By Gianna Liantonio
On September 4, 2024, “A Minecraft Movie” trailer teaser was released. which had added Minecraft to the growing list of video game to movie adaptations that hope to be accepted by both movie fans and video game lovers.
Fans everywhere, Children and adults, are excited for this live action adaption of this popular 2010’s video game. First introduced November 15, 2011, it allows players to create entire worlds where they can build communities, connect with others, and encourages teamwork among players.
The trailer opens to four people walking through a blue portal, looking awestruck at the world they stumbled into. Warner Bros. has released the synopsis of the movie, which is that a group of misfits somehow end up in the Overworld, which is where you start in Minecraft and is endless. They must protect themselves from the pigmen while going on a quest to return home.
The characters we get introduced to are Henry, played by Sebastian Eugene Hansen, Garret “The Garbage Man” Garretson, played by Jason Mamoa, Natalie, played by Emma Meyers and Dawn, who is played by Danielle Brooks.
Henry stands in front holding a glowing blue cube, which is the reason they were put into the game.
The movie pans to different scenes while showing the animation of the mobs of sheep, llamas, pigmen, creepers, wolves and others. The trailer is just a teaser, so we don’t see every major plot point that’s possible. It quickly goes through scenes, showing the characters playing the game like Garret using a crafting table to make a weapon.
At the end of the trailer, Jack Black is revealed to play Steve, who is the default player you use when you play the game. He is there to guide them throughout the movie. After a dramatic entrance in true Jack Black fashion, he says, “Anything you dream about here, you can make,” which is what the creators of Minecraft have encouraged all these years.
There have been some criticisms about this movie. One big one is the fact that it is live action. People wish that it had been animated; having the characters look like Minecraft avatars rather than real people placed into the game. They fear it’ll just be a copy of Jumanji, which isn’t as unique as fans would like the movie to be.
In an article written by Eric Lagatta for USA Today, he said: “Many longtime Minecraft fans felt the film’s visual style was an unwelcome departure from the pixel world that had made the game unique.” The mix of live action and CGI is unwelcome to some fans who wonder why they did not keep the entire movie animated.
There have also been critiques on the animation of the animals; thinking that making them too realistic is not the right move to make. However, one thing to note is even though Minecraft has no age limit, the target audience is kids. Hence, when the kids watch this movie, they won’t worry on whether it should have been this or that. They are just excited for a movie about Minecraft.
This is just a teaser after all, which means the full trailer has the possibility to change fans’ minds about what this movie can means for the future of video game movie adaptations, hopefully prove people wrong.
