Les Pirates ! Bons à rien, mauvais en tout

When I saw this film the first time around, I was inundated with a lot of "life stuff", and so I sat in the audience not really reacting to much of anything, and thinking and feeling that I could predict every gag and story point that came me. I was just in the wrong frame of mind, and so I failed to enjoy my first viewing.

A few days ago I checked out the DVD, and man I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time.

Yes, this is borderline cliché in terms of a Pirate-Genre send-up, but it has a lot of good British subtlety in the humor to be both very fresh and highly humorous. Everything from the expressions of background characters, to obvious names for characters, to the occasional British talent of understatement in the dialogue.

There is no historical accuracy here, and the pirating is kept appropriately G-rated for a family outing, though the film and its humor occasionally skirt into PG territory.

Surprisingly Hugh Grant plays the lead role of the Pirate Captain, and the Hobbit's own Bilbo Baggins in the form of Martin Freeman plays his first mate Number Two, showing the audience that indeed talented actors can do anything, even play stop motion animated pirates for a children's film.

The big act III escapade is appropriately Aardmanesque (whom seem to take quite a few of their cues from Lucas's Star Wars and Indy Jones films) as we see the characters do battle to right wrongs and resume their brand of ill-conceived piracy.

Good laughs, good animation, lots of subtle and intelligent humor mixed in with good old fashioned gags, this film should entertain everyone in the family on some level.

Enjoy.

With the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise seemingly drifting rudderless (ho ho) for at least the last two films, it's about time someone came along to remind us why we all fell in love with pirates in the first place. It seems that "someone" is Aardman Animations of all people, whose awkwardly-titled new film The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! has just hit cinemas across the UK. While it's not quite on the level of Chicken Run (Aardman's best theatrical work) you'll be happy to hear that this is an energetic, fast-paced comedy that almost everyone will enjoy. The film tells the wonderfully silly story about a bunch of lovably incompetent pirates teaming up with a young Charles Darwin (yes, you read that right) to make a ton of gold and win the Pirate of the Year Awards and become the most feared buccaneers in all seven seas.

Hugh Grant is just fantastic as the Pirate Captain (yes, that's his character's name). Some audience members might be worried about him playing "H-H-Hugh G-G-errr-G-Grant, the charming, uh, nervous upper middle class p-p-pirate" but worry not. Grant throws himself into the role with gusto, and free of the constraints of his rom-com persona, he's just as enthusiastic and fun as you'd expect (and want) a pirate captain to be. His showmanship and overconfidence make the character a riot the whole way through (my favourite bit is at the scientists' convention). Martin Freeman (as "Number Two") and David Tennant (as Charles Darwin) put in great supporting performances, both providing a great balance to the Pirate Captain's arrogance and bravado, and the rest of the crew are all great fun even if they have less screen time. Finally Imelda Staunton is clearly having a great time as none other than Queen Victoria, and I won't even say who plays the Pirate King because it's just too damn perfect.

None of these characters are especially deep or interesting, but they're likable and funny and in this kind of film, that's all you need. Like the first Shrek film or the golden age of The Simpsons, The Pirates! is just packed with laughs, getting more good gags into 85 minutes than most sitcoms manage in a year. If you're a fan of Aardman's very-British-yet-utterly-accessible style of humour you'll barely have time to breathe between laughs. The pacing is lightning fast without ever feeling rushed, which is typical of Aardman's work, and its constant forward momentum is will keep most viewers hooked throughout its short running time.

Stop motion animation has never looked better either, with character movements being every bit as lively and fluid as they are in any Pixar film. In particular, Charles Darwin's nervousness is brilliantly conveyed with facial expressions and mannerisms that are more detailed and convincing than you'd even think possible for an animated character. Of course, being an Aardman film, there are a few slapstick action scenes thrown in, and a chase through Darwin's house is a work of such beautifully choreographed chaos that it might be straight out of classic Tom & Jerry, and is probably the best bit of action the studio has done since The Wrong Trousers's legendary model train scene. I'm not sure the 3D really adds very much, but either way it's a spectacular film to look at and even though it's "just" a comedy it's well worth seeing on the biggest screen you can.

If I have to criticise the film at all, I would say it lacks the emotional resonance of Chicken Run, and while Pirate Captain is certainly fun to watch and you do feel sorry for him for being so hopeless, audiences won't really connect with him as protagonist the same way they did with the hens in that film. In Chicken Run you really want Ginger and her gang to escape, and that gave the film the added emotional weight that marks a truly great family film.In addition, while Queen Victoria is a great villainness she's nowhere near as terrifying as Mrs Tweedy. Compared to the latter, The Pirates! is just a rip-roaring slapstick adventure. And that's fine, really, because the fast pace and great jokes are enough to carry the day.

I can heartily (har har) recommend The Pirates! if you want a damn funny time at the cinema. I expect that it will stand up well to repeat viewings, as there are so many clever background jokes that you'll never catch them all the first time through (take a look at the entry form for the "Pirate of the Year Awards" in the brief few seconds it's on screen). It's not quite the studio's best film, but it's still the work of a bunch of talented people at the top of their game, and is almost certainly one of the funniest films you'll see all year.

