To preface this, I love playing video games because it brings me unadulterated joy like no hobby of mine. Very few hobbies of mine, like listening to music or rock climbing, can rival the joy of video games. The main reason for this is the connection to video games I hold close to my heart. I would consider myself an internet child because a good portion of my life was spent growing up reverently playing video games with my best friend or sometimes by myself. My dad could be considered the catalyst for my love of video games, because at the ripe age of 5 he promised to buy me a 3DS if I stopped sucking my thumb. Considering my aforementioned praise of video games, you best bet getting the 3DS as my first device became the gateway to all of this. As I grew up, my exposure to video games increased a drastic amount, with franchises such as Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, and so much more. 

Today’s focus is on Minecraft because of the recent movie trailer released about the video game. Minecraft is one of those games that is almost the cornerstone of anyone’s childhood if they were raised on video games. The rustic cubic charm of the game and ability to make whatever you can dream of largely appealed to kids and adults alike. Matter of fact, I also have many fond memories of Minecraft when my best friend first introduced me to the game. Ranging from killing the Ender Dragon for the first time, to having sleepovers and attempting to build grandiose structures. 

I can’t speak for other enthusiasts of the game, but when the Minecraft movie trailer was released, it felt like a disservice to the potential possibilities of what a fantastic depiction of Minecraft could’ve been. It astonished me to see Jack Black in the movie because it seems he gets typecasted into any video game-related movie as of late (Mario, Borderlands, etc). Don’t get me wrong—I’m a fan of Jack Black, however, my first guess for Steve would have not been him. Fun Fact: Canonically speaking, Steve is 6’2 feet tall, so one would think the directors would cast someone tall to maintain integrity. The world-building in the movie portrays the game nicely considering the block-esque nature and they did a good job making the square-like landscape or animals. My problem with the trailer is the juxtaposition of a square world with round, human characters that look out of place. I feel like they could’ve done better by animating the movie to keep the blocky charm and have the actors voice animated characters. A great example of this is The Lego Movie which stuck to the integrity of the stiff, brick-like nature and executed it amazingly. I think if the Minecraft Movie was animated in a similar vein, it would be received better and not look outlandish. Overall, the trailer is underwhelming but the movie could succeed my expectations.