When the first trailer arrived for the film adaptation of the 1980s cartoon Jem and the Holograms, many fans of the show were not pleased. The reigning consensus was that the One Direction-scored trailer implied that the movie would dishonor the memory of the fantastical TV show. This reaction from Facebook captures the backlash: "THIS IS NOT JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS! This is Hannah Montana with pink hair." Fusion wrote that the "reboot betrays everything that made the 80s cartoon wonderful."
But now, in an interview with Collider, the movie's executive producer Jason Blum is speaking up for the film, saying that the actual movie might change opinions. "A trailer is two minutes, a movie is 90, so you can’t show the whole movie in two minutes, so a lot of the things that people feel are not in the trailer and were in Jem and the Holograms are actually in the movie, so the only thing I hope is that the people who are passionate Jem fans, which I really understand, just put their judgment until they see the movie," he told Collider. "If they see the movie and feel the same way then let us have it, but I just have to say, watch the movie first and then judge." Blum's ultimate conclusion: "Don’t judge a book by its cover, I guess I’m saying."
Given Blum's comments, perhaps the film doesn't totally ignore some of the hallmarks of the show, like villainous band The Misfits, or the computer, Synergy. As evidenced in the trailer, the movie gives Jem a mundane, 21st Century-appropriate backstory complete with a viral video that helps Jerrica Benton, played by Aubrey Peeples from Nashville, get discovered.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT