The Emoji Movie: Thinking of a Career as an Emoji? Watch this Out-of-this-World Animated Film First!

This week from Sony Pictures Animation comes  The Emoji Movie. The studio has certainly served strange animation flicks before such as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 2009 and its sequel in 2013. It has also blended animation with live-action in The Smurfs, an expected movie hit for 2011. Now The Emoji Movie may the studio's most bizarre animated film yet by presenting emojis as characters on an adventure through the digital world of a smartphone.

Official Synopsis:

The Emoji Movie 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, 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 and the notorious code breaker emoji Jailbreak. 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.

The world of emojis inside smartphones.

The Emoji movie features the voice talents of T.J. Miller (Deadpool, Transformers 4) as lead protagonist Gene, a Meh emoji, Anna Faris (recently separated  from Chris Pratt) as Jailbreak, James Corden (The Late Late Show with James Corden) as Hi-5, and Maya Rudolph as Smiler.

Left to right: Gene (T.J. Miller), Hi-5 (James Corden), Jailbreak (Anna Faris)

T.J. Miller (Deadpool, Transformers 4) voices Gene, a Meh emoji with emotional issues.

Left to right: Poop (Sir Patrick Stewart), Smiler (Maya Rudolph)

Top-billed celebrity cameos include pop artist Christina Aguilera as Akiko Glitter, and Sir Patrick Stewart of X-Men / Star Trek renown as Poop (LOL!). In the world of sci-fi geek-dom, it's delightful to see Sir Patrick "loosen-up" in his late career taking on such role which would have been unimaginable of the Shakespearean actor during his days as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek The Next Generation.

OMG, Sir Patrick Stewart (X-Men, Star Trek) is Poop Daddy!

Sir Patrick Stewart interview by Conan about being Poop Daddy.

In the context of being Poop Daddy on The Emoji Movie, our research on Sir Patrick came across this video from his sitcom series Blunt Talk which is particular hilarious in the context of this movie (watch & LOL!):

The Emoji Movie releases in Malaysian cinemas this week on 17 August 2017. Stay tuned to the latest movie updates on the official Facebook Page and website, as well as locally via Facebook for Sony Pictures Malaysia.

T.J. Miller with live emojis at a photocall during Cannes Film Festival. Photo - Reuters.

During a publicity stunt at the Cannes Film Festival in May, lead voice actor T.J. Miller parasailed in for a photocall (a media event to photograph movie features). However, after a safe landing he inadvertantly fell into the sea and thereafter remained soaked for the media event, much like the comedic elements expected in an animated film like The Emoji Movie. Whilst a wet T.J. Miller did not quite catch our attention in the news, it was the assortment of live emoji characters accompanying him during the photocall that really caught our eyes. From the publicity photos, there were at least 8 different Emoji Movie mascots sighted comprising Gene / Meh, Jailbreak, High-5, Cookie, Ice-Cream, Heart, Lips and Pizza, although Poop himself seemed missing. Read more about this Cannes photocall from Reuters.

Meet Gene and Poop here in Malaysia!

Locally we won't be seeing so many live emojis here but we have with good authority that Gene and Poop Daddy himself will be appearing for Meet & Greet sessions with fans at the following locales:

• Wednesday 16 August, 8.30pm @ GSC 1 Utama
• Friday, 18 August, 11.30am @ Sogo KL and 8.30pm @ GSC 1 Utama
• Saturday, 19 August, 3pm @ GSC IOI City Mall and 8.30pm @ GSC Midvalley Megamall
• Sunday, 20 August, 12.30pm @ GSC Midvalley Megamall and 3.30pm @ TGV KLCC
• Saturday, 26 August, 12pm & 3pm @ GSC Sunway Carnival, Seberang Jaya
• Sunday, 27 August, 1pm @ TGV 1 Utama and 4pm & 6pm @ TGV Sunway Velocity

And be careful hugging that Poop because well... you know what that emoji is meant to be!

For movie merchandise collectors, there are a bunch of Emoji Movie toys from McDonald’s® Happy Meals. For 5 weeks starting 3 August until 6 September 2017, two emoji plush characters will be available weekly:

• 3 - 9 August 2017: Gene 1 & Gene 2
• 10 - 16 August 2017: Dice & Jailbreak
• 17 - 23 August 2017: Hi-5 & Cat with Heart Eyes
• 24 - 30 September 2017: Monkey & Stop Sign
• 31 August - 6 September 2017: Frog & Slobbering Puppy

Each emoji comes with 2 expressions on each side of the plush. Grab em fast as per usual only available while stocks last.

