The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)

Pirate Captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz for the Pirate of the year Award. The quest takes Captain and his crew from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London.

Directors:

Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt (co-director)

Writers:

Gideon Defoe (book), Gideon Defoe (screenplay)

Stars:

Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Piven

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 19 nominations.

Cast

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)
Mike Cooper	...	Admiral Collingwood (voice)

Storyline

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?

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Plot Keywords:

queen victoria character | swashbuckler | post credits scene | chimpanzee | pirate | 

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Taglines:

Places to pillage. People to skewer.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild action, rude humor and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Filming Locations:

Aardman Animation Studios, Bradley Stoke, Bristol, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,137,734, 29 April 2012, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$31,051,126

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$123,054,041

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Sony Pictures Animation,Aardman Animations

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The pirate with gout has a Blue Peter badge on his hat.

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Goofs

The Pirates disguise themselves as Girl Guides. The Girl Guide movement wasn't founded until 1909, eight years after the death of Queen Victoria.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
Pirate Captain: You're the best crew a captain could wish for!

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Crazy Credits

No dodos were made extinct during the making of this motion picture.

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Alternate Versions

Also shown in a 3D version.

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Connections

Featured in A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman (2015)

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Soundtracks

Rule Britannia
Written by Thomas Augustine Arne, and James Thomson

User Reviews

Traditional Aardman Returns

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.