LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – On April 4, the new sensation “A Minecraft Movie” was released in theaters across the nation, starring renowned actor Jack Black. Cinemas erupted with cheers and nostalgia as the screen projection played. A short synopsis of the movie is easily searchable on IMDB.
The movie opens with Steve (Jack Black), an average man who feels unfulfilled in his daily life. His childhood passion for the mines resurfaces, leading him to mine for days, until he finds the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal and is sent to the Overworld when he puts them together. He discovers a cubic paradise reflecting the popular video game Minecraft. As he grows his village in the new world, he discovers a Nether portal, a doorway to an underworld-like land called the Nether. Malgosha, the tyrannical leader of the Nether, plans to take over both the Overworld and Earth. Steve sends his dog, Dennis, to hide the orb in his house on Earth, closing the portal.
However, the main plot of the film follows a young boy, Henry (Sebastian Hansen), and his sister, Natalie (Emma Myers), who move to the town Chuglas, Idaho, after the death of their parents. Henry struggles to fit in at school, and Natalie secures a job at Chuggy Chip’s factory, supported by the realtor of their new house, Dawn.
Meanwhile, a subplot revolves around the character “Garett the Garbage Man” (Jason Momoa), an owner of a retro video game store, who struggles with his finances as he reminisces about his old heroic infamy, soon meeting Henry, and the two bond over their feeling of hopelessness. After a series of coincidences, the group soon finds themselves in the Minecraft-like Otherworld, spawning into the new environment like players of the renowned video game.
The storyline is not particularly complex; the characters are not necessarily three-dimensional, and the premise of the adventure to follow the main cast does not have any unexpected turns. What created the sincere enjoyment of the movie was surrounding the theater audience and the nostalgic attachment people have to the original Minecraft game.
The Minecraft game was released on Nov. 18, 2011, going on to shape many people’s childhood experiences. This is what mainly contributed to the performance of the movie at the box office, considering how many people felt a personal attachment to the game. Accompanied by the humor of Jack Black and the satire of the script, the movie leaned well into what it aimed to project.
“I love how they used the mechanics of Minecraft to logically design new items and mobs,” Los Alamitos High School sophomore Troy Smith said.
Throughout the film, the movie theater erupted with claps and cheers when infamous lines from the trailers were spoken by the characters, contributing to the overall friendly atmosphere of the audience and whimsical nature of the movie. It created a level of humorous connection among fans, and while some theaters have been reported to have inappropriate outbursts from rowdy spectators, other theaters were still immersed in a casual display of enjoyment. The personal experience of a behaved but entertained theater-goer allowed for the overall pleasure in sitting in the cinema.
“A Minecraft Movie” also featured many popular video-game YouTubers in cameos to honor their time and dedication to the franchise. Cameos included DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo and LDShadowLady, igniting an even thrilling response from fans.
In the middle of the movie, Jack Black also refers to a crown-wearing pig as “a legend,” a nod to Technoblade, a popular Minecraft YouTuber who passed away in 2022.
“A Minecraft Movie” was mainly developed with CGI and other digitally developed elements, leaving audiences with mixed reactions. Many viewers thought the graphics were true to the original game, while critics and others saw the quality as lackluster.
The music in “A Minecraft Movie” also matched the whimsical atmosphere of the video game perfectly. Using well-known tracks from the game itself, the background music hit the audience with a wave of nostalgia, reminding them of the game.
Aside from the instrumental music from the game, there were multiple songs made for the movie, performed by members of the cast, predominantly Jack Black. The most popular song on the soundtrack is “Steve’s Lava Chicken.”
Within its first three days of release, it has already made $163 million in North America alone. Passing the Super Mario movie, which made $146 million on its first weekend, “A Minecraft Movie” is the most popular video game movie. Globally, the movie has made $301 million and has become one of the highest-grossing movies this year.
The movie strikes the hearts of many, and the post-credits scene was a hint at a possible second movie featuring the female protagonist, Alex. The next film could be another media hit or a tiring, low-effort game movie. Either way, it’s a future franchise to interest audiences.
“It was so fun to go to the theaters and watch the movie with my friends,” said Jonah Vernes, a freshman at LAHS who saw the movie on its second day in theaters.
