The first trailer for next year's animated comedy The Emoji Movie has debuted - and it hasn't exactly quelled suspicions the film is a pointless cash-in.
The movie will centre on Gene (voiced by T.J. Miller), a "multi-expressional" phone emoji, as he sets out on a journey to become a normal emoji. Stirring stuff.
The first teaser trailer sees the 'Meh' emoji, voiced by comedian Steven Wright, inviting viewers along to see the film in a thoroughly nonplussed fashion. Throw in a lame joke between the ice cream and poo emojis to finish things off, and you're hardly left with the impression that this will be the must-see animated film of 2017.
If you think The Emoji Movie has been designed as a quick cash-in, you may just be right. The Verge reports that as Gene sets out to become a normal emoji, he goes on an adventure in a teenager's phone, exploring apps like Spotify and Candy Crush and that "Sony partnered with said apps to wring as much marketing money out of the project as possible".
Since it debuted overnight, the trailer has been lambasted on YouTube and social media by viewers claiming it as "proof that Hollywood is completely out of ideas". And that was one of the kinder criticisms:
