The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012): Dir: Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt / Voices: Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman, Salma Hayek: Claymation comedy directed at families that adds a hint of individuality within the humorous take on the often dark subject matter. Hugh Grant voices Pirate Captain who desires to win the pirate of the year award. Why he calls himself Pirate Captain as oppose to a normal Tom, Dick or Jane name is not given. At any rate he is opposed by two sinister forces. One, Queen Victoria wants every pirate and ship destroyed. Second, Charles Darwin desires to win the scientist of the year award and sights Pirate Captain's pet as the object of desire. Polly is seen as a big boned parrot but Darwin recognizes it as the extinct dodo bird. This is not much of a plot but the whole dodo bird element is a terrific addition to the story. Pirate Captain will learn the values of life including friendship. The problem is that he and Darwin are the only characters of interest that keep this from becoming a shipwreck. Grant is perfect as the voice of the humble Pirate Captain, and David Tennant as Darwin makes for a terrific villain. On the other hand Queen Victoria is a rather over the top villain whose plans for endangered species is off putting. Then there is Captain's reliable Number Two who is as flat as cardboard. It might have been even better had the characters been more broadly written and beyond the stereotypes presented. The claymation effects are perfectly fitting and will win over families who enjoy the clichés of the good old high seas. Score: 8 / 10

This is actually somewhat of a delightful stop-motion animation. However I can tell why it wasn't a hit at the box office. Mainly because it has lot of elements aimed for kids, but also has some slight adult elements that some very conservative movie watchers might not like their kids seeing. Especially the humor which is mainly directed towards adults. The plot doesn't really have the typical pirate adventure journey thing going on. Except the fact that The Pirate Captain wants to win the Pirate of the Year Award. It's however riddled with goofy and silly interactions between pirates and the people of London. I wanted to see more of the pirate elements in this, but with the direction of it all it just couldn't really have that in this. The pirate crew also could have had more development but it falls short. They were probably trying to save that for the sequels which was in the planning process, but so far won't be happening. They did the best they could with the running time restraint and budget, with the plot they were trying to cover. And the stop-motion animation for the most part is full of detail, and fluidity and bunch of stuff going on. The main negative is that it just doesn't really have anything that makes this movie stand out or has much originality to it. In another words, it's a nice watch, but just isn't really a satisfying movie. People that really really like British humor just might enjoy this one though for the whole family. I just wanted to go watch "One Piece" after seeing this.6/10

As a fan of animation who has enjoyed other works from Aardman such as Wallace and Gromit, 'Chicken Run' and 'Flushed Away,' this appealed to me without shadow of a doubt. When I finished watching it whilst renting the DVD, it was better than I thought it would be but found some of its elements anachronistic and somewhat historically inaccurate such as Polly the dodo, some characters eating popcorn and drinking pop from modern containers in the audience of the science award show and a scientist playing with a Rubik's cube backstage at the show.Anachronisms aside, this film had a lot of positive elements such as its animation, characters, dialogue and music. The stop-motion is nearly as good as that in the Wallace and Gromit franchise and 'Chicken Run' but a bit choppy in places although the character designs are completely different from those in other Aardman stop-motion works. Stop-motion is not the only animation technique here; CGI (to animate the sea for instance) and 2D (for the map segments that reminded me of those used in 'A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures') are also used, thus giving this film a fine mix of hybridity. The main characters are not your average pirate crew. The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate who disguises herself as a man is funny and the Pirate Captain is a superb leader if he is involved in a typical hero's tale. Queen Victoria and Charles Darwin are the most surprising additions to the cast of characters but they are highly relevant for the historical period of the film while Mr. Bobo the monkey is also hilarious, especially when he displays speech on cards. Cutlass Liz is sexy but she has very little screen time unfortunately. The story combining pirates with scientists is fresh, thus making it completely different from other films featuring pirates such as 'Peter Pan,' its sequel 'Return to Never Land' and 'The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.' I also liked the humorous uses of the vinegar and baking soda accidents. The dialogue is mostly family-friendly but the mention of "scantily-clad mermaids" is somewhat adult. Although the majority of incidental music is not memorable, it did have some standout pieces such as a typical piratey-sounding tune, a seductive melody and uses of angelic, haunting choral vocals. I also liked the use of Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 3 (and its brief accompanying drum and accordion notes for comical effect), the song played during the opening credits, The Clash's 'London Calling,' 'I'm Not Crying' by Flight of the Conchords, Desmond Decker's 'You Can Get It If You Really Want' and 'Alright' by Supergrass. The voice acting is full of clarity and expression. While Hugh Grant was unrecognisable in his first animation role as Pirate Captain, Salma Hayek was equally sexy as Cutlass Liz, Imelda Staunton and David Tennant (best known for his role in 'Doctor Who') were impeccable as Queen Victoria and Charles Darwin respectively and Brian Blessed was triumphant as the Pirate King.All in all, I have seen slightly better from Aardman but this is a worthwhile treat from the masters of UK stop-motion animation nonetheless. 8/10.

It's 1837, England rules the seas with the exception of pirates around the Caribbean. The Pirate Captain wants to win the Pirate of the Year Award after 20 years of losing. He and his weird pathetic crew must out pirate the best out there including Black Bellamy, Peg Leg Hastings and Cutlass Liz. The other pirates make fun of them. Then they capture Charles Darwin and his ship. Darwin notices that the Captain's parrot is actually a DoDo.From Aardman Animations, it has the same look and the same earnest sarcastic sense of humor. However it's a bit repetitive after awhile with the constant stream of similar tone jokes. The title is horrible and they need to give the Pirate Captain a better name. The movie picks up a bit more comically with Darwin. The Captain and Darwin have some good fun chemistry. The comedy however may not be everybody's taste.