As a seasoned movie-goer and someone who’s seen their fair share of productions both succeed and falter, I must say I’m feeling a bit of unease about “A Minecraft Movie.” The trailer dropped like a bombshell, but it seems the real drama is unfolding off-screen.
Initially following the game’s massive success, whispers about a “Minecraft” film began circulating. As is often the case with popular games, such talk usually fades away – leaving fans skeptical. Yet, throughout the years, discussions regarding a “Minecraft” movie persisted and even gained traction. At last, in September 2024, the world received its first glimpse of “A Minecraft Movie,” as evidenced by the release of its inaugural trailer.
The trailer clearly showcased a forthcoming film, and the majority of Minecraft enthusiasts didn’t respond favorably to it. Numerous elements in the trailer raised concerns, as well as accompanying news and details. It appears that this isn’t the Minecraft movie many people were anticipating.
It seems that there’s a lot of skepticism about the upcoming “Minecraft Movie” before it has even been released. Instead of waiting to see more previews or giving it a chance, many people are already convinced that it will be a failure. The reasons for this skepticism can be found in both the visible aspects of the movie and its production background.
It spent over a decade in development hell
For nearly as long as “Minecraft” has been around, there have been discussions about turning it into a movie. Initially, these discussions started with a television project mentioned in 2012, just a year after the game’s release, but this project never materialized. However, by 2014, the focus had moved towards making a movie. The first attempt was an idea for a fan-funded film, which unfortunately was halted by “Minecraft” creator Markus Persson.
For approximately eight years, there were numerous attempts to create a legitimate “Minecraft” movie, but each attempt eventually failed due to various reasons. It seemed as though it would never happen, as everyone found it challenging to transform the incredibly popular game into a full-length film. However, in 2022, we finally received news of a version that came with a trailer and release date.
It’s hard not to speculate whether the success of “A Minecraft Movie” can be attributed to everything finally aligning creatively, making it an unusual case of a film that escaped development limbo, or if Warner Bros. was simply eager to release this property after years of ownership and wanted to get rid of it by putting out a film.
The live action/animation hybrid was a weird choice
The Lego movies demonstrated that it’s not necessary to create something completely new when transforming a brick-based franchise for the screen. Instead, they utilized existing Lego figurines in sets built from Lego bricks, which proved successful with over $1 billion earned worldwide across four films and even an Oscar nomination. Similarly, the 2018 Netflix series “Minecraft: Story Mode” adapted the video game series of the same name into an interactive TV show, using nothing but Minecraft graphics to bring it to life on screen.
In essence, I find it puzzling that the approach for “A Minecraft Movie” combines both animation and live-action actors. The incongruity between real people moving within the game’s blocky, pixelated landscapes and creatures is rather jarring. It seems as though the creators lacked confidence in the power of the source material to make a compelling visual impact on the big screen without resorting to this hybrid format. If “A Minecraft Movie” feels it needs to modify human characters to fit the game’s style, does it truly understand its fanbase and their preferences?
It seems to be aimed entirely at young kids
Minecraft debuted in 2011, captivating a diverse group of players ranging from children to adults. Its universal appeal has been a significant factor contributing to its status as the second best-selling video game ever, trailing only behind the iconic “Tetris.” This achievement is even more remarkable given that “Tetris” enjoyed a 26-year lead in the market. As years pass, those initial Minecraft players who were kids have grown into teenagers and adults. Moreover, there are many older adults who either continue playing it or retain fond memories of it.
Although a significant portion of “Minecraft” enthusiasts are not kids, the debut trailer for “A Minecraft Movie” appears to target an audience predominantly made up of young viewers. From the large number of child actors, the comedic tone, and overall feel, it seems that the filmmakers are focusing on children as their main demographic. However, this approach could prove to be a significant mistake.
The recent popular movies based on classic video games such as “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “The Super Mario Bros.” managed to appeal to both children and adults by incorporating elements that only grown-ups might appreciate. It’s hoped that a Minecraft movie will follow suit, but its current promotional materials don’t seem to be aiming for that balance.
It’s another movie doing the sucked-into-another-world thing
The basic plotline for the “Sonic the Hedgehog” film is about Sonic being transported to a different world and his quest to find a way back home. Similarly, in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” both Mario and Luigi are whisked away to another dimension where they must learn how to return to their original world. Although not derived from an actual video game, the story of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” involves four children being transported to a different dimension, a pattern you can see repeating.
