Timed to coincide with the release of ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ comes the trailer for ‘Jem and the Holograms‘ the live action movie based on the hit 80s cartoon and toy line.  In the original, music executive Jerrica Benton used a sentient holographic computer to become Jem, a glamorous rock star backed by her band The Holograms, Kimber, Aja and Shana (and later Raya).  Bad girl group, The Misfits were seemingly more dedicated to taking down Jem than working on their own careers.

In the movie, Aubrey Peeples stars as Jerrica Benton/Jem with Stefanie Scott as Kimber Benton, Aurora Perrineau as Shana Elmsford and Hayley Kiyoko as Aja Leith.

Many elements from the original series appear in the trailer including Ms. Bailey played by Molly Ringwald (now Aunt Bailey) the house mother for the girls and Rio Pacheco played by Ryan Guzman.  Jem’s arch rival, Eric Raymond has been recast as Erica Raymond, portrayed by Juliette Lewis.

Check out the trailer below:

Sure, Jem utters her famous catchphrase “Showtime Synergy!” but the fantastical sci fi elements seem to have been completely omitted.  No Synergy, no Jemstar earrings.  Also glaringly absent are The Misfits, the antagonists from the original show and to many fans, the best part!

I previously mentioned ‘Pitch Perfect’ and the trailer makes sure to point out that the film is being released by the same studio that produced that hit comedy.  But indicating that this movie is by the director of ‘Never Say Never’ (better known as the Justin Bieber movie), may be detrimental.  At any rate, if you plan to attend a screening of ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ this weekend, be prepared to catch the ‘Jem’ trailer beforehand on the big screen.

Unfortunately, the internet has NOT reacted kindly to this film, pointing out all of the liberties taken with the source material and so many huge omissions.

“No magic earrings? No big hair? No Misfits? This isn’t Jem and the Holograms,” one viewer commented.  Several have compared it to a “generic looking Disney Channel Original movie.”  And another simply questioned, “did they even watch the cartoon?”

This is just the first trailer, so maybe this is just a tease, intended to tap into that ‘Pitch Perfect’ crowd, most of whom are too young to even remember the original Jem.  More elements from the cartoon could surface in later ads.

What do you think?  Is this ‘Jem’ to you?  Or is it ‘Jem’ in name only?  Comment below!