Stampy's Lovely Adventure

Stampy's Lovely Adventure (otherwise known as Stampy's Lovely World: The Movie) is a 2022 animated adventure comedy film based on the YouTube series "Stampy's Lovely World" by Joseph Garrett. Garrett reprises his role as Stampy, and is joined by Daniel Middleton, Kye Garrett, Paul Bettany, Malcolm Ray, Dane Boedigheimer, Tamara Chambers, Simon Pegg and Olivia Colman.

The film was given a limited theatrical release on June 10, 2022 in the United Kingdom and United States by Paramount Pictures and was released digitally on YouTube and Netflix on June 15, 2022. The film was critically acclaimed by critics upon release, praising its cast (particularly Garrett, Bettany, Ray and Coleman), soundtrack, faithfulness, animation and message, though some critics had a couple of issues with the plot, deeming it unoriginal and cliché, and grossed £498.1 million ($577.8 million) against a production budget of £950,000.

Plot
As the sun rises over Stampy’s Lovely World, Stampy and his friends, William Beaver, Fizzy Elephant and Polly Reindeer, start work on a carrot-themed restaurant. On the job, Fizzy brings up a special deal at the milk bar and a friendly milkman. Stampy decides to check it out, discovering that the milkman is in fact Hit the Target, Stampy’s mortal enemy. After he leaves, Hit the Target and his assistant Veeva Dash swipe Stampy’s loyal dog Barnaby. After a long battle for Barnaby, Stampy and Hit the Target end up falling into a cavern where they discover an ancient book detailing strange images. Hit the Target brushes the book off as nonsense, but Stampy tries to look deeper into it for an answer.

That night, Stampy gets ambushed by a phantom, quickly suspecting Hit the Target to be behind the attacks. The next morning, Stampy continues work on the restaurant, but Fizzy informs him that all of his dogs have disappeared. Stampy and William break into Hit the Target’s fortress and accuse him of the theft, until Fizzy and Polly reveal that he is in fact innocent. A pod crashes into the Lovely World by Stampy’s Funland, revealing a jaded human drifter named Guy, who inform them about Queen Anotakub of the planet Puuchi and a prophecy about the end of the universe - the description matching perfectly with the book in the cavern. Stampy declares that they need to find Anotakub and take back the dogs, as well as realising that the only way to do so is to work with Hit the Target and Veeva Dash. The two form a truce and head off to space.

Meanwhile, Anotakub informs her guard, Otygrud, about the prophecy and how she intends to use it to make the universe bend to her will, until she intercepts a transmission from Stampy aboard his lunar friends’ spaceship. Anotakub decides not to destroy them, but to use them to fulfil the prophecy. The crew land on Lonrya, Guy’s home planet, where they work with Guy’s friends Geef Goff to fully repair the pod. Hit the Target grows frustrated with their nature, but Stampy assures him that they’re trustworthy, as is Hit the Target. He soon starts questioning his trust in Hit the Target after a nightmare. The next day, Anotakub gloats to Stampy and Guy about the inevitable apocalypse, sending all of her phantoms to Lonrya, which would fulfil part of the prophecy. The crew defeat them all and Geef Goff decide to use the membranes to create a new type of fuel that could send them to the Forge System and, subsequently, Planet Puuchi.

The crew make it and sneak into Anotakub’s castle. They find the dogs in a dungeon, but Stampy’s trust of Hit the Target starts waning when he offers to free the dogs from their cages. The squabbling causes Fizzy to fall onto a guard, getting him, Polly, William, Guy and Veeva Dash arrested, thrown into an underground prison and being guarded by a terrifying ogre called the Warden. Stampy and Hit the Target escape and confront each other about their lack of trust in one another. After Stampy questions why Hit the Target’s even evil in the first place, he lividly explains that he wasn’t allowed any other option, explaining through a musical number the time he moved to the Lovely World many years ago with the intent of befriending him but always being treated like an enemy. Stampy is shocked at the revelation as the two are arrested and thrown into the prison.

Stampy apologizes to Hit the Target and the two escape, breaking out the others and defeating the Warden. The crew find Anotakub, who is revealed to have been harnessing the dog’s energy to unleash a giant spider monster, but they’re one dog short. They steal Fizzy’s dog Mattress Man and resurrect the spider, which swiftly eats her and Otygrud. Stampy and Hit the Target decide to finally put their differences behind them and team up to defeat the spider. The crew nearly defeat it, almost at the cost of William’s life, until they find its core. Guy jumps into the core, sacrificing his life and defeating the monster. Stampy and the crew head home with their dogs intact, erecting a statue to commemorate everyone’s heroism. As Stampy and Hit the Target sit on a beach and reminisce over Guy’s sacrifice, Hit the Target tells him that as much as loss can hurt, it can also be a means to grow stronger and avenge. Stampy ponders about one of the prophecies, “Cat Befriends Mouse”, to which Hit the Target removes his mask to reveal that he is in fact a mouse named Trevor. The two apologize to each other and finally become friends.

Two weeks later, Stampy and his friends, now including Trevor and Veeva Dash, finally finish the carrot restaurant. Geef Goff arrive on Stampy’s planet tells the crew that before the phantom attack, Guy had written a will, leaving his dogs to Trevor. As everyone heads to the funland, which Trevor gives back to Stampy, Stampy finds and tames a wolf puppy before thinking about what to name him.

