"The Pirates! Band of Misfits" review by Zarban

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (UK title: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, based on a book) is a 2012 Aardman stop-mo film but not a Nick Park film. It's all about a nameless pirate captain trying to win Pirate of the Year with his crew of also nameless pirates. He's a kindly captain but a terrible pirate, but not because he won't kill people; he seems quite ready to pillage and murder. Then we are supposed to be concerned when people want to steal his pet dodo for science. If this sounds kind of dumb, unfortunately it is.

I can't stress this point enough: none of the main characters have names except Charles Darwin. On numerous occasions, the hero signs his name, is introduced to crowds, put on wanted posters, given awards, declared an outlaw, etc. where he must just be called 'the Pirate Captain' despite the presence of other pirate captains. He doesn't even make up a name when he's in disguise. He just calls himself 'the Scientist Captain.' And his crewmen have to be called things like 'the Pirate with a Scarf' and 'Suspiciously Curvaceous Pirate'. It's a very dumb non-joke.

The movie looks fantastic, with terrific stop-mo enhanced with terrific CG. If you like that sort of thing, you will love this particular thing. The setting takes place in a strange version of 1837 when cutlass-wielding pirates still roam the high seas, but steamships, photography, and electricity also exist—altho this fact isn't revealed for about 40 minutes. And the Pirate King dresses like Elvis for some reason.

Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, and David Tennant do well as the principles; and there's some fun music. There are some gags and jokes here and there that work, and my 9-y-o niece and nephew liked it quite a bit, but not as much as Princess Bride or Willow, altho it compared pretty well to Curse of the Were Rabbit. Overall, I found it to be perfectly pleasant but a bit dull, certainly lacking the spark of Wallace and Gromit.

Last edited by Zarban (2012-10-07 03:37:19)