“A Minecraft Movie” A Highly Entertaining, Amusing Block-Buster

A film adaptation of the incredibly popular “Minecraft” video games has been in development since 2014 when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop a “Minecraft” project.

Now, the long-awaited and highly anticipated “A Minecraft Movie” is finally on the big screen and the question is - will audiences enjoy it? Well, judging by the audience reaction at a showing I attended, most definitely!

Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival! Four misfits - Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison, Henry, Natalie and Dawn - find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination.

To get back home, they’ll have to master this world (and protect it from evil things like Piglins and Zombies, too) while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert-crafter, Steve.

Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and to reconnect with the qualities that make each of them uniquely creative … the very skills they need to thrive back in the real world.

Now, I’ll admit I really don’t know too much about the Minecraft video games. In fact, the only thing I know about the games is just the name and I had to do a bit of research about the games. And, if you do like the games in the franchise, I think you'll definitely like the movie.

“A Minecraft Movie” delivers solid humor (especially from Jack Black and Jason Mamoa), some very entertaining moments (that might get some big audience reactions) and some very great CGI. Compared to how some of the visual effects looked in the first trailer (which weren’t the best), the effects in the final product are actually really good. The visual effects are quite impressive, especially when we see different parts of the Overworld.

“A Minecraft Movie” also gives us a good amount of humor scattered throughout. Jack Black and former Aquaman Jason Mamoa can be really funny together in some of their scenes. One of the funniest bits in the movie is when “Garbage Man” Garrett and Steve are escaping the Piglins with the help of Steve’s set of wings. Once Steve realizes that he didn’t have any more sets of wings that he created for himself, he ends up sort of hitching a ride with Garrett in a very awkward, yet funny way.

Just as expected, Jack Black also has a few of his own songs throughout the movie, which can also be entertaining. It’s also good to see that Jack Black can still do what he does best after all these years - create quirky songs and keep audiences entertained!

I’m quite certain that there are quite a few easter eggs and references to the video games featured in the movie. So I’m sure die hard fans of the games will enjoy finding them!

Cast: Jason Mamoa (Garrett); Jack Black (Steve); Sebastian Hansen (Henry); Emma Meyers (Natalie); Danielle Brooks (Dawn); Jennifer Coolidge (Vice Principal Marlene); Rachel House (Malgosha); Hermaine Clement (Daryl/Bruce); Hiram Garcia (Mr. Gunchie).

Writer/director: Chris Bowman (writer) (Middle School: The Worst years of My Life); Hubbel Palmer (writer); Neil Widener (writer); Gavin James (writer); Chris Galletta (The Kings of Summer) (writer); Jared Hess (director) (Netflix’s Thelma the Unicorn; Nacho Libre; Napoleon Dynamite).

Trivia: Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related TV series, and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official movie in February 2014. After numerous delays and setbacks, in April 2022, production on the “Minecraft” movie was finally announced to be moving forward with production company Legendary Entertainment co-producing.

MPA: Rated PG for violence/action, language, suggestive/rude humor and some scary images   (running time 101 minutes)

• This film was originally going to be directed by Shawn Levy, but he left the project after disagreements with the Minecraft developers as they thought that his idea did not suit the game.

• This is the second collaboration between Jack Black and director Jared Hess, after Nacho Libre (2006), released 19 years prior.

• A pig with a crown can be seen at a point during the movie. This is a reference to Technoblade, a beloved YouTuber who popularized the Minecraft combat and made primarily Minecraft-centered videos on his channel. Technoblade unfortunately passed away due to cancer in 2022, and was memorialized for a time in Minecraft's home screen with his motto, "Technoblade never dies".

• Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. Pictures to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014.

• Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018.

• By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character.

• However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016.

• While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit. Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props. Additionally, the game's co-creator Jens Bergensten was present during production and worked with the crew

• When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described as Jack Black's version of the character that was not meant to represent the Steve present in Minecraft.

• As of April 13, 2025, A Minecraft Movie has grossed $280.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $269.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $550.5 million

• The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from some viewers, particularly American and British adolescent boys partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as when Black's character exclaims, "Chicken jockey!", spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn

• Other viral lines include "flint and steel" and "I am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "chicken jockey". In one viral video, audience members hoisted a live chicken during a screening of the film and were subsequently forced to leave the theater; the stunt was criticized online due to animal cruelty concerns.

• Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called in some instances to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed.Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up.

• The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022). It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success.

• Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development.