The Emoji Movie

‘My name is Gene and I am supposed to be a meh’: so begins The Emoji Movie trailer.

There's a concern that The Emoji Movie might be so determined to tap into the 'mega lols' of the emoji zeitgeist that it forgets to give us a proper film with a story line, but so far, it's looking alright.

Gene, voiced by comedian T.J. Miller, faces a dilemma: a meh must be meh even when he feels more yay. Gene shrinks from consigning himself to a perpetual state of meh-dome, but it’s that or the dung-heap of Loser Lounge, where delinquent emoji are sent to stew. Caught between a rock and a hard place (cue mountain range emoji?) Gene must embark on a quest to uncover who he really is/will/ought to be.

Sir. Patrick Stewart is in his rightful position as the nation’s favourite poo emoji. James Cordon joins as Gene’s bumbling but well-meaning companion the Hi-5, and we’ll even catch a few unmistakeable bars of her majesty Christina Aguilera.

It bodes well that you won’t find on your phone any exact approximation of the ‘meh’ that this narrative relies on. Presumably the creators of The Emoji Movie are holding out for a wow react instead.