A Minecraft Movie Teaser Trailer Reaction

Warner Bros. Discovery has released the first look at the upcoming ‘Minecraft’ movie, and it’s middling at best. The world attempts to strike a fine balance between live-action and animation, and the first impressions of it show a film at war with itself, unsure of which direction to commit to. Audiences don’t get a clear idea of what the film will focus on, as it’s only aim at the moment is to unveil a new world and invite viewers in. 

Talking about the animation, the film’s world is blocky, just like the game, but instead of retaining the pixel art that the game is well-known for, the animators have decided to go for a plastic style, likely to make it easier to make it easier to accommodate real people. But it’s a solution that fails to capture the style older fans grew up with, and what ‘Minecraft’ is known for looking like. It looks like a mobile game ad, like a ‘Clash of Clans’ from over nine years ago. And that really is a damning assessment. 

Linking in with this is the look of the animals. Audiences get a prominant look at both a pink sheep and Llma. While they retain the blocky style found in ‘Minecraft’, the fur aims to give off a sense of realness, which is extremely jarring. It’s a confusing look, especially as other animated creatures like the Piglins are in keeping with the plasticy look of the world.

The main characters are humans, likely who accidentally fell into the world of ‘Minecraft’ and who want to leave to get home. And they look just like normal people, in normal clothes that look cheap and as though the costume department plucked them out of a clothes shop on the high street. Jack Black’s Steve is the worst victim of this, with the most basic blue t-shirt in existance. 

Throughout the short clip, is a handful of references that fans of ‘Minecraft’ will love. Fans will notice Mamoa’s character plonking down resources on a crafting table, a creeper sneaking up, the blocky resources the environment turns into once mined, and so much more. Typical ‘Minecraft’ enemies are noticeably absent, like zombies, spiders, skeletons, Endermen and the Ender Dragon. Hopefully they will show up, as they make ‘Minecraft’ what it is.   

There’s no good look at the plot in this trailer, though that’s not at all unexpected for a teaser. It seems like the basic premise is that humans from the real world get brought into the blocky world of ‘Minecraft’, in the middle of an invasion by the creatures of the Netherworld, shown here with with Piglins and a Ghast. It’s not unreasonable that they might be looking to conquer the real world as well. 

Taking a step back, it’s important to assess who this film is aimed for. ‘Minecraft’ is a behemoth franchise, attracting the passion of young adults and kids alike. And it appears to be the latter demographic that Warner Bros. Discovery is going after, with the big and bold Jason Mamaoa’s “kadoosh” or Jack Black’s bombastic and explosive declaration of his identity of ‘Minecraft’s’ main character, Steve. And while that doesn’t absolve it from criticism, it certainly warrants looking at the film from a different angle.   

‘A Minecraft Movie’ releases in cinemas on April 4, 2025.