Cast
Additionally, Jack Black and Andrew W.K. voice Geef Goff, a two-headed scientist from Lonrya. David Spencer briefly reprises his role as Squid Nugget near the end while Adam Clarke (the voice of Wizard Keen in Wonder Quest) voices one of Anotakub's guards. Dee Bradley Baker provides vocal effects for both the Warden and the Spider.
 * Joseph Garrett as Stampy Cat
 * Garrett also voices Stampy's lunar friends.
 * Daniel Middleton as William Beaver, Stampy’s best friend.
 * Kye Garrett as Polly Reindeer, a reindeer who’s particularly skilful with redstone.
 * Dane Boedigheimer as Fizzy Elephant, a spontaneous elephant with a passion for cookies.
 * Malcolm Ray as Hit the Target (aka Trevor), Stampy's arch-enemy who he has to begrudgingly team up with.
 * Tamara Chambers as Veeva Dash, Hit the Target's assistant and Polly's best friend.
 * Paul Bettany as Guy, a jaded human drifter whose dogs got stolen by Anotakub, who befriends Stampy.
 * Simon Pegg as Otygrud, Anotakub's right-hand man.
 * Olivia Colman as Queen Anotakub, the evil queen of Planet Puuchi bent on universal domination.

Development
In 2021, Mojang Studios, the developers of Minecraft, along with Paramount Pictures, pitched the idea to Joseph Garrett, the creator of "Stampy's Lovely World", for a feature-length Lovely World film, and Garrett gladly accepted the idea.

Casting
Casting was swiftly underway as production began. In October of 2021, the cast was revealed to include Garrett reprising his role as Stampy, and also including Middleton, Boedigheimer, Garrett, Ray, Chambers, Bettany and Pegg. In December of the same year, Jack Black announced that he had been cast in the film. When the trailer released in February of 2022, it revealed more members of the cast, including Olivia Colman.

Funding
Funding was provided by the British Film Commission, and was co-produced with the BBC. 4J Studios Entertainment Europe, a Scottish production company and a subsidiary of 4J Studios Limited, co-produced the film for distribution in the UK, while its American division co-produced the film for distribution in the US.

Animation
To keep with the style of Garrett’s videos, the film was entirely shot within a group of Minecraft servers. The animation for the flashback sequence was provided by Rough Draft Studios and Paramount Animation. Its animation at Rough Draft was produced by its division Rough Draft Korea. The animations was rendered at 24 fps for 3D animations, e.g. explosions and backgrounds, while the 2D animation was rendered at 12 fps.

Music
Heitor Pereira composed the film's score. In May 2022, Andrew W.K. announced he had written an original song for the film entitled "Damage", which would be sung in the film from the prospective of Hit the Target. “Damage (Film Version)”, sung by Malcolm Ray, was included on the film’s soundtrack.

Release
The film was limitedly released theatrically on June 10, 2022 in the United Kingdom and the United States, and was released digitally on Netflix and YouTube on June 15, with the YouTube release being put up for free on Garrett’s YouTube channel “stampylonghead”, and the Netflix release being advertised as a Netflix exclusive film, for which all Netflix users can view the film.

Box office
Stampy's Lovely Adventure grossed £199.2 million in the United Kingdom and £298.9 million in the United States and Canada for a worldwide total of £498.1 million.

United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the film was screened in 1,099 theaters on June 10, 2022, due to a limited theatrical release, distributed by Paramount Pictures, Mojang Studios, BBC Films (co-distributed) and 4J Studios Entertainment Europe. It made £2.02 million on its first day, and made £6.29 million in its opening weekend (£6.02 million with additional £278,283 in Saturday night previews). The film made £199.2 million.

England
In England, the film opened 45 markets on June 10 and grossed £1.03 million on its first day, and later grossed an additional £982,504. The film projections in England made over £69.7 million.

Scotland
In Scotland, the film opened with 54 markets on the same day and made over £873,991 on its first day, with an additional £995,914. The film projections in Scotland made over £42.9 million.

Wales
Wales opened the film with only 23 markets, the lowest, and made £549,238 on the first day. The film projections in Wales made over £28.7 million.

Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland had a big market opening on June 10, opening 78 markets and made over £1.47 million on the first day, with an additional £1.09 million. The film projections in Northern Ireland made over £57.9 million.

United States and Canada
In the United States, the film was screened in 2,003 theaters on June 10, 2022, due to it being a limited theatrical release, distributed by Paramount Pictures, Mojang Studios and 4J Studios Entertainment America. It made over $3.94 million on its first day and made over $345.9 million.

Critical response
The film received widespread critical acclaim upon release. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 88 critic reviews were positive, with an average rating of 7.45/10. Its critical consensus reads "The curiosity and whimsical spirit the Stampy’s Lovely World series is known for sparks interest in diehard fans, but even for newcomers, Stampy's Lovely Adventure is as charming, touching and delightful as a cake for breakfast. Nom-nom-nom!" On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore assigned the film an average grade of "A", on its A+ to F scale.

Trivia

 * The film was shot entirely in Minecraft.
 * It is the first Lovely World film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures and Netflix.
 * It is the first Lovely World episode to have an animated flashback segment by Rough Draft Studios, when Anotakub explains the prophecy.
 * This is the first Lovely World episode to feature full voice acting.
 * The original ending involved one of Stampy’s dogs sacrificing their life to save the universe instead of Guy.
 * The movie was promoted as Stampy’s 11 million subscriber special.