The Pirates of Ginger Bay

***The Pirates of Ginger Bay*** is a 201 stop-motion animated swashbuckler comedy film produced by the United Republican studio Sábado Animation and the Linclian studio Robat Pictures Animation Studios as their first collaborative project. Directed by Justin Carnicer and written by Pete Garrison and Oliver Farrison, it follows a group of ragtag, elderly pirates who want to make their last adventure their biggest ever before they retire.

The film was distributed by StudioWave in Eurovo, Avino and Bisini, Cama+ in Yelsivan-speaking Caronana and Kimi Pictures in Jolivan. It premiered in Lincly City on 28 July 201, before releasing in cinemas across Eurovo on 1 August. *Ginger Bay* received positive reviews from critics for its animation, humour (especially the anachronisms), voice cast and heart. It was also successful at the box office, grossing over $110 million on a $40 million budget.

In all Linclian-speaking Caronanan countries, previous films produced by Sábado had been distributed by Lila Pictures. Prior to the release of the film, Lila stopped distributing the films, leaving Sábado without a distributor. Robat Pictures' films had been distributed by Awoe Productions in these countries, but were reluctant to distribute *Ginger Bay*. The Caronanan company The Omatly Company bought the distribution rights for the film, deciding to redub and rescript it "for a Caronanan audience". The entire cast was changed, and the film was retitled ***Boom!***, released on 15 January 202. Unlike the original version, this version was widely panned by critics, condemning its humour, voice acting, convoluted plot and difference from the original version. Awoe entered negotiations to license the original version and bought the rights from Omatly only a month later. *Boom!* was removed from cinemas, and the original version was released on 1 March 202, receiving a tongue-in-cheek premiere at Hughman's Pier Theater in Montree, where Justin Raynolds (voice of the Captain) exclaimed, "We're finally in Caronana!". *Ginger Bay* was considerably more successful than *Boom!* in Caronana and grossed an additional $97.6 million at the box office, leaving the film with a lifetime gross of $210.9 million (adding the $2 million *Boom!* grossed), one of the highest grosses for a stop-motion animated film. It was nominated for the 203 University Award for Best Animated Feature, losing to *Sandra*.

## Reception

### Critical response

On review aggregator FilmView, the film has an 94% approval rating based on 150 reviews; the average score is 8.61/10. The website's consensus reads, "Smart, sweet and undeniably funny, *The Pirates of Ginger Bay* is a thoroughly entertaining delight that's beautiful to look at and a wonderfully unique entry to the pirate genre."

*EntertainmentPortal*'s Yui Abraham, reviewing it simultaneously with *Boom!*, gave the film an "A+" rating. His review read: "Considering how awful *Boom!* is, it's refreshing to visit the original film and witness all the incredible things that Omatly just missed. It's stellar to look at and funnier than it has any right to be."

## *Boom!*

### Reception

#### Critical response

*Boom!* was panned by critics. On FilmView, it received an aggregate score of 7% based on 51 reviews and an average score of 2.78/10. The website's consensus reads. "Unfortunately, *Boom!*'s beautiful animation doesn't make it any less painful to watch. If you want to watch this, watch *The Pirates of Ginger Bay* instead."

Katie Magee of Neo News described the film as "irritating and unbelievably unfunny", calling the animation its only upside. *The Vancina Bugle*'s Patrick Adams was more mild in his review, praising the voice cast and animation but nonetheless panning its jokes. Abraham, who reviewed it alongside *Ginger Bay*, said: "There was no need to dub the film. Was it its 'Linclian-ness'? I'm Nodan. I have never been to Lincly, and still understood and enjoyed everything about *Ginger Bay*." He gave the film a rare "F" rating, disregarding its animation as a factor, noting that "Omatly had nothing to do with [it]." Other reviews also negatively compared it to *Ginger Bay*, such as Fern Francesca's review for *The New Joleo Times*, in which they stated: "What makes *The Pirates of Ginger Bay* great is its anachronisms and pop-culture references. *Boom!* has these, but spurts them out so often that they feel forced, out-of-place and poorly timed."