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The Emoji Story

Play trailer 2:02 Poster for The Emoji Story 2019 1h 21m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 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.

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The Emoji Story

Critics Reviews

View All (12) Critics Reviews
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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (2) audience reviews
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 Full Review Read all reviews
The Emoji Story

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

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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