The Pirates! Band of Misfits
(2012)
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| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
(2012)
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| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Hugh Grant | ... |
The Pirate Captain
(voice)
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| Martin Freeman | ... |
The Pirate with a Scarf
(voice)
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| Imelda Staunton | ... |
Queen Victoria
(voice)
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| David Tennant | ... |
Charles Darwin
(voice)
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| Jeremy Piven | ... |
Black Bellamy
(voice)
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| Salma Hayek | ... |
Cutlass Liz
(voice)
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| Lenny Henry | ... |
Peg Leg Hastings
(voice)
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| Brian Blessed | ... |
The Pirate King
(voice)
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| Russell Tovey | ... |
The Albino Pirate
(voice)
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| Brendan Gleeson | ... |
The Pirate with Gout
(voice)
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| Anton Yelchin | ... |
The Albino Pirate
(voice)
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| Ashley Jensen | ... | ||
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Ben Whitehead | ... | |
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Mike Cooper | ... |
Admiral Collingwood
(voice)
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| Al Roker | ... | ||
After years of humiliation and failed attempts to win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award, Pirate Captain and his oddball crew take on the cream of the pirating crop - Black Bellamy, Peg Leg Hastings and Cutlass Liz - in a race to pillage the most booty. They soon cross paths with lovelorn scientist Charles Darwin, who persuades the Captain that the crew's prized 'parrot', Polly, could be the answer to the 'untold riches' they are searching for. Their adventure takes them to Victorian London where they meet Darwin's sidekick 'man-panzee' Mister Bobo, and the notorious pirate-hating Queen Victoria herself. It soon unfolds that Darwin's motives for helping the crew are not what they seem, and the Queen has an evil hidden agenda of her own. The Pirate Captain must choose between basking in the glory of being crowned Pirate of the Year, or staying faithful to his trusted crew. Written by Tom
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.