.@melissa_keir: Jem is Not The Cartoon #moviereviews

​Expecting it to be like your favorite cartoon, you’ll be terribly disappointed. I’m giving Jem and the Holograms a C.

Jerrica Benton and her sister, Kimber come to live with her aunt and her aunt’s two foster daughters, Shana and Aja. Jerrica loves to play music and secretly records herself as Jem playing a song, which her sister uploads to the internet, forcing her to become an internet sensation. When Starlight Music comes around with a contract, Jerrica agrees because the family needs money to save their house. Fame causes a split among the girls when Erica Raymond asks for only Jem to be under contract without the girls.

​I was a huge fan of the 1980’s cartoon. Jerrica Benton and her foster family became my own family and I sang along with the music, bought the dolls and dreamed of becoming a Rock Star. This Jem and the Holograms movie has nods to the original cartoon series but there’s a big difference among the two. While Hasbro was one of the producers of the movie (and the former maker of the dolls), they only used the names and rough outline of the characters rather than the actual story. Eric Raymond becomes Erica Raymond and Jerrica Benton is younger. They didn’t use any of the original songs but had their own Jem and the Holograms music.

​While fans of the original series will be upset, this Jem and the Holograms movie has a positive message which will resonate with families, especially young girls. In fact, one lady who watched the movie said that she liked the movie because of the wholesome nature of the movie, but she didn’t have a clue about the cartoon. 

​If you aren’t expecting the movie to be like the original, you will enjoy the movie more. Fans will come away sad even with the famous cameos of Chris Pratt and the Rock.