- A Minecraft Movie‘s director has defended its visuals amid fierce fan criticism
- People have reacted negatively to the film’s art style in various trailers
- Jared Hess said test screening audiences responded more positively to how it looks
Jared Hess has launched a staunch defense of A Minecraft Movie‘s visuals following fierce fan criticism of its art style.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Hess admitted he was always concerned that the live-action-animated hybrid film ran the risk of having its own “Ugly Sonic moment.”
The incident he’s referring to, of course, is the nightmare fuel reveal of a humanoid-looking Sonic the Hedgehog in the first trailer for the Sega mascot’s first movie. A vociferous backlash followed, and after Paramount Pictures saw sense and frantically raced to fix how Sonic looked in his big-screen debut, fans of the Blue Blur were much happier with the final product.
Following the release of A Minecraft Movie‘s first teaser in September 2024, a similarly fierce fan campaign to overhaul the Warner Bros-produced film’s horrifying visuals quickly gained traction online.
In fact, some long-time fans of the world’s best-selling video game took it upon themselves to fix its art style. Numerous fan-made videos, including ones from X/Twitter user Alumio and Redditor JustinIsNotWeird, remade the teaser with the franchise’s signature pixel art.
Unfortunately, Minecraft fans’ calls to tweak the movie’s actual aesthetic fell on deaf ears. Now, Hess has explained why A Minecraft Movie‘s visuals weren’t overhauled in the seven months between the first trailer launch and one of 2025’s new movies’ forthcoming April 4 release.
“You know, it’s so funny because, ever since I boarded this project, people kept saying, ‘Hey, we have to avoid an Ugly Sonic moment’,” Hess told me. “That was something we talked about all the time.
“And then, you know, when the first teaser came out, there was so much that was taken out of context. Teasers tend to be short and visually blast you with content that doesn’t have a lot of context.”
People kept saying ‘Hey, we have to avoid an Ugly Sonic moment’
Jared Hess, A Minecraft Movie director
“For the record, there was a lot of stuff [in the teaser] that was unfinished,” Hess continued. “A lot of trailers have the look of a film that hasn’t been fully realized. You’ve still got months of work to do on it, so, when those reactions came in, we said ‘Oh, that [the backlash] is just something we have to navigate.”
“But, we had such faith in the movie we were making. We’d started to screen it and, based on audience reactions, we knew we were on the right track. It’s wild to be as a filmmaker as, even when you’re test screening, you still have unfinished visual effect shots, so you’re asking the audience to use their imagination as they watch it.”
“So, it’s amazing to see it once it’s finally complete and see all pf the hard work that’s gone into everything and into bringing this world to life. To be able to share it with people, and see them enjoy it and have a blast. it’s a dream come true for any filmmaker.”
I’ll be *ahem* crafting more news exclusives from my chat with Jared Hess in the coming days, so make sure you check back in with me soon. And, don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for my review of A Minecraft Movie later this week to see what I made of Warner’s take on Microsoft and Mojang’s incredibly popular sandbox game.
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