The Wētā FX studio has detailed its work on the cinematic adaptation of Minecraft. In the befores & afters podcast, its supervisors Sheldon Stopsack and Kevin Estey explained the process of creating characters like Malgosha, a fusion of references such as Mama Fratelli and the Emperor Palpatine. They also revealed anecdotes, such as the origin of a drawing made by an artist's daughter.
The 'Blocks' tool and the challenge of the square aesthetic 🧱
The biggest technical challenge was adapting the blocky style of the video game to believable movement. The team developed their own tool within Houdini, called Blocks, to handle that aesthetic efficiently. This system allowed addressing the visual elements in a way similar to how they are built in the game, seeking a balance between the recognizable style and the needs of the cinematic narrative.
From the happy sketch to the chop: when kids contribute to the script 🐷
The production included an internal contest for the team members' children. The winning idea, a drawing of a house, ends up being shown by a piglin to Malgosha, with unfavorable results for the porcine. Ironically, the original concept of the drawing was an image of friendship between both characters. Perhaps it was better not to use that idyllic version, to avoid making the subsequent scene even crueler.