It's an Aardman film, so the animation is as faultless as ever. However, the characters aren't quite as warm and charismatic as our favourites, Wallace and Grommit. Hugh Grant is masterfully well suited to the Pirate Captain role and the film is entertaining for the most part. But, it failed to capture us unreservedly.

We haven't seen a full length clay animated Aardman film in a while. Their recent full length films are CGI. They are not bad though but we kind of miss seeing their stop-motion animation in the big screen with characters showing off their teeth and some visible fingerprints on the models. After six years, their traditional animation returns to cinema by this movie, The Pirates! Band of Misfits. There isn't much of a change. It's not as brilliant as their other films but the delight and excitement are still there.

Happily, the studio still has its greatness. Sadly, there are no "Easter Eggs" from their other films as they usually do. It doesn't quite matter though. At least they recaptured the fun and it has a big heart. The story is just simple but it's quite a ride. The connections with the history is silly but also kind of hilarious. Its ludicrousness already makes a good joke. The voice acting is predictably good. Hugh Grant gives The Pirate Captain a delightful personality. Martin Freeman is just wonderful as his backup. Russell Tovey and David Tennant also lightens the adventure. Imelda Staunton makes a threatening villain in this movie.

Their stop motion animation is always magnificent. They can give these clay models a wonderful personality by their looks and facial expressions. It also has the trademark character design with them showing off their teeth. We know that these are just clay and some other stuff, but even if they are small, it still can make a big and marvelous adventure. Everything is crazy and fun. The jokes are clever. There's hardly anything new about the film but it's still good.

It's just great to see another stop-motion clay animated film from Aardman in the big screen, but this time it's in 3D. The 3D is pretty good, but even in 2D the film is still wonderful to watch. These kinds of family films are rare these days. While kids these days like movies with talking animals and some other mediocre stuff, this one uses the ludicrous elements in a smart way. Like I said, it's not new but it's still an exciting and enjoyable film.

Pirates! An Adventure with Scientists or Band of Misfits as it is known outside the UK for some reason, is the latest stop-motion feature from Aardman Animations, the studio behind the likes of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run. It is based on the first two novels in the Pirates! Series by Gideon Defoe.

Set in 1837, the story follows the adventures of a pirate captain called Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) in his attempts to win the Pirate of the Year competition for the first time. Despite being mostly deluded and incompetent he is actually kind at heart and has the respect of his crew. He is really up against it through when it comes to winning the competition because he is a pretty rubbish pirate and is up against the cream of the piratical world which includes Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) and Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven). While attempting to rob a ship, Pirate Captain has a chance meeting with Charles Darwin (David Tennant) who notices that the ship's parrot, Polly is in fact the world's last Dodo. Darwin, the Captain and his crew travel to London to show the Scientific community their discovery but while there risk bumping into the staunchly anti-pirate, Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton).

As you'd expect from an Aardman production, the film is full of both subtle and not so subtle humour. One of the first things that made me laugh was the names of Pirate Captain's crew. There is The Pirate with a Scarf (Marin Freeman), so named because he wears a scarf, The Pirate with Gout (Brendan Gleeson) who is fat, the Albino Pirate (Russell Tovey) and the best of them all, the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (Ashley Jensen) who is a woman in a fake beard. They are great names which bought a smile to my face each time they were used. A lot of the humour comes from the book on which the film is based but it is liberally laced with Aardman's trademark subtlety. Every shop sign or wanted poster features a pun and there are nods to the likes of Blackadder. It's the sort of film that will take several viewings in order to see all of the jokes.

The animation is top notch, as it should be. Aardman are the masters of their art and having dabbled in stop-motion animation myself, I understand the time and effort that must go into making a stop-motion feature. Aardman has come a long way from the rough and ready clay models of The Wrong Trousers but the models still maintain their distinctive style and it is obvious that care has been taken during each of the millions of frames.

The voice cast is excellent. Most of the actors are instantly recognisable but David Tennant puts on a convincing accent for his interpretation of Charles Darwin. The actors help to make the scrip very funny and I'm pleased to see that the filmmakers have stuck with a mostly British cast and stayed away from an A-List star.

The soundtrack is enjoyable and uses songs which are not only great but fit the story perfectly. You can expect to hear the likes of The Clash, Flight of the Concords and Blur.

While my girlfriend, most of the adult audience and myself enjoyed the film, the young children in the audience seemed a little bored by it. I don't think there was enough in the film to keep the young children entertained and a lot of the humour was going over their head. It is almost like the film has been pitched at an adult audience, which is fine and worked, but with a U rating and an Easter release, lots of children will go and may be disappointed.

This is not Aardman's best work but it was an enjoyable 88 minutes that featured plenty of laughs and a fairly interesting but in the end throw away plot. I would definitely go back to watch the sequel and will watch it again when it is inevitably shown on TV during a future Christmas period.

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