Minecraft. The game has become a household name, owing to its revolutionary popularity and unique gameplay. It has been a staple of many FHS students’ childhoods and remains a creative outlet for people of all ages. Minecraft has inspired creativity transcending the game, with people writing books like “Diary of a Minecraft Zombie” and forging storylines like the Dream SMP. With this, countless fans have long anticipated a Minecraft movie. But, having no set storyline, the idea of a Minecraft movie is understandably hard to imagine. Warner Bros. decided to bring the long-awaited movie to its fans and suddenly, fans feel like they are better off without the movie (releasing in Apr 2025), solely because of the trailer. 

The trailer is not completely bad, of course. It does a great job of displaying the grandeur of a Minecraft world, with shots showing the vastness and diversity of the terrain. The producers took a hyper-realistic approach when making the animations, which is a controversial decision. However, it may turn out to be a good one, as it does an excellent job of capturing the action and intensity of the game. One would think that a strong foundation like this would be difficult to mess up. It seemingly was not.

The general consensus is that the most notable mistake made was including real actors in the movie, instead of taking an animated character approach like in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” The contrast of real characters in an animated world gives an uncanny feel, and emphasizes that Minecraft is just a game — not a world — even in the movie.

“Making it not IRL, mixed with animated stuff, makes it very bad to watch,” FHS junior Naren Karlekar said. “You can’t display an animated sheep and then just show us Jack Black.”

While the fanbase agrees that the characters should have been animated, there is further concern about the selection of characters. Famous actors like Jason Momoa, Jack Black and Emma Myers have been cast, but none of them fit the descriptions of the characters they play. Moreover, the short snips of the acting in the trailer displayed obvious flaws in the way characters are played. There is unnecessary overacting from Momoa, and Black’s corny line, “I am Steve,” has already become a running joke on the internet.  

Another mistake caught by those with a keener eye is that many details in the background of the movie, like house structures and plants are inconsistent with what is found in the game – an avoidable mistake that unnecessarily reduces the movie’s appeal to the fanbase. 

“The movie makes so many things look creepy,” FHS junior Rohan Kaura said. 

The movie does not need to be immediately shunned, though. It is slated to come out in 2025, and going off the example of the movie “Sonic the Hedgehog”, fan backlash might catalyze positive change in the movie.