they will all be in far greater danger than Emojis on other phones. The only reason that they weren't all erased was because Addie was so EasilyImpressed.
*** [[TechnologyMarchesOn The phone would probably be replaced in a few years anyway.]]
* FridgeHorror: When the Factory Reset is initiated, the phone's universe starts evaporating, and all the characters are fully aware of this, as implied by the Candy Crush voice stating 'Game Over' as the game is being erased, the utter panic of both the emojis and the malware as they futilely attempt to outrun the erasure, even the Website/YouTube videos react in pain/terror. It's very similar to King Candy's ImagineSpot of ''Sugar Rush'' being unplugged in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph,'' only it's happening for real. Feeding into this, this is what happens every time someone deletes/trashes their phone in this universe. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

** The very premise of the film itself becomes this after Apple released [[https://emojipedia.org/animoji/ Animoji]] for the [=iPhone=] X, where the emojis there can make as many faces as they want. Gene would feel right at home.

* {{Narm}}: This film has many [[Narm/TheEmojiMovie unintentionally hilarious moments]].

* RootingForTheEmpire: [[StepfordSmiler Smiler]] is one of the most popular characters in the movie and what makes her even easier to root for is that everything she says is ''[[DesignatedVillain right]]'', since Gene's inability to stand still to do his work does almost get the phone destroyed. Many people were really hoping she did kill Gene and the others. [[http://uproxx.com/movies/the-emoji-movie-running-diary/ One critic said that he was "openly rooting for Gene to be executed."]]

** Many of the emojis in the film rarely play a critical role, often being relegated to background characters or having brief lines. Of particular note is Poop, who despite being featured prominently in the marketing, and being voiced by ''Creator/PatrickStewart'', no less, [[AdvertisedExtra only has around two minutes of dialogue throughout the entire film]], all of it consisting of unfunny ToiletHumor.
** Of all the strange and unique emojis, you gotta wonder why they chose a simple facial emoji as the main character.
** Quite a few people liked Akiko Glitter. Gene doesn't even try saving her when going back for Hi-5 despite her still functioning and thereby preventing her from doing more is a frequent complaint. She and the other characters they meet also never [[BackForTheFinale reappear during]] the DancePartyEnding, despite the film playing "Feel This Moment," ironically a song performed by Christina Aguilera, the voice of Akiko. And speaking of that, despite being voiced by [[Music/ChristinaAguilera a very talented singer]], never once does Akiko sing in the movie.
* TooCoolToLive: Many people found [[EnsembleDarkhorse Akiko Glitter]] to be one of the only genuinely likable characters in the movie... but she's also the ''only'' character to die.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: As a movie themed around technology that was popular at the time, this is bound to happen. Standouts include references to games that were popular when the movie released (''VideoGame/CandyCrush'' and ''VideoGame/JustDance''), the devil emoji being red (It was later changed to purple), and [[spoiler: the Twitter bird appearing towards the end]], dating the movie to before [[spoiler:the bird was [[AbandonedMascot abandoned]] and replaced with a white and black ''X'' logo]].

** Gene's father, Mel Meh is also able to make more than one face, and has hid it from everyone in his life. However, this raises the question why he didn't help Gene figure out how to hide being able to make more than one face all this time, nor even tell him that he wasn't the only emoji capable of doing so. He also doesn't seem to try and sympathize with Gene, or show any understanding for something he himself suffers from and passed onto Gene.
** Gene isn't too sympathetic himself. Sure, he stops the phone from being reset, but several apps were deleted because of him. He doesn't even try to rescue Akiko Glitter when he goes to save Hi-5 from the trash, when he himself was responsible for her being there. As well, there's his panicking upon being picked by Alex and his inability to make a single face, which really shouldn't be too hard.
** Hi-5's [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered and arrogant personality]] made him come across as unlikable to many audience members. When he gets sent to the trash, there's a good chance you will not feel sorry for him.
** Jailbreak has zero sympathy points as well. While we're meant to relate to her for not wanting to be the sexist symbol she was designated to be, her {{flat|Character}} and [[{{Jerkass}} cold personality]] as well as her general pretentiousness makes it impossible to relate to her in any way.

