Few things in life spark the human mind more than nostalgia. For the current era of high schoolers, Minecraft was a canon event of childhood. Minecraft is a game from Mojang, and it is a game where players get to create, survive and explore a blocky 3D world. Many students have core memories in their Minecraft worlds or realms, and the movie pulled people in through their emotional attachments. The Minecraft Movie’s many references to the actual game to makes it seem like the viewer is actually playing Minecraft. Sophomore Philip Ligon stated, “This isn’t just another videogame film. It is a heartfelt celebration of Minecraft’s spirit.” Many students like Ligon connected with the movie in this way.

Without giving any spoilers, the Minecraft Movie follows a group of misfits who are transported to the ‘Overworld’ through a portal. They then team up with Steve, the master Minecrafter, to battle Malgosha who is the Piglin queen of the Nether. Malgosha despises creativity and seeks to dominate the realm using the Orb of Dominance and The Earth Crystal. The movie shows the importance of teamwork and self-confidence. While the theater experience has died down in the past week, it is still a movie that a current or former Minecraft lover should watch. 

Now, why would a mass amount of high school students want to see a movie targeted toward a much younger audience? The answer: social media. The Minecraft community was in full support of the movie from the get-go, but the larger majority of people did not feel strongly about the movie until the trailer was released. The trailer led to many creators on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to make memes out of certain lines in the movie. Most of these came from the main character of the movie, Steve, who is played by celebrated actor Jack Black. Black’s expressiveness and way of saying his lines made for the memes to be memorable.

Some Top Memes (According to Carmel Students)

• “Chicken Jockey”

• “Flint and Steel”

• “Steve’s Lava Chicken”

• “As a child, I yearned for the mines”

  

• “The Nether”

While the memes drew the masses to the Minecraft Movie, it was the theater experience that sold the most tickets. Once the movie debuted, thousands of people around the country started posting videos of how their theater reacted to the memes, how they dressed and their ratings of the movie. This led to a theater experience unlike any other with everyone in full accord.

Sophomore Louis Bash spoke to this, as he said, “It felt like my first true communal theater experience. Everyone was excited and clapped for all of the lines.” Out of 60 Carmel students who responded to the survey about their Minecraft Movie experience, 70% gave the movie a five-star review. Also, out of these 60 students, ‘Chicken Jockey’ was the favorite reference of 90% of students.

The major trend was for the theater to erupt into absolute chaos when Steve said, “Chicken Jockey.” Students across the board mentioned that during this scene people threw popcorn, rushed to the front of the theater, popped confetti and even pulled an actual chicken out. While this is not encouraged and heavily looked down upon by theater staff, it made for a memorable moment for many students.

Junior Ryan Field spoke about his ‘Chicken Jockey’ moment and said, “When the Chicken Jockey showed up out of nowhere, everyone lost it. Total surprise and exactly the kind of weird, hilarious thing only Minecraft could pull off.”

One of the first groups to see the movie from Carmel was the varsity baseball team. The baseball team was trying to find something to do for a team outing, and the Minecraft Movie seemed like the perfect event. The team started their night in a full suit dinner at McDonald’s where they all ate the Minecraft ‘Flint and Meal’. The team then watched the movie at Regal Stonecrest where they sat in the second row. Sophomore third baseman, Thomas Gaddy, stated, “It was seriously a life-changing night.” According to sophomores Matthew Abbott and Leyton Guhl, the theater was in full sync for every meme and the baseball team made unlikely friendships with many fellow Minecraft movie-goers. The team has said that their team chemistry has increased and this movie strengthened the bond between many of the players.

Almost every student who responded to the Minecraft Movie survey recommended others to see it for nostalgia’s sake and for one to form an individual opinion. Go get tickets and see it with our friends!

If you saw the movie: comment your favorite moment.