Now for quirky fashion aficionados, Giamax has release limited edition handbags and other leather goods featuring The Emoji Movie. These official licensed movie merchandise was promoted at a Handbag Party last Saturday 12 August at Parkson Elite in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. Check out photos of the handbags, purses and backpacks below and see what took placed at the Handbag Bag from Giamax's photo album on Facebook.

Limited Edition The Emoji Movie Giamax handbags and leather products.

 

These Giamax limited edition Emoji Movie merchandise is also available now at Sogo Kuala Lumpur at the ground floor Beauty Arcade until 28 August 2017. Make a minimum purchase of RM200 worth of these Giamax products and also take home a free lips emoji cushion.

Plus join Sogo's emoji lookalike contest on Facebook to stand a chance to win 1 of 5 Emoji Movie sling bags. To participate, contestants need to post a collage of 5 photos of  their impressions as emojis with a caption by 28 August 2017. Check full terms and conditions from their Facebook contest post.

Follow Giamax on Facebook for latest news on their Emoji Movie products, including the chance to win handbags every week from their Emoji Movie x Giamax  Facebook Photo Contest. To join, take a photo at their Photo Booth backdrop as selected retail locations then post to Facebook with the hashtags #giamaxemojimovie #giamaxhandbag. Check out their Facebook post for further instructions and full terms and conditions.

Over at GSC Cinemas Emoji Movie car stickers are being given out for every 2 movie tickets purchased. There are 2 designs issued randomly in selected cineplexes only. Check at GSC website to find out which locations to redeem this promo.

Finally TGV Cinemas is offering a Limited Edition Emoji Movie member card for their Movie Club. Cards may be collected upon sign-up over the counter (membership RM30) or existing members may swap their existing cards for a fee of RM5. Find out more directly from the TGV website.

Gene with Jailbreak and Hi-5 in tow begin their App-ventures on 17 August.

Some funny memes to LOL your day:

Disclaimer: The Emoji Movie and its trademarks are copyright to Sony Pictures Animation & their respective owners, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.

Despicable Me: A Truly Despicable Box Office Success

Back in summer of 2010, the inaugural Despicable Me animated movie took the blockbuster season by storm. Not based on any fairy tales nor a sequel from a successful franchise, Despicable Me's original story with compelling characters and comedy appealing to both kids and adults held its ground against box office giants like Toy Story 3 and Shrek Forever After that same year. Raking in over USD543 million worldwide, Despicable Me screamed for a sequel spawning Universal Pictures' most profitable franchise.

Despicable Me (2010): $543 million.

That sequel simply titled Descpicable Me 2 released 3 years later in 2013 to satiate fans with a box office of over USD970 million. In between the 2 movies, Universal Studios Florida opened the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem theme park attraction in 2012. This attraction has since extended to Universal Studios Hollywood in 2014 and Japan in 2017. Perhaps Universal Studios Singapore would be next?

Despicable Me 2 (2013): $970 million.

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment recognised that their Minion characters were part of the success of the franchise. So in 2015 they released a Minions movie just for the lovable yellow creatures. This prequel surpassed expectations plundering almost USD1.16 billion worldwide, ranking it as the 2nd highest grossing animated movie of all time! Cumulatively the 3 movies have earned over USD2.67 billion with an average production budget of only USD73 million per movie. Do the math and that's over 12 times return on investment!

Minions (2015): $1.16 billion!

Flashback on our Blog post on The Minions in 2015.

With that much profit that borders being despicable, we now come to the 3rd installment and 4th movie of the franchise, Despicable Me 3. Welcome back Gru and his lovable daughters, Margo, Edith and Agnes, plus of course the Minions aplenty. Steve Carell returns as the voice of Gru but also pull double duty this time as the voice of Dru, Gru's long-lost twin brother. "Oh brother" indeed!

Despicable Me 3 (2017): Care to guess the box office gross?

Official Synopsis:

Gru faces off against Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who has grown up to become obsessed with the character that he played in the '80s, and gets into some sibling rivalry when he meets his long-lost charming, cheerful, and more successful twin brother Dru who wants to team up with him for one last criminal heist to steal the diamond that Bratt has stolen. Meanwhile, The Minions rebel against Gru and decide to return to villainy with their new leader, the Minion Mel.

Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, the animated film is produced by Illumination’s Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and executive produced by Chris Renaud.

