Netflix Viewers Are Loving One Of The Worst Movies Of All Time
It has been a big year for animated movies theatrically, with Inside Out 2 being one of the year’s biggest hits, pulling in around $1.6 billion and counting at the box office. Despicable Me 4 is also doing very well in theaters, having made over $800 million so far. However, one unusual movie is also doing very well on Netflix, with The Emoji Movie debuting as the number one movie on the streaming platform, despite the abysmal reviews it got when it premiered in 2017.
Widely Criticized As The Worst Animated Movie Of All Time
To be clear, not much has changed regarding the perception of The Emoji Movie. It currently has a 6 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Some critics still call it one of the worst animated movies of all time. The concept alone was criticized at its release as being lazy, unimaginative, and feeling like studios could churn out anything regardless of standards for a children’s movie.
Netflix Subscribers Want To Judge For Themselves
With The Emoji Movie just now debuting on Netflix, it is possible that its popularity on the platform comes from young viewers looking for something to watch that they haven’t seen on Netflix. Perhaps others are watching it out of curiosity, wondering whether it is really as bad as critics say. Or perhaps some viewers genuinely feel it is worthy of a reevaluation.
The Star-Studded Voice Cast
Regardless, The Emoji Movie was a surprisingly star-studded movie, with the likes of Patrick Stewart, James Corden, Sofia Vergara, and Christina Aguilera all having voice roles in the film. The movie stars T.J. Miller as Gene, the meh emoji, who lives inside the smartphone of a boy named Alex. Gene and all the other emojis exist to be used in messages, but Gene happens to malfunction if he is used.
This leads to Gene being targeted for deletion since he is not functioning the way he is supposed to. However, what follows is a story about how it is okay to be different from what people want you to be, and accepting what makes you unique is how you will find the people who truly appreciate you. Despite the criticism The Emoji Movie got, critics did respect its message.
Came Out Around Movies With A Similar Message
The Emoji Movie also faced the problem of coming out in the same time frame as other popular animated movies that also conveyed that same message. Wreck-It Ralph was released in 2012 and featured the titular character, learning he could be more than the villain he was designed to be. Then Inside Out came out in 2015 and featured the message that you don’t have to force yourself to act happy all the time because emotions like sadness are normal and healthy to feel.
Now Available On Netflix
The Emoji Movie was subsequently regarded as a derivative, inferior story when compared to its predecessors. At the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards, it won the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Director.
Regardless of whether The Emoji Movie’s current popularity on Netflix stems from it finally finding some fans, or just people enjoying it ironically, it seems the movie has finally found an audience who is getting some entertainment value out of it.
