The Emoji Movie 2 (2021)

(Credit to whoever owns the picture)

The Emoji Movie 2 is a 2021 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Favreau, director of 2016's The Jungle Book. This movie is the sequel to the poorly - received film The Emoji Movie, based on emojis.

The film stars T.J. Miller, James Corden and Anna Faris. The film is about, after the events of the first movie, Gene, Hi-5 and Jailbreak exploring the depths of cyberspace to stop a virus from spreading into the smartphone.

Plot
A few years after the event of the first movie, with Gene and Jailbreak married and with a kid, Rozy. Rozy decides that Gene is too "cringy" and leaves the phone. Gene, sad, is diagnosed with "meh" to the point where he doesn't feel any other emotion. Jailbreak, not noticing his deep anxiety, starts moaning about how Gene is "lazy" so she divorces with Gene without his own permission. Gene is upset, so he decides to quit his job and roam Internet Explorer. In the real world, Alex gets a virus, which is later revealed to be started by Rozy. Gene searches for Jailbreak, who is in the notification mail binging episodes of My Hero Academia. Gene tells Jailbreak about Rozy's virus, so they both go and find Hi-5, entertaining the emojis in the Loser Lounge. The three roam cyberspace, and when Gene captures the virus, Rozy threatens to destroy the internet. Gene uses the power of friendship to bring Rozy into the trash, and they live happily ever after.

Cast
T.J. Miller as Gene

James Corden as Hi-5

Anna Faris as Jailbreak

Maya Rudolph as Smiler

Steven Wright as Mel

Jennifer Coolidge as Mary

Cecily Bloom as Rozy

Patrick Stewart as Poop

Jake T. Austin as Alex

Tati Gabrielle as Addie McCallister

Production
Unsatisfied with the first movie, critics loathed the idea of a sequel, so there was no sign of a sequel until January 2019, when a sequel was announced. Director of the first film, Tony Leondis, said: "We understand the hate of the first movie, but we'll change hands for the better to make the sequel Wreck-It Ralph standards.

Cast
All of the returning characters reprise their roles, with Cecily Bloom, former actor of the main character from Peppa Pig, acting as Gene and Jailbreak's child, Rozy.

Music
Patrick Doyle returned to compose this film. Beyoncé recorded a song for the film's end credits, "Parties"

Release
In March 2018, the film was scheduled to release on July 9, 2021. A month later, the release date was pushed back to July 16, 2021, switching places with Pixar's ''Glockenspiel Game. In May 2020, the release date was pushed back to July 23, 2021, switching places with Paramount's Foul''.

Marketing
Similar to Paramount's Rumble, the teaser was shown before Connected, but not released online. An official trailer was released on February 12, 2021, and was heavily panned. A second trailer was released on May 5, 2021. A third and final trailer was released on June 24, 2021.

Video Game
The film's release was also preceded by a tie-in mobile game, Emoji Movie 2 CyberSpace Chase, a running game that was released on iOS and Android with optional in-game purchases.

Home Media
The Emoji Movie 2 was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 19, 2021 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Box Office
The film grossed $43.7 million in the United States and Canada and $134.6 million in other territories, adding up to $198.3 million worldwide, against a production budget of $60 million, making the film a box-office bomb.

Critical Response
The Emoji Movie 2 received very negative reviews, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 6% based on 112 reviews, even worse than the previous film, with an average rating of 2.32/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Small fry or big die, The Emoji Movie 2 holds the record for being even worse than it's predecessor with lazier animation despite the higher budget and a crunchy plot that brings no charm, wit or humor." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 10 out of 100, indicating "overwhelming dislike", and making it the lowest-rated animated film on the site. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade of "D-" from an A+ to F scale.