Millennial goth icon Emily the Strange is finally getting the feature film she deserves

You couldn’t have escaped the late ’90s/early ’00s without seeing Emily the Strange and her Bettie Page bangs on all sorts of Hot Topic-esque merch. She’s been featured in comics, YA novels, and video games, but we’ll soon be able to hear her voice—something the world desperately needs!

As reported by Deadline, our favorite young goth icon is getting an animated feature film from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Bad Robot. Pamela Ribon, who wrote 2023’s spectacular Nimona adaptation for Netflix, will write the screenplay, so you know Emily’s in great hands.

Why does this matter, and why are Emily fans worldwide thrilled? Because Emily the Strange provides exactly the kind of inspiration we could all use more of right now, and has for over 30 years!

Who is Emily the Strange?

For those who don’t know (because you’re too young or you’ve never set foot in a Hot Topic), Emily the Strange was created by graphic designer Nathan Carrico as a mascot for Rob Reger’s clothing company, Cosmic Debris Etc., in 1991. She first appeared on skater merch, but as her popularity grew, so did her presence on clothing, accessories, stationery, and stickers.

According to the official Emily the Strange website, “Emily is a sharp-witted and rebellious young woman with a taste for invention, philosophical musing, scientific experimentation, and radical artistry.” Above all, “Emily’s philosophy is D.I.Y. from top to bottom. Do it yourself, think for yourself, BE yourself.” Since her debut, she’s been inspiring people to embrace their “strangeness” and creativity.

Her creation wasn’t without some controversy. Emily the Strange shares some characteristics with Rosamond from the Nate the Great series of children’s books, written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and illustrated by Marc Simont. Rosamond, introduced in Nate the Great Goes Undercover (1978), shares Emily’s look and penchant for cats. In fact, an early Emily the Strange sticker featured text that was very similar to the text used for Rosamond:

Still, after back-and-forth legal action, Sharmat and Simont quashed their beef with Cosmic Debris Etc., settled in 2009, and Cosmic Debris worked to distinguish Emily in design and scope.

Meanwhile, Emily’s impact grew beyond merchandise:

• As early as 2001, Emily got a series of hardback graphic novellas at Chronicle Books.
• In 2005, Dark Horse Comics started publishing Emily the Strange comics.
• In 2007, Emily became the heroine of a series of YA novels co-written by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner at Harper Collins.
• Finally, she entered video games, first in a 2011 Nintendo DS puzzle game (Emily the Strange: Strangerous), then in a 2012 PC side-scroller called Emily the Strange: Skate Strange.

Stories featuring Emily the Strange have been released consistently as recently as 2021, demonstrating the public’s continued desire for her adventures.

The 21st century needs (and wants) Emily

Though there have been previous failed attempts to bring Emily to the big screen, this really is the perfect time for an Emily the Strange movie.

Emily the Strange might seem like a throwback to a time of “record stores” when everyone and their mom had a ‘zine. But in a world increasingly ravaged by climate change and late-stage capitalism where most people can’t afford to meet their basic needs, people crave the D.I.Y. sensibility that Emily represents. People still make ‘zines. Etsy is rife with people hand-crafting all sorts of things from clothes to furniture. Buy Nothing groups abound, encouraging people to cultivate a “sharing economy.” And personally, I love post-apocalyptic stories, because they increasingly feel like how-to documentaries that’ll teach me how to grow food and fight raiders.

We could use a vocal, fully fleshed-out Emily in the 21st century: a girl who’s comfortable in the darkness, yet remains intellectually curious, determined not only to assert her unique personality but to encourage others to do the same. Her “do-it-yourself” philosophy isn’t about individualism. It’s about people coming together to celebrate their weirdness. It’s about the world being a better place when we cultivate our unique gifts, passions, and interests and share them.

The fact that she’s essentially a company mascot isn’t lost on me. Emily the Strange is a brand that makes money. But the great thing about art is that once it leaves the artist’s hands, it can mean whatever people want and need it to mean. I’d love to see Emily inspire a new generation of girls to tear down the system, or at the very least keep goth culture alive.