From what can be gleamed from the trailer, not much of Balthazar Bratt is shown at all. Instead it focuses on introducing Dru and forthcoming misadventures into villainy by the twin brothers.

As popular as the Minions are, they look to feature substantially in their own story revolting against Gru and spending time in prison as seen in this next trailer:

Introduction bad boy Minion Mel.

By the way, voices of ALL the Minions come from one-man, Pierre Coffin the director himself! Coffin is of French and Indonesian descent which explains why some of the Minions gibberish speech sounds like Indonesian / Malay in this scene from the 2015 movie:

The Minions language is also said to contain words from English, Greek, Spanish and Italian.

Given the track record of this franchise, Despicable Me 3 looks set to be another huge animation hit. There are no reviews out yet at time of this post but here are 5 reasons given by CinemaOnline.

This school holidays, MyTOWN Shopping Centre has teamed up with United International Pictures Malaysia to bring Gru and his Minions LIVE to Malaysian fans!

Meet Gru with Minions Kevin (left) and Stuart at MyTown Shopping Centre.

Gru together with Minions Kevin and Stuart will be conducting Meet & Greet with fans everyday at 1pm and 6pm until 12 June, with additional sessions on Fridays, weekends & public holidays at 4pm. Find them at the main atrium ground floor near entrances of Parkson and Uniqlo.

Other family-friendly activities are available during the day. Fans can get free Minion tattoos whilst shoppers spending a minimum of RM200 receive thematic nail art. Kids can also join the arts and craft workshops to create Minion goggles, pencil holders and toppers. There is also loot to be won from Despicable Family Games leading up to every Meet & Greet session.

Crafting Minion accessories. Photo credit: thelevel.my.

Showing your love of Minions.

Kids colouring stations.
Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Photo credit: John Gullidge.

Find out when these fun activities are happening from the MyTOWN website scheduled until 12 June. So head on over this weekend for some despicable fun before school starts next week. It may even be the last chance to meet Gru and his Minions live before they head to their next adventure!

1 June has been designated Despicable Day and celebrated last week at MyTOWN in a special event for media and social media personalities. Here's a video of what happened:

Despicable Day at #MyTOWNKL
What a perfectly despicable day we had at #MyTOWNKL! Dance-offs’, Minion tattoo and nail parlours were just the beginning of the fun. Were you here that day? If you missed out on the fun, worry not, we’ve got you covered with plenty more fun-filled activities till 12 June. So bring your loved ones and come on over now, Compai! #DM3 #minions #DespicableMe3My
Posted by MyTOWN Shopping Centre on Sunday, 4 June 2017

Complimenting the Despicable Me activities are lots of merchandise to take home like toys, clothes or bedding products. Spend over RM200 here (and at other MyTOWN shops) to redeem a free limited edition Minion mini-squishy on top of free nail art.

Take home these squishy Minions when spending over RM200 at MyTOWN.

Check out these official merchandise which can easily exceed RM200 and help fund the next Minion movie:

Now the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has been keeping our Tricorders scanning for other Despicable Me promos. Firstly, collectors of McDonald's Happy Meals should already have noticed the release of Despicable Me 3 toys since last week. 5 different sets of Despicable Me 3 figurines are available and being released weekly:

Stay happy when you get your Minion from a Happy Meal.

Meanwhile TGV Cinemas is offering the Despicable Me 3 Combo for RM28 comprising a regular popcorn and soft drink in a movie cup with figurine topper. 5 designs are available so completist collectors prepare to watch more movies at TGV Cinemas.

Over at MBO Cinemas, their Despicable Me 3 combos offers molded Minion 22oz cups with popcorn and limited edition Tic Tacs looking like Minions. Plus save RM2 when purchasing combos together with movie tickets.

Once Despicable Me 3 officially opens on 15 June, GSC Cinemas will be giving out Mini-Minion keychains with their Despicable Me 3 combo comprising 2 regular soft drinks and 1 large popcorn. There are 4 keychain designs to choose from featuring Minions that look like Kevin, Stuart, and Bob. Grab them fast as who knows which Minion is more popular

To get an earlier preview of the movie, United International Pictures Malaysia is offering Premiere Screening passes through contests on Facebook and Instagram; find out how to enter from their Note on Facebook. Also try your luck for contest by Hype.my and Hitz.com. To win some official Despicable Me 3 merchandise, join this contest by Nickelodeon Asia.

FREE stuff from Nickelodeon!

Disclaimer: Despicable Me, Minions and other trademarks are copyright to Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures, referenced here for fan service engagements without intent to infringe.