“A Minecraft Movie” opened in theaters on April 4 to resounding success, hitting $550 million at the box office after two weekends. The movie drew in a mix of young children, excited for the bright colors and “brain rot” vibes, as well as longtime fans of Minecraft who were excited to see how a sandbox game might be adapted into a film narrative.
“A Minecraft Movie” introduces us to a ragtag group of four as they stumble into the animated world of Minecraft, where they meet Steve –– the original avatar of the game, played by Jack Black. An opening scene reveals how Steve travelled into the video game world years prior: a piglin witch from the Nether (a hell-like dimension) wanted the crystals they had used to enter the world, hoping to channel their power to wipe out all creativity. The gang learns about the new world with lots of exposition and explanation from Steve, but are forced to split up when piglins attack the village. While the guys go on a harrowing and homoerotic adventure to gather the missing piece to bring them home, the girls fail to pass the “Bechdel Test.” By the end of the film, the group reconnects before finally heading home, defeating their enemies in a way only partially accurate to game mechanics.
The most important element of the movie was the addition of a subplot in which a Minecraft villager enters a portal into the “regular” world, proceeds to get hit by a car and goes on a date with Jennifer Coolidge. Obviously.
Is the movie good? No. However, it clearly shows a lot of love for the game and its community, featuring iconic Minecraft mechanics, from redstone lava machines to creeper farms. The movie celebrates Minecraft fans with appearances by famous gamer content creators Aphmau, DanTDM, LDShadowlady and Mumbo Jumbo, as well as a tribute to Technoblade –– a beloved Minecraft YouTuber who passed away in 2022.
However, the contrast between the movie’s genuine love for the game, and the attempt to capture children as a clear target audience, created confusion. Minecraft is iconic for being a sandbox game, where each player can explore the never-ending world and build or destroy whatever they desire. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mesh well with a movie plot which unironically uses the words “chungus” and “unalive,” much less one in which the villain’s backstory centers around losing “Nether’s Got Talent.” “A Minecraft Movie” is certainly a cultural moment, but it’s hard to say if this movie adds anything of substance to the already-beloved game.
