"I love it that you told me that. What happened? Were they mad?"
That's Anna Faris, who is promoting The Emoji Movie. In the upcoming animated movie, she voices Jailbreak, a misunderstood emoji who is angry because of this personality misunderstanding. She wants to do something about her situation, so she helps main character Gene (T.J. Miller) on his hero quest. Anyway, we are talking about technology, and the way that it dominates our lives. So I relay an embarrassing story about how I recently was hustling through the grocery story while texting, and I rounded an aisle and barreled right into a total stranger.
This delights Anna Faris. She laughs loudly, and agrees that these are normal situations now, which she thinks speaks to the important message of her animated movie. Faris tells CinemaBlend:
It IS the norm! And it's confusing. This is what we do now. And I now have to have the conversation with my husband, like, 'When do we get Jack a phone?' What are we all becoming? But I like to think that the movie addresses some of the lack of communication that we have on a deeper level. Because this is the state of things.I'm saying the standard line right now, but I believe it. The message [of the film] is incredible, in terms of being yourself. Also, how do we not lose ourselves on our phones, and technology? I hope that that's the case. I have a four-and-a-half year old, and I hope that he loves this movie. I also hope that people can escape their phones sometimes and have long walks with people.
Directed by Tony Leondis, the animated The Emoji Movie imagines a world inside our smart phones, where emotive figures that we use to communicate interact and live when we don't need them for our text messages. The land is called Textopolis, and in this realm, Gene (T.J. Miller) is on a mission to become more normal -- like the rest of the emoji. He crosses paths with folks like Hi-5 (James Corden) and the Poop emoji (Sir Patrick Stewart) as he hopes to reach his goal.
Catch the trailer for the The Emoji Movie below:
Anna Faris knows a thing or two about voicing animated and/or CG characters, having lent her pipes to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and a handful of Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. Her Jailbreak character will bring a needed edge to The Emoji Movie. We'll have more with Faris as the movie approaches. The Emoji Movie opens in theaters on July 28.