* TheWoobie: Akiko Glitter becomes this after ''Just Dance'', her home and purpose in life, is deleted. She's then sent to the trash along with Hi-5, some trolls and a spam emoji. Even worse is that Gene didn't even bother saving her when he came to save his best friend.

** The ire against this film was so incredibly potent and widespread (with many saying that it would start a trend of __ movies that would revolve around current popular trends and be just as terrible as this movie, thus resulting in the end of cinema as an art form) [[Creator/BobChipman that]] [[WebVideo/MidnightScreenings several]] [[WebVideo/DoubleToasted reviewers]] felt the need to point out that it's "[[DamnedByFaintPraise merely]]" just regular "run-of-the-mill" bad, not "the-end-of-all-cinema" bad. Even then, there are some people that honestly didn't think the film was really ''that'' bad as others believe it to be, as well as questioning whether or not the critics in question are [[TeenHater projecting their]] [[ChildHater hatred of the]] [[PhoneaholicTeenager film's target audience and smartphone culture in general]] onto the film.

* MisaimedMarketing:
** Judging by the comments of many viewers, Sony's decision to release their first trailer narrated by [[DullSurprise an apathetic emoji]] (voiced by Creator/StevenWright to boot) seemed to signal that Sony was completely indifferent about selling their movie in a way that would appeal to the audience.
** A promotional image was posted on Twitter that parodied ''Series/TheHandmaidsTale'', a book and television series involving a woman enslaved by the government to produce children. Needless to say, it [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emoji-movie-criticized-tasteless-handmaids-tale-tweet-1024054 was quickly taken down]] after everyone pointed out that maybe this wasn't the best thing to make a joke out of.
** In the weeks leading up to the film's release, Sony Pictures reached out to a [=YouTuber=] called WebVideo/{{Jacksfilms}} and invited him to the movie's world premiere, arguing that he was the movie's biggest fan (as he had done several videos praising it), and since most popular [=YouTuber=]s have a demographic that consists mainly of twelve-year-olds, the executives probably wanted to use him and his videos to market the film. However, Jacksfilms' "praise" of the movie was entirely ironic, and he and every subscriber of his (who are mostly adults) were ''making fun of the movie'', which was something the executives at Sony Pictures apparently failed to realize. His reaction at getting invited to the film's ''world premiere'' was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1-Lnk99G1U priceless]].
--->'''Jack:''' Hey honey!\\
'''Erin:''' Hey honey.\\
'''Jack:''' Uh... ''[starts {{corpsing}}]'' Do you wanna come with me to the world premier of ''The Emoji Movie''?\\
'''Erin:''' [[BrutalHonesty Not really.]]\\
''[{{beat}}]''\\
'''Jack:''' ... Too bad! ''[breaks out laughing]''

* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Poop is the most popular of the emojis, only due to having the voice of Creator/PatrickStewart. Many viewers would have preferred he take the place of Hi-5 in the mission, as he would have been at least a ''little'' more tolerable. Others, however, don't see the appeal in a role that essentially amounts to "Patrick Stewart is a talking piece of poop that does nothing but [[ToiletHumor make poop jokes]]".
** Jailbreak ''does'' admittedly have a few fans (someone even shipped her with [[WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie Wyldstyle]], a character she tends to get compared to) due to her cool tomboy design and personality, but like almost everything else in the movie, she certainly is ''not'' without her haters for the belief that she's a carbon copy of Wyldstyle and that her being a princess was stolen directly from [[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph Vanellope]].
** Gene himself, even to detractors. Some still find him one of the more tolerable characters in the film due to his well-meaning nature, while others feel that his character flaws are far too blatant to completely ignore and find it one of the contributions to the movie's bad quality.

* EvilIsSexy: Smiler is rather attractive for an Emoji.

** The ire against this film was so incredibly potent and widespread (with many saying that it would start a trend of __ movies that would revolve around current popular trends and be just as terrible as this movie, thus resulting in the end of cinema as an art form) [[Creator/BobChipman that]] [[WebVideo/MidnightScreenings several]] [[WebVideo/DoubleToasted reviewers]] felt the need to point out that it's "[[DamnedByFaintPraise merely]]" just regular "run-of-the-mill" bad, not "the-end-of-all-cinema" bad, and even then, there are some people that honestly didn't think the film was really ''that'' bad as others believe it to be, as well as questioning whether or not the critics in question are projecting their hatred of the [[PhoneaholicTeenager film's target audience and smartphone culture in general]] onto the film.

** Patrick Stewart as the poop emoji, while [[WTHCastingAgency being a very weird casting choice for many]], it led some to watch the movie if only for that specific reason. The studio seems to have been aware of this, including giving a special mention during the credits with, "And '''Sir Patrick Stewart''' as ''''Poop''''."

** Hi-5 spends much of the film as a self-centered {{narcissist}} concerned with popularity more than anything, and causes way more trouble than he's worth, up to including indirectly causing ''Just Dance'' to get deleted by turning the app on in the first place. And while the film tries to portray him as undergoing major CharacterDevelopment, [[FlatCharacter his personality changes remarkably little]].

** Poop is also the most popular of the emojis, only due to having the voice of Creator/PatrickStewart. Many viewers would have preferred he take the place of Hi-5 in the mission, as he would have been at least a ''little'' more tolerable. [[BaseBreakingCharacter Others, however, don't see the appeal]] in a role that essentially amounts to "Patrick Stewart is a talking piece of poop that does nothing but [[ToiletHumor make poop jokes]]".

** The ire against this film was so incredibly potent and widespread (with many saying that it would start a trend of __ movies that would revolve around current popular trends and be just as terrible as this movie, thus resulting in the end of cinema as an art form) [[Creator/BobChipman that]] [[WebVideo/MidnightScreenings several]] [[WebOriginal/DoubleToasted reviewers]] felt the need to point out that it's "[[DamnedByFaintPraise merely]]" just regular "run-of-the-mill" bad, not "the-end-of-all-cinema" bad, and even then, there are some people that honestly didn't think the film was really ''that'' bad as others believe it to be, as well as questioning whether or not the critics in question are projecting their hatred of the [[PhoneaholicTeenager film's target audience and smartphone culture in general]] onto the film.

* WTHCastingAgency:
** Creator/PatrickStewart as [[TalkingPoo Poop]]. Stewart himself more or less stated in an interview his inclusion and role was meant to be a joke from the start, but still.
** Creator/AnnaFaris as [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Jailbreak]]. Her voice already sounds out of place due to being a [[TheOtherMarty last minute replacement]] for [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Ilana Glazer]], but Faris' high-pitched, cutesy voice is [[VocalDissonance the last thing you'd expect]] to associate with the tough girl archetype that Jailbreak is meant to be, and sounds [[{{Narm}} hilariously jarring at times]].

** The ire against this film has been so potent and widespread (with many saying that it would start a trend of __ movies that would revolve around current popular trends and be just as terrible as this movie, thus resulting in the end of cinema as an art form) [[Creator/BobChipman that]] [[WebVideo/MidnightScreenings several]] [[WebOriginal/DoubleToasted reviewers]] felt the need to point out that it's "[[DamnedByFaintPraise merely]]" a really bad movie, not the end of all cinema, and even then, there are some people that honestly didn't think the film was really ''that'' bad as others believe it to be, as well as questioning whether or not the critics in question are projecting their hatred of the [[PhoneaholicTeenager film's target audience and smartphone culture in general]] onto the film.

* ClicheStorm: One of the film's biggest criticisms is that it is an unashamed mishmash of animated movie clichés from its era, as highlighted in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmUvW4egbNQ this video]] comparing it (or more, merely its ''trailer'') to the many, ''many'' works that it is derivative of. People had even begun ([[IKnewIt correctly]]) predicting the plot beats, characters, and the ending for this film since ''before the posters were even released'': the [[TheGenericGuy generic protagonist]] who [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer doesn't fit in]] [[IJustWantToBeNormal goes on an adventure seeking to conform.]] Along the way, he meets an [[ComicRelief obnoxious comic relief]] and a [[RealWomenDontWearDresses generic tough girl]] who [[RebelliousPrincess happens to be a princess dreaming of more]] while being hunted down by an [[ControlFreak order obsessed villain.]] She is defeated, which results in [[DancePartyEnding a giant dance party.]] We also get [[StockAesops the timeless message]] of [[BeYourself being yourself]] when the movie itself [[{{Irony}} lacks an identity]], and the movie makes sure to [[{{Anvilicious}} ram it down the audience's throats at every opportunity]].