Despite being a common plot device in recent years, especially for video game films, “A Minecraft Movie” appears to adhere to the pattern of a group of individuals transported into another realm and working to return home. However, contrary to this worn-out trope, the “Minecraft” game possesses a substantial narrative and rich history that warrants not just one but numerous films, without needing to lean on an exhausted gimmick. Even when your sources are some of the most successful video game movies ever made, a clichéd plot device remains a cliché.
The greenscreen effects aren’t looking great
A potential rephrasing could be: It would have been more acceptable for “A Minecraft Movie” to combine live-action actors with computer-animated characters and settings if the fusion appeared smooth and of superior quality. However, based on the trailer, it appears that the blend is not as successful, with the live-action elements appearing awkward, even during simple actions such as walking through a field or standing still. The actors seem noticeably out of place within their surroundings.
The fact that we saw very little interaction between the actors and the animated creatures shown in the trailer is both telling and worrisome. That will be the real test — how convincing it will be to see the actors talk to animated characters, touch animated animals, battle animated creatures, etc. But so far, all we’ve seen is cuts between an animated creature and a completely separate shot of a human actor reacting to it, or animated characters only in the background of shots with human actors. Until it’s proven that they can — or even do — directly interact, it’ll remain a major source of skepticism that the filmmakers were able to pull off the blend effectively.
The trailer uses the song from the worst Beatles movie
It’s not common that movies legally use songs by the Beatles. This may be due to their high licensing costs compared to other bands, difficulty in obtaining approval, or a combination of both factors. As a result, you might not hear as many Beatles tunes in films and TV shows as you’d think, given the widespread popularity of their music over time.
It appears that using a Beatles song in the trailer for “A Minecraft Movie” is quite significant, indicating a readiness to invest in marketing efforts for the film, albeit possibly at the expense of the movie’s visual effects budget.
There’s just one problem — the song in question is “Magical Mystery Tour,” which happens to be the theme song for the worst movie the Beatles ever made. Not only is it lacking in quality, but “Magical Mystery Tour” was a legendarily chaotic production that saw little in the way of plans, had no script to really speak of, and instead was just a random collection of scenes and moments that were thought up on the fly. It wasn’t long before people started making the obvious joke that “A Minecraft Movie” using the song from the worst Beatles film — not to mention that the song itself isn’t in the running to be anyone’s favorite Beatles track — feels like a statement on its quality.
The creatures are reminding people of Ugly Sonic
Remember that first trailer for the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie? Of course you do — it featured an absolutely dreadful design for the titular blue speedster, striving for a more realistic look that just came across as creepy. From the dead eyes to the nightmare fuel that was his mouth full of human teeth, what we now call “Ugly Sonic” was thankfully nixed in favor of a more cartoony look. Not only did it end up being one of the strangest reasons why a movie’s production was halted, but the new look worked just fine when interacting with the human actors and real-world sets of the movie.
Despite the lessons from the Ugly Sonic controversy and fan criticism, it appears that the character designs for “A Minecraft Movie” are following a similar pattern. The sheep and llama shown in the trailer have wool textures that look okay, but they both bear an unsettling resemblance to the gruesome human teeth of Ugly Sonic.
Worse are the Piglins, who have a grotesque skin texture that just feels unsettling and out of place, not only for the source material but even within the virtual landscape that the movie seems to be trying to create. We seriously doubt we’ll see them go back to the drawing board to fix these things like they did with Ugly Sonic, but they should certainly consider it.
Borderlands stained Jack Black’s video game movie career
From the get-go, it’s essential to acknowledge that Jack Black has unequivocally demonstrated his gaming credentials. Beyond starring in the iconic game “Brutal Legend”, where he voiced the main character and filmed a live-action intro for the game, he even made an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” while dressed as his character to promote it. Moreover, he operated a YouTube channel, Jablinski Games, where he produced diverse gaming-related content seemingly out of pure enjoyment. The list continues to grow.
Of course, that list also includes his scene-stealing performance as Bowser in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” where he not only nailed the role of Mario’s longtime antagonist but performed and co-wrote a viral hit song as the character. For a time, Black being connected to something game-related felt like a sign of quality. That is, until 2024’s “Borderlands” movie adaptation, which only managed a 10% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and became one of the year’s biggest flops.
Due to his reputation being tarnished after some felt he betrayed his longtime friend Kyle Gass over a joke about Donald Trump, Black is now perceived differently than six months ago. Releasing a movie, especially one based on a video game, with him as the main character seems inappropriate given the current circumstances.
