The teaser trailer for A Minecraft Movie received a lot of negative feedback after its release two months ago, yet the shot of a new incarnation of Steve portrayed by Jack Black announcing his name became an internet meme. Although the teaser made some Minecrafters want to grief the live-action interpretation for its uncanniness, there has been hope that the next trailer would be an improvement in terms of the forthcoming film’s potential, especially some improved designs of the CGI adaptations of the creatures, which worked for Sonic the Hedgehog, right? Jared Hess, the film’s director and Torfi Frans, the senior creative director of Entertainment at Minecraft responded to the backlash towards the live-action incarnations of the creatures in Minecraft shortly after the release of the second trailer that seems to have increased the overall potential to many of us. After the launch of DLC for Minecraft promoting Moana 2, the reveal of the Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles’ cred in Fortnite being expanded and the confirmation of Lisa Cooper, my own Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss character being panromantic on BlueSky, let us analyse the expanded potential of A Minecraft Movie as we hopefully refrain from misusing the term “woke” simply as click bait or rage bait to solely express your disapproval in an unconstructive manner.
You Minecrafters like jazz?
It is a bit odd but ultimately interesting to give Steve some backstory on how he discovered the world of Minecraft as he is one of the default skins in the game who has never received an official backstory due to being…well…a skin in association with a Minecrafter’s freedom to customise their avatar. Still, it makes sense since his live-action counterpart is a human being. Moreover, this has the potential to make him relatable to an extent, especially by how some ambition he seemed to have followed ever since he was a child being chased away from a mine by a man following a “No Kids Allowed” policy. The fact that he discovered the land of cubic beings and such in a cave is convenient as the first version of Minecraft was titled “Cave Game” back in 2009. I have faith in Jack Black portraying Steve the most as I reflect on his previous experiences, especially his roles as Po from the Kung Fu Panda franchise and Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. I am still not sure about the group of humans entering the world of Minecraft who meet him, but I suppose they could also be relatable to certain members of the audience to some degree, despite how their traits and personalities are likely to be rather clichéd.
The orchestral cover of the calming soundtrack composed by C418 you would hear when exploring a fresh new Minecraft server is an excellent choice for the scene of a live-action incarnation of Steve discovering a new world. I still wonder if Alex will appear at some point in the film as his love interest and it is likely that she has followed the same ambitions in mining, quite like a Miner Barbie in an expansion of Barbie Land in a possible sequel to Barbie: The Movie.
We also see some more examples of what the four unlikely adventurers experience, including a ride in a minding craft as a reminder of a certain level in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Garrett Garrison, the garbage man who was the Gamer of the Year in 1989 played by Jason Momoa trying to wreck a blockage with a shovel and Henry, the boy played by Sebastian Eugene Hansen gathering wood from a tree like how a Minecrafter would.
The biggest gripe people have with A Minecraft Movie is that it is a live-action adventure instead of an animated one. I will admit that the bees in the second trailer are pretty cute with their beady, innocent eyes, but not as vibrant as Maizie the Bee, a friend of Lucas the Spider. Call me crazy, but can you imagine Jacob Black from the Twilight films looking like the wolf Steve gives bone to in the second trailer for A Minecraft Movie? We better not let the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals find out about the chicken getting cooked by a gush of lava. Aside from how lifeless the villagers seem from a distance and the Army of Swine remaining freakily intimidating, I hope you do not have nightmares about the plague of zombies and the skeleton holding a bow ambushing the four protagonists at the end of the trailer. Reflecting on the list of anticipated movies being released in 2025, I am leaning towards Zootopia 2, the direct sequel to Zootopia. Not just because it is an animated follow-up to a film that has a message regarding prejudice without being overall preachy about it, but some of us would value overall character development and such besides the special effects that make the adventure in A Minecraft Movie look like another Spy Kids film.
Anyone for some KFC tonight?
Oh! And don’t forget about this guy! Reflecting on footage of the “real” interpretation of a Minecraft world being constructed, I can still see the potential of it being adapted into a VR game that might as well be released to promote the film. There do not seem to be any updates to the designs of pink sheep and the llama in the second trailer based on the backlash towards the teaser, but at least some are less uncanny and more appealing than others.
The writing of a cinematic experience is a bigger priority for plenty of us. I find some examples of humour in the trailer promising, aside from the ambitiousness of providing faithfulness to the gameplay experience Minecrafters have known for over a decade. My favourite example would be Garrett’s bewilderment as he tosses an Ender Pearl that causes him to be teleported to when it lands and Steve ultimately being cool with it being wasted, even if it was the only one he had. But aside from some amusing moments, there is still speculation that the plot in terms of action and most character development will try too hard to be like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Aside from a little light-heartedness within an adventure comedy film to make it somehow comparable to The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the acts of live-action incarnations building with blocks and creating weapons providing some imaginativeness, chances are that the big climax would be Steve having no other choice but to guide the four misfits through The Nether, which may cause the film to be rated 12A due to its hellish essences, but it could be where the battle against the mighty Ender Dragon portrayed as a prime antagonist takes place.
Do not get wrong. The efforts to make a second trailer more promising to many of us is appreciated, but we are still skeptical about the story relying a bit too much on certain plot elements of several other films about entering a video game, such as Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. Nonetheless, I see potential in the character Natalie portrayed by Emma Myers forming a stronger bond with her younger brother Henry throughout the journey aside from her struggles with becoming independent in the real world, aside from Garrett possibly being an example of someone who is stuck in the past as an ‘80s kid.
There could be some Doom vibes if Steve leads the unlikely heroes and heroines through The Nether. Not a fan of a quest through the Minecraft equivalent of Hell? Feel free to watch four dreams produced by Dream Productions on Disney+ this December.
In conclusion, the potential for A Minecraft Movie has levelled up, but not as drastically as the Sonic the Hedgehog trailer featuring the beloved redesign of the blue speedster’s live-action appearance. Although there is still some cynicism towards the film, please take in mind that disliking its visuals or any other aspect of it is not an excuse to send needlessly aggressive hate mail or death threats to members of the creative team or track down their IPs or other personal information and dox them. We should have learned from what happened to Jill Messick in loving memory of her by now. The film based on the best-selling video game of all time will be released in April 2025 and will be compared to the live-action adaptation of the first How To Train Your Dragon film after its theatrical release in June. In the meantime, Nintendo nerds in Japan can explore an expansion of Super Nintendo World based on the Donkey Kong Country series at Universal Studios Japan, Jim Carey will return as Dr. Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and we can wish fans of Helluva Boss a Merry Sinsmas this festive season. Speaking of the holidays, Deadpool will apparently star in a holiday special within a presentation and some Minecrafters can build their own Christmas trees in any edition of Minecraft they love to mine and craft in.
Please show some kindness and support for those who were close to Jill Messick and are missing her so much as A Minecraft Movie is being dedicated to her, despite the ridicule its teaser trailer received. There are not enough words to describe the urgency to make social media and these industries better places.
