A Minecraft Movie smashed box office records in its opening weekend. One major source of the video game movie’s appeal is Jack Black, who stars as a doorknob salesman-turned-miner-turned-hero, Steve.
Black has an incredible track record when it comes to family films, and it turns out Minecraft is no exception. If you loved Jack Black’s performance in A Minecraft Movie, check out some of the actor’s most entertaining movies on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+.
‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ (2017)
In 1995, Robin Williams struck box office gold with Jumanji, a fantasy-adventure movie about a jungle-themed board game that brings the jungle into the real world. Over two decades later, the story got an update that was an even bigger hit.
In this version, “Jumanji” is a video game that pulls players inside the game itself. Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Black portray “avatars” in the video-game world, all of whom differ greatly from the real-world teenagers who are portraying them.
Black plays the avatar of a popular high school girl named Bethany, a pretty blonde who rises above “Queen Bee” stereotypes and proves to be selfless and kind. She is, however, horrified to be in the body of a short, middle-aged man.
Black does an incredible job making the character funny without mocking her, and his chemistry with the rest of the team is a delight to watch. The third movie in the franchise, Jumanji: The Next Level, isn’t half bad either.
Rent Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle on Amazon Prime Video.
‘School of Rock’ (2003)
One of Black’s most beloved movies of all time, School of Rock was written by Mike White (The White Lotus) and directed by Richard Linklater (Boyhood). Black plays slacker musician Dewey Finn, whose immense ego gets him thrown out of his band, much to the chagrin of his roommate Ned (Mike White) and Ned’s girlfriend Patty (Sarah Silverman). In order to make enough money to pay rent, Dewey pretends to be Ned and takes a substitute teaching job, only to discover that the kids he’s teaching are all talented musicians.
In 2003, writer Mike White collaborated with Jack Black and director Richard Linklater on the musical comedy School of Rock that later spawned a Nickelodeon series and a Tony-nominated musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. In the original movie, struggling singer Dewey Finn (Black) goes undercover as a substitute teacher for a local prep school […]
As he begins to turn the students into a rock band, he discovers a passion for teaching music. He also develops a friendship with the school’s quirky principal, Roz Mullins (Joan Cusack). In a role that could feel creepy if played by a lesser actor, Black shows just why he’s been a star all these years as he bonds with the young cast by teaching them to rock out. School of Rock is a love letter to rock music as well as to music’s power to change lives.
Watch School of Rock on Paramount+.
‘Shark Tale’ (2004)
Have you ever told a white lie and watched it spin out of control? That’s what happens to Oscar (Will Smith), a little fish who gets in too deep when everyone becomes convinced he killed a vicious shark. Black voices Lenny, a sweet-natured “vegetarian” shark who Oscar befriends. Full of fun music (Missy Elliott and Christina Aguilera perform a killer cover of “Car Wash”), funny pop culture references (albeit ones from the early 2000s) and a solid lesson about honesty, Shark Tale is a thoroughly entertaining family film.
Courtesy of Brian Falduto/Instagram Twenty-two years later, the legend of School of Rock remains way hardcore, with two of its child stars grown up and married. Caitlin Hale and Angelo Massagli, who played Marta and Frankie, respectively, in the 2003 comedy, tied the knot last weekend with several of their costars in attendance to celebrate. […]
The all-star voice cast also includes Robert De Niro as a shark mob boss, Renée Zellweger as Oscar’s best friend and love interest and Angelina Jolie as a lionfish who tries to steal Oscar’s heart. Kids will enjoy Shark Tale for its colorful animation and humor, but adults familiar with The Godfather and Goodfellas will appreciate the clever mob-movie references even more.
Watch Shark Tale on Hulu.