Did Warner Bros. shut down negative reaction videos?
Nowadays, upon the unveiling of a movie or any other item, one common response is creating videos expressing their reactions. Given the fondness of the YouTube community towards content like “Minecraft”, it was inevitable that numerous opinions about “A Minecraft Movie” would flood YouTube. Unsurprisingly, the majority of these responses were unfavorable.
Then something odd happened. Several YouTubers claimed that their reaction videos for the “A Minecraft Movie” trailer had received copyright strikes and were forced to be taken down. Immediately, the conspiracy gears started turning, with people wondering if Warner Bros. was doing that as a way to try and quiet down some of the massive backlash to the trailer as much as it could.
It’s true that there are numerous YouTube videos criticizing the “Minecraft” movie, and when a few of them mysteriously vanished, it appeared to be isolated incidents likely due to errors or technical issues. However, once an idea like censorship takes hold on the internet, it can be difficult to quell it. The potential harm is already done if people even suspect that such suppression activities are happening, regardless of whether they actually are or not.
Racist backlash online might hurt the movie
Initially, when it was announced that a new “Ghostbusters” film would star women, there was a significant amount of negativity and criticism online, often labeling it as an attempt to tarnish a beloved franchise by being politically correct. Although this negative response may have appeared limited to just a vocal group, it’s challenging not to think that the movie’s poor box office performance in 2016 was at least partly due to this loud opposition gaining enough support to negatively impact the film’s prospects. Director Paul Feig even addressed the sexist reactions towards the movie.
It’s unfortunate that shortly after the announcement of “A Minecraft Movie,” there were immediate backlash online, particularly about the appearance of Danielle Brooks, a woman of color, in the trailer. Despite her character being entirely original and not a Black female version of Steve or any similar role, some viewers criticized her presence, fueling claims of forced diversity casting due to her race. It’s worth noting that Brooks is an Oscar nominee and the only one in the cast, yet this was overlooked by those who saw her character in the trailer.
Ignoring such matters may seem effortless, but history demonstrates that these individuals can generate enough noise and gather sufficient backing to potentially harm a film’s prospects, despite its inherent merit.
There were accusations of a toxic environment on set
Just over two weeks following the premiere of the complete trailer for “A Minecraft Film,” it wasn’t just the unfavorable responses that grabbed attention, but also news that isn’t promising for the movie. A YouTube personality named Valkyrae, who appears in the film, shared in an interview with JasonTheWeen that her most disappointing experience with a celebrity occurred during the filming of her role, involving Jason Momoa.
Valkyrae stated that, in the brief time she spent on the filming location, she observed Momoa frequently shouting and showing extreme anger towards the crew members, suggesting an unhealthy work environment. It’s important to mention that neither Momoa nor his representatives have responded to these allegations so far. Over the years, there has been a mix of opinions about him as a co-star – Amber Heard alleged a negative experience with him on “Aquaman 2,” while Emilia Clarke praised working with him on “Game of Thrones,” stating he supported her and looked out for her on set.
Unfortunately, even if Valkyrae’s allegations aren’t valid or were an exception rather than the norm during Momoa’s involvement in “Minecraft,” such accusations are difficult to dismiss and have tarnished the image of “A Minecraft Movie” with a more negative perspective.
The Minecraft creator’s excitement comes with baggage
Normally known as the inventor of “Minecraft”, game creator Markus “Notch” Persson eventually handed over the rights to Microsoft, making him a billionaire. Since 2015, he has not been actively involved with either the game or its developer, Mojang. Despite this, people were eager to know what Persson thought of the trailer for “A Minecraft Movie”, and he offered one of the few favorable reactions when he tweeted “Ok i’m in” in response to it.
Although it might seem like Persson’s endorsement is straightforward, there’s more to the story. Since selling “Minecraft,” Persson has been a contentious figure due to his negative remarks towards the LGBTQ+ community and feminism. His comments have been so divisive that he was not included in the game’s 10th anniversary celebrations. Microsoft, through Variety, released a statement clarifying that Persson’s views do not align with their own or Mojang, and they are not representative of “Minecraft.
It’s hard not to question whether Persson secretly enjoys the poor reception of “A Minecraft Movie,” given his rocky relationship with his creation, and his tendency not to apologize for his statements. Instead of appearing pleased by its success, it seems he might be deriving pleasure from others’ misfortunes, or schadenfreude, rather than genuinely finding it good.
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2024-09-25 14:30