They were wrong about A Minecraft Movie

Even before A Minecraft Movie had a release date, adults were dunking on it. Now that the reviews are out, generally people are suggesting it’s a steaming pile. So, (like most parents I imagine?), I was not looking forward to watching it with my excited tamariki. I was delighted to find out they - and I - were wrong. A Minecraft Movie is deliciously camp and it’s desperately hard not to enjoy it when you watch it with tweens.

Settling into my seat with my twelve-year-old and ten-year-old at a sold-out screening at 10am on a (cheap) Tuesday, I was wishing I’d bought a second coffee. A row of tweens behind me were already absolutely frothing. They reminded me of puppies, tails wagging so hard they were shaking their seats.

My eldest was already bouncing, while my youngest focused on his popcorn - ear protectors firmly on.

Knowing screenings overseas have been wild - from popcorn throwing to a kid bringing in a live chicken - I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The atmosphere in our little local cinema was similar to a concert and as soon as a young Steve was shown outside a mine in ‘the real world’ I could see why. The directors of A Minecraft Movie have leaned hard into memeification. Within the first 20 minutes there are lines drawn from memes “As a child I yearned for the mines” to lines made to be meme’d - like Jennifer Coolidge’s divorce monologue.

There are plenty of Easter eggs - including Minecraft YouTubers to spot (I’m told by my kids one was DanTDM if that means anything to you) and a sweet tribute to TechnoBlade - to entertain hardcore fans.

But most of all - it’s just really fun and silly. Right from the get-go the over the top humour meant I was chuckling along while my kids were losing it laughing.

Jack Black and Jason Momoa have great bromance chemistry, they seem genuinely like they’re friends. And Danielle Brooks is a joyous sidekick. The kids are fine and work well as a stand-in for any siblings despite the kind of pointless dead mother angle (why do they always kill the mother? But also, is the mother Dr. Sarah Marjorie Potts?!).

On that note, the film allows for a fun game of ‘spot the New Zealander’ - Rachel House is excellent as always and Jemaine Clement plays two characters…

The story line is thin, but it doesn’t matter. My children and the audience of kids we saw the film with were simply obsessed with seeing something they truly love up on the big screen.

Throughout the whole film you’d hear gasps of ‘an ender pearl!’ and ‘look! Diamond armour!’. All of that will be familiar to parents who have been bored to tears by their children speaking at them for hours about The Nether and the Overworld. Even I was like ‘oooh obsidian’ at one point.

I was amazed that already the kids seemed to know much of the dialogue. ‘FLINT AND STEAL!’ was yelled out. As was ‘first we mine, then we craft’. But ‘I am Steve’ and of course ‘Chicken Jockey’ had the kids really yelling.

Kids in our screening knew all of the words to ‘Hot Lava and Chicken’ as well.

I think the adults saying the film is bad are kind of missing the point. Like millions of kids, my tamariki love Minecraft. They’ll go through stages of playing it all the time, then leave it for a while, then come back to it.

Like millions of parents, I’ve suffered through hours of listening to Youtube Minecraft videos of the most annoying American kids ever screaming through the television - (except Phineas Rage’s Vegetarian Minecraft, I love him very much).

I have despaired at their obsession with it. And I’ve learned to love it. I’ve cherished the joy and comfort it has given them over the years.

But we’ve all gone through this Minecraft stuff together. It’s been one of the biggest cultural touchstones for a generation of kids who spent some of their formative years locked down due to the (ongoing) pandemic.

When life has been tough or scary, Minecraft has been there for a lot of kids. It was the way they stayed in touch with their friends. It was a creative outlet when the world felt really full on. It was a constant when life was simply not predictable.

For that reason, I’m thrilled that kids get to see their worlds blossom onscreen. No wonder they’re leaning into that joy (in the form of screeching and cheering).

It would have been hard I think for A Minecraft Movie to fail, because there’s just a happiness in recognition. Kids never expected to see villagers and pillagers on screen. And as a parent, I was just happy to see them witness their favourite game come to life.

To cinemas, I would recommend Autism friendly screenings - where neurodivergent kids can feel really safe. If you have a very rule-based autistic child they may struggle with some of the yelling. Otherwise, I found the excitement from the kids delightful and I’m glad they are having a Rocky Horror moment.

And to everyone over the age of 14, I’d suggest just letting yourself enjoy it. Not everything has to be a work of art. And going to A Minecraft Movie and expecting perfection will only let you down.

Instead celebrate the kids and celebrate creativity and comfort. After all, they really do yearn for the mines.

And yes, I want a ‘Hunk City Rampage’ singlet if you know where to get one.

What did you think of A Minecraft Movie? Are you going to go?

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