[[folder:#-J]]

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: As noted multiple times on this very entry, the Internet as a whole despises this movie for its blatant ripping off of [[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph many]], [[WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie many]], ''[[WesternAnimation/InsideOut many]]'' [[Franchise/ToyStory other]] better-liked animated films. The first trailers were viciously ripped apart online for their nearly beat-for-beat repetition of tired [[ClicheStorm animated cliches]], and it got even worse when at least one plot twist was stolen ''[[FollowTheLeader directly]]'' from ''Wreck-It Ralph.''

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: As noted multiple times on this very entry, the Internet as a whole despises this movie for its blatant ripping off of [[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph many]], [[WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie many]], ''[[WesternAnimation/InsideOut many]]'' [[Franchise/ToyStory other]] better-liked animated films. The first trailers were viciously ripped apart online for their nearly beat-for-beat repetition of tired [[ClicheStorm animated cliches]], and it got even worse when at least one plot twist was stolen ''[[FollowTheLeader directly]]'' from ''Wreck-It Ralph.''

** Hi-5 spends much of the film as a self-centered {{narcissist}} concerned with popularity more than anything, and causes way more trouble than he's worth, up to including indirectly causing ''Just Dance'' to get deleted by turning the app on in the first place. And while the film tries to portray him as an undergoing major CharacterDevelopment, [[FlatCharacter his personality changes remarkably little]].

* DesignatedVillain:
** Smiler is played up as a ControlFreak when really, she is only trying to prevent Textopolis' ''death''. Smiler is clearly protecting the city out of altruism, as opposed to a desire for power. At worst, she is a mildly unstable WellIntentionedExtremist and, even then, Smiler had very few options. Overall, it is difficult to view Smiler as a monster because she is justified in marking Gene as a threat and, even otherwise, Gene himself is not particularly endearing in the first place.
** Akiko Glitter serves as an antagonist, given that activating the ''Just Dance'' app was presented as an undesirable thing, she slows the heroes down allowing the bots to catch up to them, and threatens to drop them into the void if they can't keep up with her moves. However, her personality and the fact that the heroes seem to genuinely enjoy dancing with her meant that most viewers saw her as an unfortunate victim of [[DesignatedHero Gene and Hi-5]]'s antics, and [[UnintentionallySympathetic thought that being deleted and abandoned was an undeserved fate]]. And slowing them down was [[DesignatedHero Hi-5]]'s fault in the first place because of pressing a big red button.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Many viewers consider Smiler to be a [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure reasonable leader]], rather than the tyrant that the [[DesignatedVillain film tries to present her as]]. Under her rule, Textopolis seems to be a clean, healthy and well-managed city without any crime or social problems, and the citizens we meet are genuinely friendly and good-natured. Smiler wants to eliminate Gene not only because he fails at an easy task that every other citizen accomplishes ''automatically'', but also because his failure is so ''catastrophic'' that it destroys the workplace and threatens the survival of the entire city from the emojis' perspective. Gene's flight from justice causes a lot of damage (including at least one death), and he does not even try to rectify it. His inability to stick to only one expression could put countless other emojis out of their jobs, so to Smiler, Gene represents mass unemployment and the potential destruction of Textopolis.

* ItsNotSupposedToWinOscars: Some people actually tried to defend this movie with the excuse that "it's made for children", but many, ''many'' others pointed out the near-complete lack of effort on the film and the excessive ProductPlacement in something supposedly meant for children, as well as the existence of kids' movies that are well-loved by everyone rather than being hated by [[AudienceAlienatingPremise even their own target demographic]]. Amusingly, it ''was'' submitted to the Oscars as well, meaning they clearly expected some sort of interest from them, invalidating the entire argument.

%% We're Still Relevant, Dammit! does not apply since that trope is about an existing franchise trying and failing to modify itself to stay relevant, and The Emoji Movie is an original work... [[TheyCopiedItSoItSucks relatively speaking]], at least.

