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The world wasn't always a friendly place.

_{"This is a city called Robloxia, it is home to many robloxians. In fact, it has a population 8,008,093. Shocking, isn't it? Anyways, one of the citizens named Jake, he always gets into fights and stuff, and he's always lonely. All he wanted is to make some friends."}

^{- The narration of the opening scene}

Roblox is the very first animated film on 2026 to be made with stylized 3D machinima compared to a traditional computer animated film. Based on, well, a gaming platform of the same name, it is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the duo mastermind who made The LEGO Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, who also produced, and wrote the story of the film. It is a good example of a Video Game Movie being done right.

In this Video Game Movie, an ordinary robloxian named Jake struggles to fit in as he gets made fun of by others. While this was happening, Planet Builder has been invaded by an army of avatars led by a former god named Ellernate, who is trying to destroy the Roblox universe and create his own after he was betrayed by the other two big gods Builderman and Roblox (the one that he killed, which led to the name change of the universe from Dynablocks to Roblox in the memory of his death). With the future of the Roblox universe at risk, Jake must embark on a perilous journey to gather new allies across the realms in Planet Builder to stop Ellernate from causing cosmic destruction.

Roblox contains examples of:

• 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: While the majority of the backstories is hand-drawn on tablet with computer-aided lighting and texturing, certain backgrounds are CGI models and were lit the same way as the 2D characters to blend in seamlessly.
• Adaptation Amalgamation: The movie exhibits plot elements that takes inspiration from real life incidents regarding the platform such as the 2012 April Fools Incident and the 2021 Roblox Outage. The climax is also a 10-minute adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with the gang working together to fight Donny who is using Ellernate's giant mech, and Jake utilizing his power that Builderman gave him when he was a baby to fight Ellernate.
• Adaptation Expansion: The video game tie-in expands many of the scenes from the movie.
• Affectionate Parody: Half-parody and half-legitimate one, for video game adaptations and summer blockbusters in general.
• Ambition is Evil: As he was betrayed by Builderman and Roblox, Ellernate's ambition is to wipe the Roblox universe off the face of the multiverse and create his own, to get revenge on Builderman for sending him to Planet Dark.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Jake struggles to fit in through almost his entire school career. This was taken further when everyone (Except his parents) didn't believe his warning of Ellernate's impending attack to the point where they start making fun of him more than ever.
• Alternate Universe: Most of the setting is basically this where it shows robloxians instead of humans, with supernatural elements added to the mix.
  • Sure, this movie mostly has video game characters (except for Lord Farquaad who was in the first Shrek film) in the real world in the prologue, but for the rest of the movie, every single video game character lives in each realm in Planet Builder. One way to get there is through entering a portal to it.
• Amusing Injuries: Ellernate knocks Jake unconscious when he was mad at him for draining Builderman's powers, killing him in the process. However, he was still alive as he wakes up at the limbo and met Roblox.
• Animated Actors: Just about all of the video game characters are portrayed this way in the Framing Device, especially the gang.
• Art-ernate Universe: While obviously everything in the film is made using a video game engine Roblox Studio with a new technology added for visual content, each realm that's visited has different stylistic elements to make them feel distinct to each other. Robloxia uses a variety of background assets such as cars, schools, and apartment buildings that fit with its urban environment, reminiscent of New York City, while the rest have actual Roblox games as realms with VFX and animation on top of it, making it look like it was filmed inside those games in Roblox.
• Art Shift: When the movie tells the backstories of Builderman, Roblox, and Ellernate, it shifts from a stylized 3D machinima to a 2D flash animation that looks 3D, reminiscent of the movie Klaus.
• Back from the Dead: Jake revives Builderman as a new soul named David Baszucki (who in real life with the same name, voices that character as a reference to his username) and gives his powers back that Ellernate drained.
• Badass Crew: Jake's Gang.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: The prologue is the entire gang asking Farquaad to make their movie a fully animated film. When they succeed, they start chatting about how they are about to hit the big screen (with the help of a large amount of video game characters) and ending with what the plot for the movie is going to be.
• Big Bad: Although in some TV spots where some viewers sees Sean as a villain due to him being an anti-hero, Ellernate is the true main villain of the film.
• Big Damn Movie: To the entire platform.
• Big "NO!": Jake is usually this when he saw everyone (Including his parents) getting captured by the avatars.
• Big WHAT?: Jake when the students didn't believe his warning and reported him to Mr. Flynn.
  • Jake: WHAT?! These myths aren't myths, and I didn't start a war! Those people did!
• Biting-the-Hand Humor: The whole prologue of the film is basically a giant middle finger to unfaithful video game adaptations and the metaverse industry.
• The Cameo: Virtually almost every possible video game character has a cameo, and the film treated them with the same dedication and love that fans and audiences felt every single time they appear in each scenario. Even Mario and Luigi made cameos in this film!
