| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Hugh Grant | ... | The Pirate Captain (voice) | |
| Martin Freeman | ... | The Pirate with a Scarf (voice) | |
| Imelda Staunton | ... | Queen Victoria (voice) | |
| David Tennant | ... | Charles Darwin (voice) | |
| Jeremy Piven | ... | Black Bellamy (voice) | |
| Salma Hayek | ... | Cutlass Liz (voice) | |
| Lenny Henry | ... | Peg Leg Hastings (voice) | |
| Brian Blessed | ... | The Pirate King (voice) | |
| Russell Tovey | ... | The Albino Pirate (voice) | |
| Anton Yelchin | ... | The Albino Pirate (voice) | |
| Brendan Gleeson | ... | The Pirate with Gout (voice) | |
| Ashley Jensen | ... | The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (voice) | |
| Al Roker | ... | The Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens (voice) | |
| Ben Whitehead | ... | The Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens (voice) | |
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Mike Cooper | ... | Admiral Collingwood (voice) |
Always outclassed by fierce opponents such as Cutlass Liz, Peg Leg Hastings, and Black Bellamy, the hopeless, Pirate Captain, decides it's high time he won the prestigious 1837 "Pirate of the Year Award". However, this is easier said than done, as the determined captain embarks on a foolhardy quest along with his ragtag crew of misfits which involves Queen Victoria herself, an extremely rare dodo bird, and a brilliant young scientist named Charles Darwin. Will Pirate Captain manage to pull off a surprise victory? Written by Nick Riganas
What I liked about The Pirates! was how it was whimsical. What I didn't like what the fact that whimsical was pretty much all this film was. It's a good film to take the family to, but it doesn't prove to be all that memorable. It offers merely a few good laughs and a little genre satire.
As a pirate film, it certainly could've used a bit more daring do, to accompany the self mockery and also to compensate for the problem of having surprisingly one dimensional characters. Take a film like last years Rango, which demonstrated an ability to riff on its genre while generating an honest and robust sense of adventure which would categorize a serious Western. This film, lacks that bit of robustness; it's all whim.
For an hour, I thought The Pirates did a good job of appealing to all ages in its humour, but the climactic act takes things sailing in the wrong direction. Suddenly the movie becomes surprising juvenile and childish. In addition to ending somewhat abruptly, The Pirates leaves a few plot elements without a payoff.
The finished product ends up feeling surprisingly shorter than it was, and it all seemed a little light hearted to elevate it beyond the level of weekend entertainment. I love pirates, and I always have, so I felt a little let down, but there's probably enough for a young audience.