Jem and the Holograms is a 2015 American musical drama film produced and directed by Jon M. Chu, written by Ryan Landels, and starring Aubrey Peeples (as the title character), Stefanie Scott, Hayley Kiyoko, Aurora Perrineau, Ryan Guzman, Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis.

Loosely based on Christy Marx's 1980s animated television series Jem, the film was produced by Allspark Pictures (a subsidiary of Hasbro Studios) and Blumhouse Productions.

Chu's interest in developing a film adaptation of Jem is based on having grown up watching the original series with his sisters.

The group also discover Rio's late father's will, which grants him a majority of Starlight shares, effectively putting him in control of the company.

[8] The film's musical producer, Scooter Braun, stated that he drew influence from his work on the career of Justin Bieber.

In April 2014, it was announced that Aubrey Peeples had been cast as Jem, with Stefanie Scott as Kimber, Hayley Kiyoko as Aja, and Aurora Perrineau as Shana.

[21] On February 25, 2015, the first official image from the film was released, featuring Peeples as Jem, Scott as Kimber and Kiyoko as Aja performing on stage.

[23] The next day, on May 13, a trailer was released online,[24] which was attached to the theatrical run of fellow female-centric Universal film Pitch Perfect 2.

On August 11, a second trailer was released,[25] this time featuring the robot 51N3RG.Y (pronounced synergy) which itself was based on the supercomputer of the original cartoon series, which generates and holographically projects the band's images and creates their special effects during stage performances.

[27] Uproxx noted the trailer's low rating on its official YouTube page,[28][29] while The Huffington Post Canada wrote that the changes to the original plot have "disappointed '80s kids everywhere", then highlighted multiple negative fan reactions.

[30] Williesha Morris, also writing for Huffington, criticized the film's re-imagining of the Jerrica character, stating that the original cartoon "represented female empowerment, not angst".

Special features include twelve deleted scenes, an audio commentary by director Chu, a gag reel, a music video for "Youngblood" and a featurette titled "Glam, Glitter, Fashion, and Fame: The Reinvention of Jem".

[33] Jem and the Holograms opened theatrically in North America on October 23, 2015, alongside The Last Witch Hunter, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Rock the Kasbah, as well as the wide release of fellow Universal drama Steve Jobs.

"[37] An international roll-out began the same weekend as its North American release, including Slovenia,[38] Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom and France.

The site's consensus reads, "Jem and the Holograms ignores its source material's goofy charm in favor of bland by-the-numbers drama.

Pam Powell of the Daily Journal wrote "Juliette Lewis seems to have the most fun role as the evil, self-serving, egomaniac music manager who will stop at nothing to lure the young and trusting singer into her lair.

She’s over-the-top, but in a very entertaining way... able to seem completely honest when telling reporters about how genuine and real Jem is immediately following a scene where she’s given the Holograms what amounts to forced corporate makeovers.

"[43] Dominic Griffin, writing for Spectrum Culture, noted a "career-best turn from Lewis, operating so many miles ahead of her co-stars and the film they’re all stuck in that she’s ducking clouds, meteorites and the surface of the sun itself, delivering a master class in the expressive power of narrowing one’s eyes at exactly the right moment".

"[45] Charlie Anders of io9 wrote "This movie outsources its biggest moments of narrative intensity to random YouTube vids, which is a filmic choice so incomprehensible, I'm tempted to interpret it as some kind of grand statement of Dada anti-meaning.

[47] Scott Tobias of National Public Radio concurred, writing "Few critics gave Josie enough credit for cleverly subverting the teen-pop musical, but Jem preys so rapaciously on its target demographic that it holds the virtues of the earlier film in sharp relief.

— at least provides a modest showcase for costume designer Soyon An, makeup head Mary Klimek and hairstylist Vanessa Price, who come the closest to channeling the vibrant spirit of the Jem cartoons that originally made fans fall in love.

"[50] Glen Heath Jr., writing for Little White Lies, wrote that "If Chu can't quite decide which genre or story to embrace – this version of Jem clumsily mixes rock opera, sci-fi and melodrama – he's in brilliant control of certain moments that merge new technology and classical Hollywood editing... the film doesn't deserve the vitriol lobbed at it by dismissive critics and angry fans.