I've Never Played Minecraft, So These 8 A Minecraft Movie Moments Totally Confused Me

Warning: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for A Minecraft Movie!

A Minecraft Movie included several scenes that left me confused yet amused as someone who has never played the video game. The 2025 film A Minecraft Movie has become a viral sensation, garnering mᴀssive praise from young fans. Initially, I planned to skip the movie because I’d never played the game. To understand my background with Minecraft, I have very minimal knowledge that I’ve picked up from friends. The only time I’ve seen anyone play the game, I spent a couple of minutes watching a friend steal llamas from a wandering trader. That’s it.

However, the hype surrounding the movie made me curious to see if it would hold up from the perspective of someone who wasn’t a Minecraft player. Additionally, Jack Black was hilarious, so his leading the cast of A Minecraft Movie sold me on the idea of watching it. The story is simpler than expected but fun enough to watch once. However, I walked out of the cinema thinking that A Minecraft Movie was primarily for fans of the game because I felt extremely confused by multiple moments in the film.

8

The Pig Wearing The Crown In The Village

This Moment In The Movie Won’t Make Sense To Non-Minecraft Fans

Jack Black as Steve having his beard touched by Jason Momoa in A Minecraft Movie

Early in the movie, the characters walk through the village and see a pig with a golden crown casually walking by. Henry asks if it’s a king, and Steve corrects him by saying, “That’s a legend,” but moves on quickly. Since I’m not familiar with Minecraft and haven’t ever watched the playthroughs, I thought this was just a silly but confusing gag.

However, I figured it had to have more significance based on the gasp from the young child behind me in the theater. The answer is incredibly emotional. I looked it up and learned it’s an Easter egg reference to beloved Minecraft YouTuber named Technoblade whose avatar was a pig in a crown. Sadly, he pᴀssed away from a metastatic sarcoma in 2022. The nod to the beloved YouTuber is a sweet and meaningful homage to someone who dedicated years to the game.

7

The Piglins Destroying The Produce

I Feel Like I’m Missing Something With The First Piglin Attack

When coming to the overworld, the Piglin who’s leading the group says that they should “just start trashing their produce. Villagers hate that.” Watching the scene, I couldn’t tell if the reason the villagers would theoretically get upset was that they were making a mess of the village or if this was a reference to something that happened in the Minecraft game.

On the one hand, it’s completely understandable to get angry if someone comes in and just starts wrecking the place. That would happen in the real world too. However, the fact that he specifically said to trash the produce instead of the bread or the town makes it seem like something specific to the game that I was missing. It leaves me wondering if produce is rare in the game, or something along those lines. Unfortunately, I tried looking up the answer to no avail.

6

The Skeleton Riding The Spider

The Skeletons On Spiders Are A Surprising Mob

Skeleton with a bow and a flaming arrow in A Minecraft Movie — Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Before going into A Minecraft Movie, I knew that zombies, skeletons, and pillagers show up at night in survival mode in the video game because of friends who talked about them. As such, I wasn’t surprised when these hostile mobs showed up in the film. However, one part of the nighttime attack threw me off; a group of skeletons ran while others rode spiders.

This makes me wonder, “Are spiders domesticated creatures in Minecraft like horses in the real world?” “Are the spiders riding skeletons separate mobs from the skeletons?” and “Are these normal parts of the game?” Ultimately, even if it left me with questions, the surprise of seeing unexpected creatures in the Minecraft world was a pleasant surprise. The questions also weren’t so overly confusing that they distracted from the movie. Moreover, I didn’t feel like I had to look up the subject while leaving the theater, unlike some of the other confusing elements.

5

The Lava Chicken Shack

The Viral Moment In A Minecraft Movie Raises Some Questions

While showing around Henry, Natalie, Garry, and Dawn, Steve makes a pit stop at his new restaurant, a lava chicken shack. In a hilariously horrifying moment, he sets off the machine which drops lava on top of a chicken, resulting in a roasted chicken. “Steve’s Lava Chicken,” sung by Black Jack, is one of the funniest musical numbers in A Minecraft Movie, but the scene and song left me completely confused.

For starters, I didn’t even know that food was necessary in Minecraft unless a player is in survival mode. Though, if that’s true, I suppose the characters in A Minecraft Movie could be in this mode of the game. On top of this, I’m still not sure whether lava chicken was an actual thing in the game prior to the film. If it is in the game, do you really have to drop lava on a live chicken to make it? Regardless of the confusion, I’m enjoying all the lava chicken memes based on A Minecraft Movie.

4

The Day And Night Cycles In The Minecraft Movie

Days And Nights Pᴀss Extremely Quickly In The Film

Wolf howling at the moon in A Minecraft Movie — Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Very quickly after arriving in the Minecraft world, it turns from daytime to nighttime. Because I have never played the game, this seemed surprising and confusing. It took me a minute to figure out how much time had pᴀssed, because even fantasy movies typically keep the same or at least a similar day and night cycle to Earth.

Upon figuring out that a short period had pᴀssed, I figured that they made a creative choice so that they could bring out the hostile mobs that only come out at night. However, as I’ve learned, it becomes night every 20 minutes in A Minecraft Movie because that’s how it works in the video game. This attention to detail when it comes to adapting the game is part of the reason why Minecraft fans are enjoying the movie so much.

3

The Enderman’s Abilities & Movement

The Endermen Seem Much More Terrifying Of A Mob After The Movie

Prior to watching the live-action Minecraft movie, I’d only heard of an Enderman because my friend played it against me in Super Smash Bros. I recognized the character based on its appearance when it appeared on the top floor of the Woodland Mansion. However, everything after that confused me.

The jumping from place to place is terrifying, and I’m not sure if that’s how they move around in the Minecraft game. The character’s abilities seem confusing, too. I couldn’t tell if it was hypnotizing Henry, causing him to hallucinate, or infiltrating his mind. Additionally, the height of the Enderman threw me off because he’s the same height as Zombie in Super Smash Bros, but he looks taller in A Minecraft Movie. Ultimately, even if half the elements of this character are true to the Minecraft game, Enderman seems like one of the scariest mobs.