Silicon Valley star T.J. Miller has landed the dubious honor of headlining Sony’s animated emoji movie.
On the heels of Angry Birds and Trolls comes Sony Animation’s Emojimovie, an animated adventure about a group of cartoon characters embodying a specific emotion.
No, not that one.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that T.J. Miller of Silicon Valley fame will voice the lead character.
To celebrate World Emoji Day yesterday, Sony released his ‘audition tape,’ which shows Miller pulling off various emoji faces, and appearing sad when he learns that Emoji Movie: Express Yourself is in fact animated, not live-action:
@nottjmiller spent #WorldEmojiDay reading for #EmojiMovie! https://t.co/9HpZzdx4l3
— Sony Animation (@SonyAnimation) July 17, 2016
We have to agree with Miller’s disappointment here: It’s really a shame this strange concept won’t be live-action, because we’d love to see Miller try to pull off those faces in the film itself.
There’s probably a great stoner comedy in there somewhere, though we’re sure the cute animated version will be fun for the kids — plus, don’t forget about that $$$ emoji; this will probably make millions.
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Sony’s Emojimovie: Express Yourself is written and directed by Tony Leondis, who has also brought us Igor and Lilo & Stick 2: Stitch Has a Glitch. It’ll be produced by former Sony Animation production chief Michelle Raimo Kouyate, who is also producing the 2018 animated movie Medusa.
The Emojimovie is set to be released on August 11, 2017.