You might not know Aardman Animations by name, but I’ll be darned if you haven’t seen their work. The company got started with various commercials and shorts before breaking out with a trio of shorts you may know as “Wallace and Gromit.” That crafty duo won Oscars and accolades for the company. They finally dipped their toes in feature films in 2000 with the brilliant flick “Chicken Run.” They followed it up with “Wallace and Gromit: Cure of The Were-Rabbit” and the extremely underrated “Flushed Away.” Last year, they made the charming “Arthur Christmas” and now release their first clay-motion picture in over six years: “The Pirates! Band of Misfits.” So, how does it stack up overall?
In this madcap adventure, “The Pirate Captain” (played with great gusto by Hugh Grant) desires nothing more than to win the award of Pirate of The Year. With his ragtag group of pirates, they set sail to plunder and cause as much mayhem as possible. However, they soon find themselves ensnared in a plot involving Queen Victoria, scientists and a gun-toting chimpanzee.
You might be wondering why the plot description is so vague, but the beauty in the film is being left in the dark so that the gags and plot twists unravel right in front of you. And believe me, this film has both in spades (especially in gags). This movie is hilarious, brimming with enough non sequiturs and laughs to make repeat viewings essential, just to catch every single thing the directors keep throwing at you. It’s simply a delight to watch unfold. True, the film isn’t emotionally strong (there’s actually a scene that intends to be emotional and pivotal to the story, but comes off rushed and forced) but it’s so freaking funny, it’s impossible not to forgive that shortcoming!
Another great thing is the clay-motion animation, which has such character and beauty about it. It brings the world of the 19th Century to life in ways CGI could only dream of. The voice cast does stellar work, including the previously mentioned Hugh Grant, David Tennant and Martin Freeman (who plays Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming adaptation of “The Hobbit”). However, one of my relatively few complaints with the film involves the fact that they dubbed over one of the characters (nicely referred to as “The Albino Pirate”) with Anton Yelchin (who played Chekov in “Star Trek”). Despite the dubbing, his dialogue remains the same, meaning he still says several British phrases like “rubbish” in his distinctly American accent. It’s truly a poor job of trying to cover up the films obvious British influence. Now that’s real rubbish!
“The Pirates!” might not have the emotional impact of, say, “WALL-E,” “How To Train Your Dragon,” or “Toy Story 3,” but when it’s this much fun to both look at and laugh with, it’ll do. By far, “The Pirates!” is the best animated movie of 2012 and perhaps a new benchmark for Aardman Animation to live up to. Smashing job!
