The Emoji Story

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2:02

The Emoji Story

2019

1h 21m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

12 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Exploring the complex, conflict-prone, and often hilarious world of the creators, lovers, and arbiters of the emoji, the world's newest pictorial language.

Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

The idea of a feature-length documentary about emojis may sound whimsical, but the more filmmakers Ian Cheney and Martha Shane probe the topic, the more intriguing questions are opened up.

Aug 9, 2019

Full Review

Frank Scheck

The Hollywood Reporter

Everything you always wanted to know about emojis, but were afraid to ask.

Apr 29, 2019

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Nathan Mattise

Ars Technica

To be clear, the overall topic is far more fascinating than many people think. The Emoji Story traces this modern language's unorthodox lineage...

Jul 26, 2021

Full Review

Edwin Arnaudin

Asheville Movies

Cheney and Shane fortify a seemingly frivolous concept with such profundity as considering whether emojis have the power to enhance language or destroy it.

Rated: B

Jan 1, 2021

Full Review

Nathaniel Muir

AIPT

An interesting look at the power and importance of emojis. A fun look that takes on serious questions.

Dec 22, 2020

Full Review

Carla Hay

Culture Mix

The movie takes a fascinating look into the process of getting a new emoji approved by the Unicode Technical Committee (UTC), a mysterious group based in California's Silicon Valley.

Jul 12, 2020

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dave d

I'm not sure how a documentary that should be fascinating is often borderline unwatchable. There's something really wrong with the narrative. It's all over the spectrum and not nearly as focused as it needs to be. We have talking heads telling us things we already know. I had so many questions about this new language, but unfortunately the filmmaker often makes things political and isn't as much concerned about the history. To say this is all over the place is an understatement. If you have unanswered questions about emojis, they are likely to stay unanswered. A colossal failure of a film. Final Score: 3/10

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting at times and deeply offensive at other times. The movies included a good history of how emoji's evolved and how they are continuing to evolve. However, the movie is often disrespectful to those who created and who are are trying to maintain a user friendly Unicode for the world to use. The movie speaks of cultural awareness and appreciating people of all cultures. However, at the same time they openly call the Unicode consortium a xenophobic slur (They negatively referred to them as "Yankees").

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Ian Cheney

Director

Martha Shane

Director

Ian Cheney

Producer

Jennifer 8 Lee

Producer

Martha Shane

Producer

Fred Benenson

Executive Producer

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The Emoji Story: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Exploring the complex, conflict-prone, and often hilarious world of the creators, lovers, and arbiters of the emoji, the world's newest pictorial language.

Director: Ian Cheney, Martha Shane
Producer: Ian Cheney, Jennifer 8 Lee, Martha Shane
Production Co: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 22, 2020
Runtime: 1h 21m

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