The Emoji Movie DVD Review

Whether you missed it when it was playing in theaters, or love it so much as to watch it over and over again, the good news is The Emoji Movie is now available on DVD, Digital and Blu-ray. Not only will you be able to watch the movie whenever you want with whomever you like, but you will also have access to tons of exclusive features not available on the big screen.

Synopsis:

The animated comedy 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 (T.J. Miller), 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 (James Corden) and the notorious code breaker emoji Jailbreak (Anna Faris). 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 Emoji Movie features an all-star voice cast including T.J. Miller (How To Train Your Dragon) as Gene Meh, James Corden (“Late Late Show with James Corden”) as Hi-5, Anna Faris (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) as Jailbreak, Maya Rudolph (Big Hero 6) as Smiler, Steven Wright (Louie) as Mel Meh, Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie, Legally Blonde) as Mary Meh, Jake T. Austin (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) as phone owner Alex, Grammy® Award Winner Christina Aguilera as Akiko Glitter, Emmy® Award Nominee Sofia Vergara (The Smurfs) as Flamenca, Rachael Ray (“Rachael Ray”) as Spam, Emmy® Award Winner Sean Hayes (“Will & Grace”) as “Devil” Steven, and Emmy® Award Nominee Sir Patrick Stewart (X-Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Poop.

The Emoji Movie is directed by Tony Leondis, with screenplay by Tony Leondis & Eric Siegel and Mike White and story by Tony Leondis & Eric Siegel. The film is produced by Sony Pictures Animation, with Michelle Raimo Kouyate serving as the producer.

DVD and Digital Bonus Materials include:

• Director & Animators Commentary
• Puppy! An Original Hotel Transylvania Short
• Jailbreak Decoded: The Untold Story
• "Good Vibrations" Dance Along
• "Good Vibrations" Lyric Video
• Express Yourself: Meet The Cast
• Girls Can Code!
• Choreographing Emoji With Matt Steffanina
• Creating the World Inside Your Phone
• Bringing Emojis to Life
• How To Draw Poop
• How To Draw Gene

Blu-ray Exclusive Bonus Materials include:

• Everything listed above, plus:
• Gimme a Hand! Guess the Emoji Game
• Sweet App-etite: Make Your Own Candy Crush Inspired Saga Cake

My kids were very excited to watch The Emoji Movie for our family movie night. They were totally fascinated by the colorful, fanciful and eventful digital world inside Alex's smartphone and were fully immersed in it for as long as the movie went. I was amazed by the wild and bold imagination of the creators of the movie. The somewhat familiar but mundane smartphone screen suddenly got a life and meaning of its own. The crazy adventure of Gene, Jailbreak, and Hi-5 unraveled something new and interesting about the commonly used real-life apps like Dropbox, YouTube, Candy Crush and more. My favorite scene of the movie is when Jailbreak learned to release her inner self and master the freestyle dance moves when the three of them got inside the Just Dance mobile game.

Besides its entertainment aspect, the movie also delivers valuable educational messages through its action-filled storytelling. It encourages young viewers to embrace their uniqueness and stand up to challenges. It also shows the power of friendship, teamwork, and courage. It's a fun movie for the entire family to enjoy.

Filled with interactive bonus materials, the DVD makes a wonderful holiday gift or stocking stuffer. The “Puppy! An Original Hotel Transylvania Short.” is a funny surprise for fans of Hotel Transylvania, the "Jailbreak Decoded: The Untold Story" reveals why Jailbreak becomes the way she is, while the "Good Vibrations" Dance Along gets you to move, sing and dance. Get your own copy of The Emoji Movie here.

Disclosure: I received a free product to facilitate my honest review. All views and opinions expressed are my own.