The Minecraft Movie Should Have Copied Another Successful Adaptation

A Minecraft Movie is quite a strange name for a film. It seems to suggest that it's only one of several potential movies about Minecraft that may continue into the distant future. It brings to mind Pokémon: The First Movie or maybe A Goofy Movie. Of course, the former acknowledged the existence of the sequel that had already premiered in Japan, and the latter was a joke. Maybe WB and Mojang lack the confidence it takes to upgrade that "a" to a "the." That's only one of several lessons they could take from The Lego Movie.

When video game movies were all generally horrible, fans cried out for a lone good example that could show studios how to make them work. The truth of the matter is that humanity has finally reached a suitable new era for the genre. Not every video game movie is good, but they've outgrown the negative expectations that led some to consider them cursed. Finally, video game movies are treated like every other adaptation. Some movies about video games are bad and others are good, but the same has always been true of adaptations of books, comics, toys, or other movies. There's no reason to single out the newcomers.

A Minecraft Movie's Trailer Evoked Questionable Reactions

The most enjoyable part of the teaser for A Minecraft Movie is the big, loud cut of the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour." The rest of it leaves a lot to be desired. Most viewers compared it negatively to a YouTube experiment to bring a dash of unwanted realism to Mojang's classic cube-based open world. The most infuriating element isn't necessarily visual, but the art style is absolutely questionable. A Minecraft Movie seems to approach its source material with the kind of ironic detachment common to adaptations from the 2000s. It feels simultaneously embarrassed to be a video game movie, excited to make a bunch of money on merchandise, and oddly proud of its nightmarish imagery. It's like watching someone attempt a cover of a beloved song, fall off the stage onto several audience members, and get up only to apologize for the music. They're ashamed of the wrong thing entirely. Despite some positive attention, A Minecraft Movie seems like the next target of a Morbius-esque ironic meme campaign. While an adaptation of the best-selling game of all time would make millions under literally any circumstances, it still could have been so much better.

The Lego Movie Was a Perfect Example

When Warner Bros. Greenlit a cinematic adaptation of Lego construction toys, it seemed like a total cash-in. The go-to example for a movie based on a toy franchise would probably be the Transformers franchise, which became popularly known as the worst film series of all time. The finished product came out three years later and raised the bar for adaptations in general. It's a delightful romp that somehow escaped the nightmarish IP-driven schlock factor that burdened Ready Player One or Space Jam: A New Legacy. More importantly, it was a perfect distillation of everything compelling about Lego as a cultural artifact. Perhaps the most impressive element of The Lego Movie is its commitment to visual consistency. Everything is Lego. Every person, place, and thing is made entirely of in-universe colorful bricks. Characters know how to use those bricks to their advantage. Lego isn't just an aesthetic; it's the physical and magical system that governs the universe. This level of bold confidence and sincere appreciation of the source material made The Lego Movie a classic.

How Could A Minecraft Movie Capture The Lego Movie's Style?

The answer here should be obvious. A movie about Minecraft should use the distinct art style that made Minecraft iconic. Imagine them hiring a team of artists to make the most visually striking version of a world forged in cubes. The Lego Movie was impressive because it committed to the bit. A Minecraft Movie seems unwilling to treat the game with an ounce of sincerity. The main characters are outsiders who crack insipid jokes and denigrate the quality of the world. Everything feels as if it's at some bizarre ironic distance, as if the characters are too cool for Minecraft. That's not to say that the game requires a biblical level of reverence, but why would anyone care about the material if the main characters are rolling their eyes?

Remember the main character of The Lego Movie? Emmet was a beacon of optimism that engaged with the most banal elements of his Lego world with endless joy. The main characters of A Minecraft Movie seem as confused and unimpressed as the audience. This mirrors the aesthetic choices, which feel close enough to Minecraft to sell toys but just far enough to avoid anything impressive. This was the worst-case scenario fans imagined when WB pitched The Lego Movie. It was nice of them to wait a few years before proving everyone right.