Happy 15th anniversary, Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time! The sandbox sensation began ranking in gamers’ infatuations in 2009 while it was still in its early stages of development. You can recall footage of a stormtrooper encountering a zombie in the first video on PewDiePie’s YouTube channel. Ever since its initial release in 2011, the game and its community began to grow with old and newer players having fun at Minecon every year, many crossovers with other franchises, such as the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack for the Wii U version and a few spin-off games, including Minicraft, Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons. As a result of the game’s everlasting appeal, there was an agreement to produce a movie based on its specifically styled landmarks. Even though some movies based on video games have been considered remarkable or at least passable to an extent, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the Ratchet & Clank movie, others have been considered duds, most notably the new Borderlands film. We can be skeptical about this experiment that has been in development for a decade but let us stop using the term “woke” as a crutch when it comes to critiquing teasers and trailers and try to express our thoughts more rationally.
I heard that Willy Wonka would rather not talk about this one. I guess it is all up to me then.
So, what are my thoughts on the casting choice? It turns out that the role of Steve will be played by the talented Jack Black, the same actor who voiced Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and portrayed Bethany Walker in the body of Professor Sheldon Oberon in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The group of humans who end up lost in the world of Minecraft are played by Jason Momoa, who is mostly known for playing the role of Aquaman from the 2018 film of the same name and its sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Emma Myers, who you may recognise as Enid Sinclair from Wednesday, Danielle Brooks, the actress who nailed the role of Taystee from Orange Is The New Black and Sebastian Eugene Hansen who played the role of a young Scott London in Lisey’s Story. Admittedly I was quite when the character whose name is “Garrett” played by Jason Momoa completes a creation quite dramatically. Jack Black as Steve is the portrayal I trust the most in a rather ironic way, despite how he has shaggier hair and a beard, unlike the in-game version we all know alongside Alex. Speaking of Alex, who will play the role of her in this live-action experiment if she were to make an appearance at some point? Kate McKinnon who portrayed Weird Barbie in Barbie: The Movie?
How convincing the acting is would not only rely on how experiences the actor or actress is but also the direction they are given as Emma Watson seemed to have not been given enough direction in terms of facial expressions when portraying Belle in the live-action version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Alex, Alex, Alex, Alex, Alex! Alex, Alex, Alex, Alex, Alex! I miss you!
I know what you are probably thinking. It would be preferable if the film would be animated in the way the cutscenes in Minecraft: Story Mode and Minecraft Legends were, but more dynamic to a cinematic level like the animation in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The llama and the sheep look rather uncanny, but not as unappealingly meme-worthy as the original design for Sonic the Hedgehog in the first trailer for his first box-office success that not only became one for a strongly approved redesign. The shot of the wolf howling under the light of a full cube-shaped moon looks quite cool and the creeper sneaking up on Garrett looks convincing though. The uncanniness of the Army of Pork in live-action makes them even more menacing than they are in the Voltz Wars series, especially by how they bellow and hold up their flame torches in what appears to be The Nether. I do not consider the group of astonished humans in the Minecraft world as convincing as the avatars in the OASIS in Ready Player One, but I see the potential in the visual being adapted to a separate virtual reality version of the game. Well, at least the upcoming animated series based on the game will stay faithful to one aspect that made it iconic in the first place.
You guys are lucky that there are no angry birds in sight!
And as for you, what are your thoughts on a certain song from Camp Lazlo?
As a writer, I am a little concerned about A Minecraft Movie trying so hard to be like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle to some extent, considering how the plot is centred on a group of humans entering a world based on a video game, which sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it? Guess what? The group of misfits in A Minecraft Movie will try and find a way back to the real world, just like how the groups of teenagers do as the characters they play as in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle! It was bad enough that The Emoji Movie got accused of ripping off the story of Wreck-It Ralph, so there ought to be some notable differences in terms of lore and character growth that will help the differ from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, much like how there are several differences between Alfred Alfer and Mr. Pickles, two cartoon dogs aimed at mature audiences, yet not every adult would recommend watching them who are both sexually active to an insane degree but are also notably different in terms of character and the world building around them, contrary to how Emily Youcis, the controversial creator of Alfred claimed that Mr. Pickles was “ripping off” her work back in 2016.
And yes, it was also bad enough that the story of The Secret Life of Pets was called out for being too much like the first Toy Story film. In terms of the human characters’ portrayals, it is confirmed that they struggle with their own problems in real life, which should hopefully not be a bit too much like how four high school students display their flawed traits before the prime conflict occurs in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
At least A Minecraft Movie will not be as shameless as any of those laughably infamous mockbusters and there does not seem to be any crossovers with characters from other franchises who made special guest appearances in Minecraft as that would be pricey to allow and probably tacked on as there has been some possible concern regarding the game’s reliance on crossovers to stay hip.
In conclusion, I suspect that A Minecraft Movie may not be as impactful as Detective Pikachu, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the forthcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but Minecrafters can always keep mining and crafting, whether their next creation will be in the Java edition or the Bedrock edition of Minecraft. Moreover, I am considering becoming an occasional Minecrafter, despite how a princess castle that was built for me earlier this year got griefed. Chances are that the live-action adaption of Lilo & Stitch may be considered a little more effective than the film in certain areas, but we can always hope that some cartoony cred of 3D animation can shine like a starlet when it comes to the likeliness of Illumination developing their take on Barbie. In the meantime, let us make the most of gaming near the end of the first half of the 2020s as MySims: Cozy Bundle, two re-releases of the Nintendo Wii versions of MySims and MySims Kingdom in one compilation for the Nintendo Switch is available to pre-order and will be out this November. A Minecraft Movie will be out in cinemas at some point in April 2025, a season before the proposed release of the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, so there is plenty of time to hope that a second trailer will somehow boost its potential, despite some pessimism.
What are YOU looking at, fuzzy creeper?
