On April 4, The Minecraft Movie was released into theaters worldwide, bringing the popular video game to life in live action form. The film quickly gained traction with younger audiences of Generation Z and Alpha, becoming the first projected film of 2025 to surpass one billion dollars, according to Box Office Pro.
The film has made its way to Skyline High School, causing discussion and interest between students. Many were drawn to the theaters due to its large internet presence, with memes and short clips becoming viral. Xavier Flowers, a Junior at Skyline, said, “I went to see it in the theaters because of all the memes and jokes surrounding the famous phrases.”
The plot centers around a group of real world people who get transported to the Minecraft universe, and they have to get help from the main character, Steve (played by Jack Black), to stop the invasion of the Nether, an alternate universe. Freshman student Danize Daniel said, “The animations mixed with the in-real-life characters made it really entertaining to watch and more interesting.”
Several scenes from the story have become memorable to the Skyline students due to the meme culture. Flowers said that the humor and absurdity of the film was a key factor in its popularity. “It was really, really great. It was super funny and pretty nice to turn your brain off for a while and have mindless entertainment.” he said.
Both Flowers and Daniel shared a similar viewpoint that they had gone to the theater for the social and chaotic environment. Flowers said, “It was just a bunch of people clapping, and laughing, and cheering for the same stupid jokes—it was just a fun time.” With the growing popularity of the show, there has been a common theme in theaters for the crowd to become rowdy by bringing in props and yelling the memes. Daniel said that she expected the craziness. “I think some of it is quite funny, and I honestly expected that,” she said. “But if I didn’t, I’d be pissed to get stuff thrown at me and yelling during a movie. But since it’s The Minecraft Movie, I feel like all the throwing stuff was bound to happen.”
Despite its popularity, not every Skyline student found the movie amazing. “All I have to say is The Minecraft Movie, even though some people might get offended, is just okay,” Daniel said. Flowers also said that, rather than having a main storyline, it was mainly a bunch of side plots that didn’t contribute to the actual storyline, and though he enjoyed it, he said that those who didn’t go for the memes or for the nostalgia of the video game would probably not enjoy the movie.
Still, others believe this movie could impact the future of Hollywood movies. Flowers said, “With the success of the Minecraft Movie, there are most definitely going to be more video game adaptations.” Daniel had a similar viewpoint and stated, “I feel like there might be more Gen Z related humor in the future. I could definitely see them making a Fortnite: The Movie, or something like that.”
At Skyline, The Minecraft Movie is very popular. Daniel said, “I’ve heard from people in the hallways that they’ve hated it and think it’s too overhyped. But then I hear other people say it’s amazing—or just yelling ‘chicken jockey’ twenty-four-seven, me too.” Whether students loved it or hated it, the Minecraft Movie is a growing trend that will likely continue to keep gaining money and popularity one block at a time. Daniel said, “If you didn’t understand the memes, then it would’ve been hard to watch, but what made it the best were the memes, and Jack Black singing Lava Chicken was just being so comedic.”