* FandomRivalry: Well, if the movie ''[[AudienceAlienatingPremise had]]'' any fandom to speak of:
** A ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' movie directed by Creator/GenndyTartakovsky was ([[MisBlamed often mistakenly believed to be]]) put on the backburner for this -- so given the widely-negative response to the film's premise, a number of fans of the cartoon/comic strip have expressed disdain for this movie. Other fans of Tartakovsky are fine with his movie being iced, [[DiscardAndDraw since it gave him an opportunity]] to {{uncancel|led}} ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' and give it an actual ending after several years.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'' fans see the film as a blatant attempt to [[FollowTheLeader emulate that film's success]]. It doesn't help that this film's female protagonist, Jailbreak, looks near-identical to Wyldstyle.
** ''Film/TheDarkTower'' film was pushed back to August so that this movie would be released on July 28. Needless to say, fans of Stephen King weren't happy. However, the reception to that film wasn't great either.
** The ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' and ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' fandoms hate ''The Emoji Movie'' for aping them both in many ways.
** The ''WebAnimation/InAHeartbeat'' fandom finds it ironic a four-minute-long Kickstarted short made by a small team, is a million times better than a sponsored, big-budget movie with an AllStarCast. Adding more fuel to the fire, one of the main characters is helped by an eccentric heart that looks a bit like an emoji itself.

* IdiotPlot:
** Creator/JeremyJahns' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0zNRjFBn78#t=00m047s review of the movie]] points out that Alex is nervous about sending a text to a girl he likes... despite him having her phone number to send said text.
--->'''Jeremy Jahns:''' This freshman in highschool [is] trying to muster the guts to send an emoji text to this girl that he likes. But he gets nervous 'cause he can't talk to her. Though apparently, he got her phone number. [[DeadpanSnarker He talked to her enough to get her phone number, so there's that.]] ''Now'' he's gonna be nervous about sending her an emoji? Dude, you're already like halfway there! Stupid.
** Critics such as Creator/BradJones and WebVideo/{{Bobsheaux}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlv9K4EnKMI#t=8m36s points out]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2egaTGOwE#t=8m42s that]] Gene's "multiple-face" trait should be a non-issue ''by the film's own logic''. The non-facial-expression emojis are not expected to stay in character 24/7 - Poop went from confident to smiling just before being scanned - implying that their role is not so different from an actor acting in-character while on set and going about their daily life while off-duty. But it's never explained why only the faces have to maintain their expression.
** There are many parts in the movie where characters are shown walking around the apps rather than going through them without being caught by the bots, showcasing that the main characters didn't need to go through numerous apps to get to their goal. The only reason that they needed to do so was to get the characters into trouble, extend the runtime and make the ProductPlacement possible.

* EightPointEight: The author working at Common Sense Media gave the movie a 3/5 in a '''decidedly''' [[SoOkayItsAverage mixed review]]; however, it turned out that was ''just'' enough to count as a "Fresh" rating on Website/RottenTomatoes, thus keeping the movie from having a 0% Tomatometer rating. As such, she received a bit of flak for this, though it lessened after another critic (from Puerto Rican newspaper ''El Nuevo Día'') gave the film an outright positive review, and a third gave the film a similarly mixed review in which they deemed it just barely watchable.[[note]]As of October 29, 2017, the film now sits at 9% on RT with ten "fresh" reviews out of 106 total. On another minor incident that gained some infamy, [[http://www.siete24.mx/entretenimiento/cine/484371/semaforo-siete24-vamos-al-cine/ Siete24's review]] had no positive remarks in the actual review and gave it a semáforo ROJO (red stoplight, i.e., don't go) but was counted as "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes, although this has since been fixed.[[/note]]

** The movie's title and premise don't even bother to hide that it was made in an attempt [[FollowTheLeader to cash in on the success of]] ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', with even the [[http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/the-emoji-movie/264831/explaining-the-emoji-movie director]] describing it as Sony's own "Lego movie". It doesn't help that the female lead [[CaptainErsatz strongly resembles Wyldstyle]][[note]]Coincidentally, in Latin America, they even share the ''same voice actress'', Karla Falcón[[/note]]. Also, [[Creator/AnnaFaris the voice actress for Jailbreak]] was married to [[Creator/ChrisPratt the lead actor]] from ''TheLEGOMovie''. She also resembles [[VideoGame/LifeIsStrange Chloe Price]] in appearance, if not in personality, and her subplot plays out like that of [[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph Vanellope's]].