On Sep. 4, the very first teaser trailer for Minecraft: The Movie was released. The whole world got its first look at what this movie will look like, and if the comment section on the official trailer video is any hint to first impressions, people are not happy with what they saw. From complaints about the design to what the plot seems to be, the public- and especially veteran players- are not pleased.
The film’s set was the target of many criticisms, namely how it’s a mix between Minecraft and real life. The set does not seem to follow the actual Minecraft generations, with trees shaped wrong, waterfalls that aren’t possible, and a massive stone arch in the center of a plains biome, constructed with a brown-orange rock that doesn’t spawn in said biome. Along with that, just below this archway is a crowd of structures, none of which resemble a naturally spawning Minecraft structure.
The mobs were another point of concern, which got mixed reactions. Some claim their design is too realistic, being reminiscent of a “2015 Minecraft vs. Real Life” video, as many commenters put it. These models, while blocky in shape, don’t exactly resemble the mobs portrayed in Minecraft. The ones shown in the trailer were given teeth and 3-dimensional fur. The piglins and ghasts were given glowing eyes, along with the piglins receiving a wardrobe change. More than that, the very first mob shown in the trailer is a small pink sheep, a rare variation of an already extremely rare mob.
The performance of Jack Black was also met with some backlash. The acting itself received no complaints, however, there are some claims that he’s just the wrong choice to portray the iconic Minecraft character, Steve. Black is white, while Steve is of a darker skin tone. Not only this, but the acts Steve performs throughout the game would require a very muscular build, which doesn’t exactly describe the comedy actor. In the trailer, Black is shown next to a 2-block wall, and it shows him as taller than it. One Minecraft block is one meter, or roughly three feet tall. This would imply that Jack Black is between ten and twelve feet tall, as opposed to his real height of 5 foot 6 inches.
The rest of the complaints are about smaller details. One noted inaccuracy is the lava falling from the sides of mountains, a terrain feature that rarely spawns aboveground. Along with that, Jason Momoa’s character is shown using a crafting table in the trailer. He inputs a crafting recipe that doesn’t exist, using items that don’t line up in the crafting grid, and obtains a new item that is not in base game. This item is something that looks to be two buckets chained together, something you cannot do in the real game, much less craft.
An additional source of outrage to Minecraft fans is the piglins. The piglin design was changed, which is mostly ignored, however many viewers were quick to point out that piglins aren’t able to survive in the overworld, a place they’re shown moving through in several scenes of the trailer. As soon as they go through a Nether portal, piglins are supposed to begin a zombification process, however, the teaser shows no such thing happening.
The supposed plot was not enjoyed either. Many found it reminded them of Jumanji, in which the cast (including Black) is trapped in a game and must find their way out. People are upset by this because that is not the point of Minecraft at all. To release a teaser for a Minecraft film and not include any mention of the Ender Dragon or End was a shock to most. In fact, the trailer portrays the piglins as the main villains of the film, despite the Nether not being the end goal of the game.
There’s always a chance that the movie ends up being better than the trailer, but such a thing is a rare occurrence. With that in mind, expectations for the film aren’t very high. Avid fans of the block-based sandbox game are left disappointed, and the number one best-selling video game of all time is left desecrated.
