The first trailer forA Minecraft Moviehas caused a lot of controversy online, with the first look at the film confirming the biggest mistake with the video game adaptation. Although movie adaptations of video games used to be a surefire sign of a critical flop, thevideo game movie curse has been broken, with a new era of great films likeDetective PikachuandSonic the Hedgehogbeing released. However,A Minecraft Movieseems to be falling into the trappings of a prior video game movie era, with the film having one major problem that the trailer highlights.
A Minecraft Movie’s first trailer has been released, with it finally showing off Jack Black’s Steve as well as a band of other human characters. Up until the trailer forA Minecraft Moviewas released, many fans of the original video game were wondering what the movie’s art direction would look like.Minecraftis known for its signature blocky style, and ever since it was revealed thatA Minecraft Moviewould be live-action, it has been difficult to imagine how the movie would look. However, now thatA Minecraft Movie’s visual style has been revealed, it hasn’t been received positively.
A Minecraft Movie Changed The Video Game Animation & Includes Live-Action Characters
It Tries To Recreate The Blocky Style
The biggest problem withA Minecraft Movieis that it changed the video game animation, with it deciding to include live-action characters. The originalMinecraftvideo game is one of the most visually unique games of all time, with everything being made out of blocks. This visual identity is core to the franchise and its gameplay, which is why for years many claimed that the only way to properly do aMinecraftmovie would be to make it animated. However,A Minecraft Movieis live-action, with it unsurprisingly failing to pull off this impossible adaptation.
A Minecraft Movie: Everything You Need To Know
With video game movies finally starting to become big hits, A Minecraft Movie arrived in 2025 and is shaping up to be a bona fide blockbuster.
Everything in theA Minecraft Trailerhas a pseudo-blocky style, but the realistic textures and strange character design choices make everything seem uncanny. The originalMinecraftmobs all look a bit creepy, especially those meant to represent real animals. However, this style wasn’t applied to one aspect ofA Minecraft Movie: the human characters. Instead of trying to make the characters fit in with the environment and mobs,A Minecraft Movie’s main cast of charactersare just regular humans, making them stand out from the environment in an unappealing way.
A Minecraft Movie Should’ve Used The Original Video Game Animation Style & This Trailer Proves It
The Fan-Made Trailer Looks Much Better
IfA Minecraft Moviewanted to succeed, it should’ve used the original video game animation style. This has been proven bya fan-made version of the trailer that was put out shortly after the officialA Minecraft Movietrailer dropped. TheYouTubechannel Alumio reanimated the entirety ofA Minecraft Movie’s first trailer, using the game’s original art style rather than the live-action visuals. This version looks significantly better, as everything blends together due toA Minecraft Movie’s human characterssharing the same style as everything else in the trailer.
The originalMinecraftstyle is charming because it is simplistic, and making everything hyper-realistic while maintaining the blocky style does not look good. Alumio’s trailer recreation perfectly maintains the charm of the originalMinecraftvideo game, with many viewers wishing that they could see a version of the movie animated like this rather than the official film. This fan-made trailer proves that an animatedMinecraftmovie would have been so much better, with this change completely changing the experience of the trailer.
It Is A Mix Of Both
A Minecraft Movie’s choice to use live-action instead of animation is weird, but it seems to have a story reason behind it. The main cast of characters inA Minecraft Movieare humans from the real world who are sucked into the world ofMinecraft, explaining why they are live-action whilethe rest of the world consists of CGI animation. Since Jack Black’s Steve is live-action, it seems likely that he will be a character from the real world as well, although he will have most likely been in theMinecraftworld for longer.
I Love You Jack Black - Good Luck With Your Minecraft Movie Role
Jack Black’s Minecraft role has seemingly been revealed, and it is the perfect contrast to his performance in his $1.36 billion video game adaptation.
Pulling characters from the real world into a video game is a trope that has been used many times before, with it recently being used in the immensely popularJumanjirevival series. The look ofA Minecraft Moviemay be disappointing to many, and the aforementioned fan-made trailer highlights the sad reality of what could have been.
A Minecraft Movie
Cast
A Minecraft Movie follows four misfits transported into the Overworld, a cubic world of creativity. To return home, they must navigate its challenges while on a magical quest with experienced crafter Steve, learning to master the intricate environment of this imaginative realm.
