Alyssa VanPelt-Cathcart, Staff Writer
Minecraft is a popular sandbox survival game published by the Swedish game developer, Mojang Studios. Originally publishing their alpha build in 2009, they released a full game in 2011. Now, Minecraft is a staple of Gen. Z culture as many of them grew up playing the game or watching people play the game.
Now, as of April 4th, there will be the release of A Minecraft Movie. This movie is directed by Jared Hess known for his directing Napoleon Dynamite (2004) and Nacho Libre (2006). A Minecraft Movie is starring Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, and Danielle Brooks. However, other notable actors include Jennifer Coolidge, Jemaine Clement, and Yvette Parsons. Jared Hess, himself, is voicing one of the characters.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, A Minecraft Movie is an adventure, fantasy with action that is targeted towards children and their families. Given that Minecraft became popularized by children and young adolescents, it is no surprise that they would market the movie to children. The description of the movie, on the Rotten Tomatoes listing, is, “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.” Steve is the original player model for players to use when they play the original game. Now, it is an iconic, yet simple, design that has become recognizable by the gaming community.
Over the last few decades, there have been an increasing number of movies or TV series adaptations on a variety of video games. In 2020, Sonic, a SEGA game titled after its main character, received an adaptation, Sonic The Hedgehog. According to its Rotten Tomatoes scoring, it received a 64%, but audience score of 93%. The iconic Nintendo character, Mario, received an adaptation in 2023, The Super Mario Bros Movie, in 2023. They received a score of 59%, but an audience score of 95%. In 1995, Mortal Kombat, a popular combat game, received a score of 47%, but an audience score of 58%. Although many of the movies Rotten Tomatoes scores in the video game adaptation score low. However, many audiences still enjoy them more than the official reviewers. This may be the result of genuine love for the original games. There is worry that A Minecraft Movie will result in poor scores like with the 2024 Borderlands or the 2016 Assassin’s Creed.
Jack Black stole the show in the 2023 The Super Mario Bros Movie. Perhaps he will make A Minecraft Movie just as iconic. A Minecraft Movie is being released in theaters, and has unique items at the concession, too.
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