Don Shanahan
Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures enjoyed big success from A Minecraft Movie. Directed by Napoleon Dynamite‘s Jared Hess and starring the Kung Fu Panda himself Jack Black and Aquaman star Jason Momoa, this family blockbuster was the first-ever big screen, live-action adaptation of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time. After debuting on digital platforms on May 13, A Minecraft Movie arrived on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K-UHD physical media formats on June 24. Film Obsessive was granted a preview copy of the set for a new edition of its “Off the Shelf” review series.
THE MOVIE
Filled with characters and nods the computer game, this past spring’s A Minecraft Movie welcomed long-time fans and new audiences alike to a cinematic version of world of Minecraft. Architectural creativity merges with bodacious self-defense for a quest of silly survival. In the movie, four Idahoans strugging with their real-world problems are transported into the cubic wonderland of the Overworld. There, former video game champion Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), the realtor-plus-zookeeper Dawn (The Color Purple Academy Award nominee Danielle Brooks), and big sister Natalie (Wednesday’s Emma Myers) have followed the STEM-smart brother Henry (newcomer Sebastian Hansen) catch the ire of the piglin ruler Malgosha (voiced by Rachel House).
Their best bet to defeat Malgosha and her minions and get back home lies with Steve (Black), an expert builder who has spent decades now in the Overworld after portalling into this place as a younger man. Together, they put their ingenuity and courage to the test to make the most of what they have and win the day, all with the tasty of “lava chicken” to fill their bellies. Naturally, when the hefty presence of Jack Black plays off of the maybe-not-as-macho-as-he-seems musclehead of Jason Momoa, a brotherly sense of competition and, when necessary, tag team action take over A Minecraft Movie. For more details and breakdown, check out our full theatrical review from April.
While most critics rolled their eyes to the score of a “rotten” 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences came out in droves. Since its release, A Minecraft Movie has earned over $423 million domestically, good enough to be the current #1 earner this year (watch out for Lilo & Stitch only $40 million and change behind it with plenty of legs to go) and #2 in the world (behind the Chinese juggernaut Ne Zha 2) with a grand total of over $953 million. For those who want more, the sequel is already in development.
THE DISC
For the physical media and collectors marketplace, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment should have known back during production that it had a sure-fire hit on its hands with A Minecraft Movie. While its theatrical release received the full media push and red carpet treatment, the same cannot be said for its home video discs. They are not as bare bones to match the usual boringly plain WB menu format, but there was a great deal of room for these discs to be as well-rounded physically as its lead star and less like basic bricks used for building in the Overworld.
The biggest missing special feature is a commentary track. While commentary tracks have been procured for Blu-ray and 4K-UHD discs less and less since the prime years of DVD, a good conversation that takes fans behind the curtain for extra nuggets and stories is something every movie, hit or otherwise, benefits from in the legacy department. By contrast, the Dog Man home media discs had one, and it made a difference. Warner Bros., you have verbous, creative people like Jared Hess, Jack Black, and Jason Momoa right there. Strap a mic on them and let them toss the movie around to our delight.
Also, the presence of unpredictable Jack Black alone should have guaranteed reel upon reel of material for a sweet gag reel or a collection of alternate takes, extended scenes, or deleted scenes for A Minecraft Movie. That too feels like a tremendous missed opportunity. Alas, what slim meat on the bone is left comes from five small featurettes, none longer than 15 minutes.
Building the World of Minecraft: Block Party: Oscar-winning production designer Grant Major (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) highlights his team bringing the geometric textures, colorful habitats, and square-edged props to life for the movie using digital tools in addition to practical effects.
Creepers, Zombies, and Endermen Oh My!: While the human stars fill the posters for A Minecraft Movie, the voluminous groups of villains make the heroes look good in the film frames. This featurette examines live-action costumes from the stunt performers and the contributing artists and designers making them look game-accurate.
Marlene + Nitwit: For film and TV fans, you either love or hate the schtick of Jennifer Coolidge, eternally stuck, as it seems, playing the ditzy va-va-voom older woman. One of the sideplots of A Minecraft Movie was her quirky bond and romance wiht Nitwit, a villager from the Overworld who crossed over to earthly Idaho. The Jennifer Coolidge worship is high here.
A Minecraft Movie: Block Beats: If you ask the target demographic watching the movie, the inescapable musical earworm of the soundtrack is Jack Black’s impromtpu “Steve’s Lava Chicken” song. The more formal and fully produced song from A Minecraft Movie is the cast belting out “I Feel Alive” during the closing credits. This featurette takes audiences behind the scenes with Black, Momoa, and Danielle Brooks talking about the tune and the film’s overall music.
A Minecraft Movie: Pixel Pals: One of the most entertaining qualities of A Minecraft Movie is the bro-chemistry from Jack Black and Jason Momoa. Their boundless energy carries into their own gaming, wardrobe choices, and on-set personalities during the film production. Last but not least, this is, by far, the best little nugget on the disc.
