‘Never give up the spark’: A Minecraft Movie’s director and producer hope that this film can inspire adults to carry on creating

Some of my favourite films discuss the idea of how important it is to hold onto the spark of creativity and passion as we get older; the fact that no matter how much the world weighs you down, getting back up and pursuing your passions is an inextricable human trait. While I wasn’t expecting A Minecraft Movie to take that angle, it does make sense.

Minecraft is all about creativity. Whatever you can think up, you can make in this game, whether that be a completely automated sorting system, which I managed to cook up over the pandemic, or a fully functional PC. Anything’s possible, and that freedom is Minecraft’s greatest trait, so it tracks that A Minecraft Movie would focus on how important it is never to stop creating.

“People say, ‘No, I’m not creative’ or ‘I’m not an artist’, or ‘I can’t do that’, but deep inside all of us, there is still that spark,” producer Torfi Ólafssonon tells me during an interview. “What this movie is trying to talk about is that we shouldn’t let anything stifle that spark and we should enjoy making things.”

In the film Jack Black’s character Steve temporarily gives up on his dreams to mine and be creative as he grows up, but eventually goes back to the mines and finds a portal to the Overworld where he can have fun creating all sorts of things like statues of his dog Dennis, working ferris wheels, or houses made entirely out of pink wool. Then there’s Henry, a young inventor who’s bullied for messing up on his inventions. Despite a couple of setbacks, he also learns to have fun and that failing at first is usually an important part of making something new.

“It presented a really amazing opportunity to be able to tell a story within that world where our characters also have to be creative to survive,” director Jared Hess tells us. “It’s hard to be creative in life, and you’re judged, and you risk failure and embarrassment and all of those things that come with being an artist. But to see our characters navigate that and come out better because of it and because they had the courage to be creative was super fun.”

Hess and Ólafssonon discussed some of the harder moments on set, and how creating A Minecraft Movie wasn’t always super straightforward and fun. “There were definite moments where we thought ‘This is probably not happening’ or ‘This is all going the wrong way’,” Ólafssonon says.

“It was a long process,” Hess continues. “I came on board right before the pandemic started. So much of the development of the script and everything happened then, and I think everything that was going on in the world was hard for everyone. But it was such an amazing opportunity. I mean, here’s this just incredible game. It’s the biggest video game of all time.”

But everything worked out in the end, and the finished product is a pretty fun watch. It may not be the Minecraft film that some older fans may have wanted, those who perhaps were looking for something slightly more serious and nuanced, but it still does the Overworld and Nether justice.

With this in mind, Hess stressed how crucial perseverance is: “Never stop playing. Never give up the spark. Never stop being playful or creative, and do it just for the sake of being creative. Not for an end, like you’re trying to achieve something. We should always hold on to that. Never stop playing.”