Element Animation

This page only covers Element Animation's official connection to the Minecraft franchise.
 
For more general information about Element Animation, please refer to other websites, such as the Element Animation Fandom wiki.
Element Animation
Element Animation logo.png: Infobox image for Element Animation the company in Minecraft
Type

Computer-generated animation studio

Founder(s)
Founded

October 1, 2010

Links

Element Animation is an animation studio and YouTube channel, known for creating Villager News and producing several cinematics for Mojang Studios.

Notable staff

Dan Lloyd

Dan Lloyd
Occupation

Animator, voice actor, YouTuber

Years active

2010-present

Languages

English

Minecraft roles
X (Twitter) username

@ThatVillagerGuy

Dan Lloyd is an animator, voice actor, and co-founder of Element Animation. He is best known as the creator of Villager News, where he voices the majority of the villager characters, commonly being regarded as a definitive voice for them by fans. He has reprised his role as Villager No. 5 and 9 in various crossovers, typically presented at events such as Minecraft Live. Prior to those, he hosted a panel at MINECON 2016, and was interviewed on Minecraft.net.[1]

Portfolio

Personal

Name Image Description Playlist
The Crack Element Animation's first show, focusing on the adventures of three eggs, Dan, Jason, and Chrisi. Link
An Egg's Guide to Minecraft A spin-off of The Crack, about Jason exploring Minecraft. Link
Villager News A series of farcical news reports hosted by Villager No. 4, and following his death, Villager No. 5. Link
Everything Wrong with Our Videos A self-deprecating behind-the-scenes analysis series, dissecting the company's own videos scene by scene.
Terraria: The Animated Series An animated series about Terraria. Link

Mojang Studios

Name Image Description Release date
MINECON 2015 Opening Ceremony Animation
The opening cinematic shown as part of MINECON 2015
  • July 5, 2015 (Element's YouTube)
  • July 28, 2015 (MINECON 2015)
MINECON 2016 - A Minecraft Adventure (Part 1)
The first part of a cinematic for MINECON 2016, involving two of the show's co-hosts, Tim and Ella adventuring through the Minecraft world. In this part, the co-hosts learn how to survive.
  • September 30, 2016 (Element's YouTube)
  • September 24, 2016 (MINECON 2016)


MINECON 2016 - A Minecraft Adventure (Part 2)
The second part of a cinematic for MINECON 2016, involving Tim and Ella adventuring through the Minecraft world. In this part, they battle and defeat the Ender Dragon.
  • October 7, 2016 (Element's YouTube)
  • September 24, 2016 (MINECON 2016)
VILLAGER (and Pillager?) NEWS A promotion for the Village & Pillage update, split between a Villager News episode and infomercial-like summary of the new features.
The Nether Update Encore
A ballet about the adventures of a young piglin and hoglet.
Caves & Cliffs: The Musical
A musical sequence explaining the features of the Caves & Cliffs update, particularly Part 1.
Minecraft Live 2022: Announcement Trailer
A complex situation of a chain of various mobs getting agitated.
  • September 8, 2022 (YouTube)
A Warden's Song A dark musical where Steve and Alex explore an ancient city.
Minecraft Live is back for 2023! A sequence of the Minecraft cast discovering Minecraft Live has returned via pink petals.
  • September 13, 2023
A Tale of Two Friends A slapstick comedy about Efe's camel trying to save a newly hatched snifflet.
The Monster in the Woods Another Villager News episode, depicting a story where Villager No. 9 tries to disprove the reported existence of a monster.
BREAKING NEWS: DANGEROUS NEW MOB!
Villager No. 5 reports on the creaking. September 30, 2024
HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW MOB?πŸ‘€
Two villagers debate whether they've seen the creaking. October 5, 2024
A Wandering Trader Springs to Life! A wandering trader explores the Overworld as it springs to life.
HAS IT HAPPENED TO YOU YET?
Villagers talk about new features from the Spring to Life update and dance behind a wandering trader. April 6, 2025
HAVE THEY BEEN TO YOUR VILLAGE YET?
A desert village is visited by three chicken jockeys, each one of the different chicken variants, who scare the villagers. April 13, 2025
Minecraft LIVE Official Trailer – September 2025 A statuary of copper golems deliver many items to construct a Minecraft Live logo. September 10, 2025
HAPPY GHAST MUSIC VIDEO A music video about Efe raising a happy ghast, going on several adventures across the Overworld and Nether. September 27, 2025

Trivia

  • Following the first trailer for A Minecraft Movie, many people assumed or asked if Dan would be reprising his role as the villagers. Following this, he and the company confirmed that they had no involvement with the film.[2]
    • As the film released, they released special artwork approving of it, featuring many characters from Villager News enjoying the flick.[3][4]

External links

References

  1. ↑ "It takes a Village" by Per Landin – Minecraft.net, August 4, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Answers to some of questions we keep being asked:
    Nope, we're not playing the Villagers, we didn't help with the writing or anything like that, we're not involved in this movie. Yes, we'd have been up for it if we were asked. We think the movie looks fun!
    There seems to be a lot of strong immediate reactions to the trailer, and of course there is!
    Minecraft is personal for a lot of people, everyone has their own unique story in Minecraft and their own vision for how they imagine it. There would be no way to please everyone - and it'd be crazy to expect it to.
    That being said, the whole point of this Movie is to be fun and entertaining, and it already is! This movie changes nothing about how you experience the game or your stories within it. It exists separately, it's the same with all the Youtubers and Streamers you might watch.
    It looks bizarre - but how could it not? If the writing is good and respects the overall player base while also bring entertaining to people who haven't played Minecraft... it could be amazing. So we'll wait until we've seen it!
    The realistic-style Minecraft world on this does look incredible. Mixing Minecraft with live action actors was always going to be difficult to pull off in any form, big well done to all the creative people involved."
    – @Element on X (formerly Twitter), September 4, 2024
  3. ↑ "The #minecraftmovie pulled off something genuinely wild. Making a Minecraft movie in a way that works for both die hard fans and newcomers was thought to be impossible, but here it is!
    Feels like a classic Sunday afternoon family adventure movie, and we loved it! Huge congrats to Mojang, Warner Bros., and the whole teamπŸ’š
    If you're following us you've probably either seen it or already got your ticket, but if you haven't, do it! It really is just good vibes."
    by Element Animation – Facebook, April 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "The #MinecraftMovie pulled off something genuinely wild. Making a Minecraft movie in a way that works for both die hard fans and newcomers was thought to be impossible, but here it is!
    Feels like a classic Sunday afternoon family adventure movie, and we loved it! Huge congrats to @Mojang
    , @warnerbros
    and the whole teamπŸ’š
    If you're following us you've probably either seen it or already got your ticket, but if you haven't, do it! It really is just good vibes."
    – @Element on X (formerly Twitter), April 5, 2025

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