WB’s attempts at animated films have been pretty hit and miss lately, but they’re hoping now that Emily The Strange can be their salvation. They’re struck a deal to produce an animated film based around the icon. Pamela Ribon has been hired to come up with the script, and her past resume includes Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Nimona. Quite the varied lineup there — we don’t know what to expect from this.

I’m sure you’ve seen Emily’s emotionless expression before on T-shirts, stickers, keychains, squeezable stress balls and dog chew toys…but very rarely in something with a story. Like Hello Kitty or Fido Dido, Emily The Strange seems more like a BRAND than a person.

And it’s not just you or me — artist Rob Reger created the character as an image, not something with an elaborate backstory. There is about as much depth to Emily as there is to the “OBEY” icon with the stylized Andre the Giant face. There have been novels and comic books about the girl, but they were written well after she became a staple of the knickknacks rack.

Having read none of those, I have no idea how Emily The Strange is supposed to be strange. Her image looks perfectly normal to me. Is she like Wednesday? Is she like Daria? Will they throw us a curveball and have her talk in a really squeaky voice? This official description is as close as we can get:

With her striking black, white and red aesthetic and witty observations about society, Emily and her four black cats represent a raw, punk rock, independent spirit that has resonated with millions of fans around the world. The mischievous and sharp-witted Emily subscribes to the D.I.Y. philosophy of “think for yourself, do it yourself, be yourself,” and encourages her many followers to be all they can’t be, get lost in imagination, and stay strange.

Bad Robot, JJ Abrams’ production company, is also involved (though apparently Abrams himself will have nothing to do with it). “At Bad Robot, we are looking to push the boundaries of what’s possible in animation,” says John Agbaje, SVP of Animation at BR. “Emily, a character who refuses to be defined by others, is the perfect opportunity to do just that. We’re thrilled to add her world to our feature animation slate. The team assembled has so much passion for Emily the Strange, what she’s represented so far, and what she will mean to future generations.”

There is no current release window for the Emily The Strange movie. But as Emily would say, “whatever” (or maybe she wouldn’t say that, how would I know)…

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