• The Chosen One: Jake is prophesied as a strong being who will defeat Ellernate. In the climax, he found a Plot Device that could stop Ellernate.
• The Chosen Zero: Subverted. Builderman deemed this to be mistake at first, saying it's his fault. However, he later decided to give Jake his second chance and joins the gang.
• Cool Starship: The avatars have one of those. They use it to travel from Planet Dark to Planet Builder so they can start taking everyone in Robloxia.
• Crossover Punchline: At the very end, several video game characters show up with invitations at the theater to re-watch the whole movie with the gang.
• Darker and Edgier: This movie is far more serious compared to Illumination's previous films due to its high stakes, intense action sequences, and a dark villain.
• Darkest Hour: It's usually this for the Roblox universe. Even when the gang destroyed the mech, many robloxians are still mind controlled by Ellernate as there is no escape from them. While this was happening, Ellernate turns into a giant demon and starts causing cosmic destruction. Luckily, Jake became conscious and activates his power to save himself and the entire Roblox universe.
• Epic Movie: Lord and Miller has stated in an interview that they wanted the movie to be a "big sci-fi action-adventure set in a Roblox universe" in contrast to a comedic animated film like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and The LEGO Movie.
• Everyone Has Standards: Even Phoenix Wright (from Ace Attorney) knows that making an unfaithful video game adaptation is wrong.
  • Phoenix Wright: Aren’t these cute? BUT IT'S WRONG!!
• Fake-Out Opening: The movie opens with what it looks like a generic video game adaptation as a live action/animated hybrid al a Ready Player One style, where the humans uses VR headsets to go inside Roblox as Rthro avatars, which is thankfully put to a halt by Jake.
• Final Boss: Ellernate is the last antagonist Jake has to fight in the film.
• Foreshadowing: Just as Builderman uses a tractor beam to send Ellernate to Planet Dark, he swore that one day he will destroy everything he has, including him. 15 years later, this happens.
• Framing Device: Jake and the rest of the gang and video game characters attending the premiere of the movie, making the main movie a Film Within a Film.
• Genre Relaunch: The trailers actually claims that the movie will be so amazing that it will hopefully change the way people see video game adaptations forever.
• Group Picture Ending: The film culminates in Jake gathering everyone in Robloxia for a commemorative group photo.
• Hulking Out: When Baron Harmful turns into a giant demon, he becomes deranged raging maniac with a sadistic obsession to cause some cosmic destruction.
• Humongous Mecha: Ellernate builds one of these for his next attack and lets Donny uses it.
• Imaginative Superpower: The power of a robloxian essentially boils down to being able to instinctively build whatever they want from whatever materials they can get their hands on with supernatural powers. In Robloxia High School, Mrs. Block teaches this to the students on how to do it.
• Kill It with Fire: Sonic's response to the ugly design of him is by burying, shredding, and burning every image that features it, including the one from Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.
  • Sonic: I'm not gonna go fast this time.
• Knight of Cerebus: Compared to other Illumination villains who are mostly played for laughs, Ellernate is DEAD STRAIGHT, and is one of the only antagonists to give off the feeling of a real sense of danger. He is literally by far the most dangerous and darkest villain Illumination has ever created, dark enough to give Vector, Mr. Perkins, El Macho, Scarlett Overkill, Sergei, Jimmy Crystal, and even Bowser, among countless others, a run for their money.
• Lack of Imagination: Downplayed. Jake was curious and asks Mrs. Block a question whether the realms are actually real or just games that come from computers. This has led to the other students disregard it and roast him.
• Loads and Loads of Characters: Downplayed. While there are some casualties in the prologue, the rest however appear as cameos and references.
• Logo Joke: For the first time ever, the Minions don't appear during the Illumination logo to do some shenanigans. Instead, it shows Chad fighting an avatar and throwed him off-screen, causing a crash.
• Massive Multiplayer Crossover: Coincidentally, Wreck-It Ralph was the main inspiration for this movie due to its portrayal of the video game characters. It actually helps since the entire platform that was based on is naturally that. This has led to some fans referring the movie as "Wreck-It Ralph turned up to an 11".
• Medium Blending: Downplayed. Video game characters have only appeared in live action scenes for the prologue and a post-credit scene.
• Mega Crossover: This film alone shows that it is this to video games, from Super Mario Bros. to present, with a lot of properties making cameo appearances throughout the film.
• Mythology Gag: Every single frame of the film is full of Easter eggs and references in different Roblox games for diehard Roblox fans to find and in animation for animation fans to find.
  • Not only that but a YouTuber named DanTDM also appears in the Hyundai Mobility Adventure realm while the gang is having a huge chase from an army of avatars across the realms in Planet Builder.
• Nightmare Face: Ellernate makes one and it comes out as a sadistic and dangerously big one during the climax.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: The opening starts off when the gang start groaning that a bad adaptation of their platform has begun production, going to the Universal studio to stop this plague once and for all.
• Ominous Visual Glitch: During the start of his transformation, Ellernate's body distorts around him as he slowly becomes enraged.
• One-Winged Angel: Ellernate's giant demon form.
• Orange/Blue Contrast: Coincidentally with the prologue where Jake makes fun of Michael Bay, the entire movie has that orange and teal color grading which somehow makes fun of Bay's filmmaking style.

More coming soon.