Minecraft, the best selling video game of all-time, shaped the lives of many children and adults after its Alpha release on June 30, 2010. Along with the sandbox game created by Mojang Studios came many successes among millennials at the time who took to Youtube and started making content. It was Youtubers like DanTDM, Technoblade, PopularMMOs, LDShadowlady, and more who brought Minecraft to the spotlight, forming it into the empire it is today. Now, with the release of “A Minecraft Movie,” and it taking the spot of #1 Movie in the World after opening weekend, the game has been brought back to the mainstream once again.
Despite being a little young for its initial release, Generation Z grew up with Minecraft. They experienced the world of the game grow, the addition of all of the features we know today, and its popularity increase. Senior Michael Stimpson said his favorite part about seeing the movie after so many years of playing the game was the accuracy of the movie to the game.
“I’ve played Minecraft for a long time, so I loved seeing many of the items I’ve used in Minecraft worlds get used on the big screen. I would rate “A Minecraft Movie” 4.5 out of 5 stars because it was incredibly funny and [I] was cheering throughout the entire film,” Stimpson said.
Sophomore Caleb Hardee agreed, saying that playing the game as a kid didn’t change his opinion on the film, but he enjoyed understanding all of the references made.
“I did play Minecraft growing up, [but it] didn’t really impact my thoughts on the movie or the game thereafter. [However,] they did make references I understood and enjoyed I think solely because I played the game,” Hardee said.
Similarly, junior Julia Shiner said she enjoyed seeing her favorite Minecraft Youtubers on the big screen.
“My brother and I used to play Minecraft: Pocket Edition back in 2013. Since Minecraft has been a big part of my life, it was really cool seeing it come to life. Along with all the OG Minecraft Youtubers mentioned; such as, LDShadowlady, DanTDM, Mumbo Jumbo, and Aphmau,” Shiner said.
The reason behind the film’s major success comes straight from social media. Since the release of the trailers, many iconic lines from the movie have been quoted over and over online. Junior Mary Kate Cunniff said that her favorite quotes come from the scene of the film that takes place in the village.
“[My favorite quote is probably] ‘they love crushin’ loaf.’ Honorable mention [would be] ‘got yourself a sweet blade,’” Cunniff said.
Because of “A Minecraft Movie’s” number of dull quotes, the film can come off as very childish. However, because it is a movie for children, the foolishness is justified, Stimpson agrees.
“I think the ‘stupidity’ of the film was justified as it was clearly meant as a kids movie to kind of show off Minecraft which I think it did very well. My favorite saying from “A Minecraft Movie” is a tie between ‘they love crushin’ loaf’ and ‘chicken jockey,’” Stimpson said.
During the film’s opening weekend, many theaters across the country were filled with life-long Minecraft fans. After growing up playing the game, senior Jonah Roberts explained his enjoyment of the childhood memories that the movie brought back.
“It had good moments, but I really enjoyed the community that went there. I played Minecraft all the time growing up on my mom’s phone. Then whenever I got an Xbox, I played [on] the original Xbox One. [“A Minecraft Movie”] brought a lot of nostalgia to me. I used to watch Technoblade growing up and the movie had a whole moment for him. It also was just really fun to see my childhood put into a [film],” Roberts said.
Along with its social media campaign, “A Minecraft Movie” partnered with McDonald’s to create the Minecraft Movie Meal. The popularity of the meal comes from the mystery toy customers receive inside. Some of the items are harder to come across than others, as Cunniff said.
“[In the McDonald’s Minecraft meal] I got [the] fry helmet. I mean I’ll take it, but I really wanted [the] Grimace egg. My Flint and Meal artifacts are on a shelf in my room,” Cunniff said.
With a rating of 49 percent on the Tomatometer (critic’s score), it is clear that “A Minecraft Movie” was not created to be a cinematic masterpiece. However, the fans’ love for the game, as well as its PG rating, override this, making sense of the movie’s silliness, Hardee said.
“Well, I mean, it was a kids movie. I’m really glad that it was stupid, and Jack Black just added to the stupidity, plus all the fans were crazy too,” Hardee said.
Roberts agreed, saying that the quality of the movie didn’t matter because the fans were there to make up for it.
“I think the stupidity of the movie was justified because if you had a serious Minecraft movie, it would not be fun to watch. The movie itself was OK but the experience of the people in the theater made the movie a whole lot better,” Roberts said.
