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The opening "Emoji" cue is not only an excellent summary of the Textopolis and Gene themes in The Emoji Movie, but Doyle went wild with his instrumental creativity in this moment as well. While Gene's theme dominates the more obvious melodic aspect of the cue, "Emoji" is the undeniable highlight for the Textopolis theme in the score. It debuts at 0:38, bouncing back and forth between the left and right channels, and achieves fuller orchestral form at 1:31 for the first view of Textopolis. While it provides background duties thereafter, returning at forefront at 3:12 with Gene's theme, its rhythmic structures are omnipresent in the cue. Rarely does this idea receive an actual resolution, but it does at the end of "Emoji." Most impressive are Doyle's instrumental and sideshow flair for particular emojis that are met on the streets in that scene. The "Jingle Bells" melody on trumpet and tambourines for a Christmas tree emoji at 1:50 is followed by tragic strings for a melodramatic emoji at 2:15, a theremin effect for an emoji with a freaky injury at 2:22, Latin exuberance for the dancing tango emoji at 2:51, a didgeridoo for an Australian shrimp emoji at 3:27, and a woodblock for a clock emoji at 3:48. In that cue, Gene's theme opens the movie whimsically as the universe narrows down to a kid's phone. It becomes fuller at 1:19 over the Textopolis rhythm as Gene is introduced, even more upbeat on violins at 1:36 over bubbly accompaniment. His theme starts defining the cue at 2:57 on keyboards over jungle percussion for an interaction with the monkey emojis and returns at 3:18 and 3:35 on strings and woodwinds in a longer version of the opening phrase. The Textopolis theme goes on to build background momentum in the middle of "Smiler Orientation" and opens "Gene" in full force in a reprise of "Emoji" that builds to an excellent crescendo. That theme offers some quick determination for the Gene theme at 1:09 into "Rooftop," is ominously included under villain material in the middle of "Blitzkrieg Bots," becomes infectiously cool in the first half of "Let's Roll!," is very lightly plucked with humor at 1:32 into "Tunnel to Dance App," and closes "Gene Chooses Hi-5" under Gene's theme in another momentous crescendo. The idea explodes late in "Tentacle Chase" in cool action mode, is teased in the rhythm that opens "The Firewall," has subtle rhythmic allusions in the middle of "Cloud and Confessions" and end of "Desperate Deletion," and is reduced to a funny ringtone abbreviation of the melody in "Emoji Ringtone," a bonus track on the album.

Outside of the opening "Emoji" cue, Gene's theme receives the most significant treatment from Doyle in The Emoji Movie, from the lightly delicate contemplation at 1:43 into "Bathroom Life Lesson" to the muscular brass at 0:54 into "Smiler Orientation," a cue that later turns the idea fully electronic. The idea is nicely sensitive on woodwinds at 0:13 into "Rooftop," where its interlude sequence struggles to enunciate itself. That interlude is fully exposed on piano at 1:16 into "Gene Chooses Hi-5," a preview for the pretty and romantic piano treatment in "Instagram Paris" over saxophone and accordion that stands as the best overall rendition of the theme. Thereafter, Gene's theme is twinkling on celeste and violins in the middle of "Seas and Whale Songs," moves to stately symphonic shades later in "The Trash Escape," segues into feathery whimsy in the middle of "Cloud and Confessions," and opens "A Princess Takes Flight" with fanciful beauty before being cut off humorously, yielding a quick outburst at the end of the cue. Resolute horn solos offer Gene's theme in "Desperate Deletion," and Doyle saves the most heroic renditions for "Gene Saves Textopolis." In this cue, the composer opens the finale with melancholy spirit, including the interlude sequence on piano, but he builds it to a fully victorious ensemble performance at 1:17 in which that interlude is provided its one and only massive version. The theme eventually closes the score in fanfare mode. Aside from these two main themes, Doyle provides several others that recur for various characters. His personal favorite is the romance theme fully introduced in the latter half of "Instagram Paris" on acoustic guitar and strings. This love theme is rather short-changed for the female lead of the story in the remainder of the work, but it does grace "Tunnel to Dance App" briefly on oboe, informs the middle of "The Firewall" on piano, and provides brief sadness late in "Desperate Deletion." The villains of the story are represented by the most abrasive electronic tones, though they also technically have a motif of descending minor trios in "Boardroom Terrors" under theremin and brass stingers. This idea is expanded into a rambling extension in "Blitzkrieg Bots," haunts the middle of "Gene Chooses Hi-5," meanders lightly in the background of "Trash and Trolls," and becomes a bit devious at 0:24 into "The Firewall." As an extension of that material, the lead villain, Smiler, receives her own nebulous idea, one that's deceptively cute early in "Smiler Orientation" but shifts its chords to tones of brutal evil in "Smiler's Illegal Upgrade."

More minor motifs shuffle throughout The Emoji Movie, Doyle mostly pinpointing their usage to individual scenes that highlight certain characters. Gene's parents, for instance, receive a motif that is a funny alteration of Gene's theme throughout "Bathroom Life Lesson," and this idea returns as a quick diversion at 0:28 into "Tentacle Chase." Among the better orchestral applications is what seems like a Textopolis anticipation motif, a more complicated string version of the Textopolis theme that elevates the action at 2:26 and 2:42 into "Emoji," returning during the major crescendo early in "Gene." Other motifs tend to get lost in the second half of the score as Doyle starts rotating between genres more frequently for comedic effect as peril is introduced. This decision leads to a handful of unique cues worth mentioning, some admirable while others worthy of merely an eyeroll. The composer's action and suspense material is highlighted by the full ensemble and synth outburst at 1:04 into "Gene," this mode reprised in "Delete and Rescue." The somewhat synthetic choral fantasy in "The Wallpaper" is effective, ensemble voices seemingly sampled at this point. A wild electric guitar is employed for scary chasing in "Mehs and Bots" and "Trash and Trolls" and used more romantically in "The Trash Escape," where it is joined by solo female voice in pure, Ennio Morricone Western parody mode. One of the wackier cues is the funny, Danny Elfman-like march of doom in "Candy Rescue," while a touch of Alan Menken's The Little Mermaid prevails in "Seas and Whale Songs." A heavenly, angelic variation of several themes commences at 0:26 into "Cloud and Confessions" and offers some of the work's easiest listening. The somewhat haphazard skittishness of the score's second half does diminish its narrative, but the high quality of "Gene Saves Textopolis" and its wrapping of the Gene theme mostly compensate. Casual listeners will find the opening ten minutes, the "Instagram Paris" romance cue, and "Gene Saves Textopolis" to be the prime combination of music to represent this work, though enthusiasts of the infectiously motivating Textopolis theme will seek all its variants throughout. Ricky Reed's original song, "Good Vibrations," is included on the otherwise score-only album, but Christina Aguilera's "Feel This Moment," used multiple times in the movie, including the end credits, is not. Doyle's work for The Emoji Movie is admirable, and the keen mix of the opening "Emoji" cue makes a lossless presentation recommended. Rarely do children's scores display such smart electronic and symphonic balance and exude so much positive energy without immediately tiring the listener.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Patrick Doyle reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.79 (in 34 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.43 (in 26,571 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 62:25