The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) Reviews

It seems that Aardman can’t manage to catch a break. Indeed, except for Wallace & Gromit, their other productions don’t seem to be really successful and this flick was unfortunately not an exception. Still, since I have always been a fan of their work, above all of their stop-motion features, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, I thought it was actually rather disappointing. Of course, the animation was, as usual, amazing, no doubt about it, but I had a hard time to care about the story and the characters. I don’t know, it definitely had some potential but I thought that it was nothing really mind-blowing. I have to admit it, I have seen it in Dutch so it might be more fun in the original English so I will see the original version in the near future to make up my mind for good but I doubt the story would become suddenly great. Indeed, the Queen Victoria was a rather weak villain and it seems that they can’t move on from Wallace & Gromit. Indeed, the Captain was again another clueless loser, pretty much like Wallace and the Ape, who was pretty awesome, was another mute animal much more intelligent than the average ape, pretty much like Gromit. Still, even though it was slightly disappointing, I still think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Appreciating Aardman films seems to be easier for a certain, shall we say, less colonial segment of the movie watching population. The humor is oft-described as simply "British" whatever that actually means. Strangely, despite my avowed love of the Monty Python films, Aardman just hasn't done it for me. Sure I enjoyed Chicken Run and I tolerated Wallace and Gromit because of the neat characterizations but a movie like The Pirates! Band of Misfits just doesn't draw me in. The humor is mostly throwaway one liners stuffed into a very flimsy plot about Pirate Captain trying to become the pirate of the year. These attempts at humor rarely even elicited a chuckle - they just kind of flopped around on the deck of a nicely animated pirate ship. This doesn't mean there aren't redeeming qualities to this effort - the animation looks a lot better than your usual Aardman fare and when they actually construct jokes instead of throwing them at their audience it can be funny. But overall its humor at the level of Wallace and Gromit without the interesting character interaction.

I've never quite enjoyed Aardman's work as much as critics. At least, not their full-length films. That's not to say I haven't liked them; I've liked them, but I certainly haven't loved them. Pirates: Band Of Misfits is different, though. This movie, I did love.

None of the primary pirates are given names; their descriptions in the credits are "The Pirate With The Scarf," "The Pirate With Gout," etc., which makes this plot description a little difficult to write.

The protagonist, Pirate Captain (no really, that's his name) is determined to win the pirate of the year contest. The problem; he's not a very good pirate. And with his competition being so strong, it appears the odds are against him. At least, that's what he thinks. It turns out, his trusty, rotund parrot is a rare dodo bird, thought to be extinct. There may be some booty in this after all. That is, if Charles Darwin of The Queen doesn't snatch it first.

The Pirates Band Of Misfits is a fun, and often hilarious film. There are so many sight gags that a second or even third viewing may be necessary to catch them all.

This is also, Aardman's most visually stunning work. It's miles ahead of any of their previous films, and there are lots of complex crowd scenes that are truly amazing. In previous films, Aardman purposefully left revealing finger-prints on the characters. Those who found this distracting will be pleased to know that Aardman has avoided doing this here.

Not all characters get as much screen time as they should, but they're an amusing bunch, with (for the most part) well-defined personalities.

As I mentioned earlier, there are lots of sight gags, but dialogue-oriented lines are here too. They're the witty and chuckle-inducing lines that we have come to expect from Aardman, and in much more generous amounts than in previous films.

Unfortunately, Pirates: Band Of Misfits added lots of lyrical songs (playing in the background) that are usually annoying. I would've much preferred that the score continued to play during some of these scenes, because they're really are too many songs in the background.

And speaking of the score, it was a little disappointing. Pirates are good music material, but the score, for the most part, is very mediocre. Then again, Aardman isn't known for their instrumentals.

Flaws aside, The Pirates: Band Of Misfits is funny and witty, with wonderful animation and a cast of amusing characters. This is certainly Aardman's best film, thus far. Hopefully, it will only get better from here.

This is, like, the best movie I've ever seen in my life!

"Let's go show those boffins what's what!"

"It's only impossible if you stop to think about it."

"But Frankenstein and a jellyfish, that would be a different matter."

"Sorry Vicky, but dodo's off the menu!"

(Not to be confused with Vika! ;)

And, yes, it even breaks Seinfeld's 'No hugging, no learning' rule:

"It's not about the prizes and the awards...it's about who you are inside."

And yet--does the man-panzee teach you anything about ancient society? No! He's just your friend and he helps save the day!

And it's really all about Polly...although I also like The Albino Pirate: blond hair, red eyes.

And it's great how The Pirate Captain calls The Pirate With A Scarf "Number Two" as though we were on the deck of the Enterprise.

And: true story. I was at the mall, so I went to the theatre and I got a ticket for "The Five-Year Engagement" (which I'd actually been waiting to go see). I went into the theatre which I presumed corresponded to the one I had the ticket for, although for the life of me I couldn't find the display-y thing to confirm it. It was a Monday matinee, and the place was deserted, totally empty, like a bomb hit it. I suppose the previews should have given something away, but they were all so cute and funny; I liked them. And then the thing started, but it was kinda special, and so it wasn't like I was going to go back and bully the ticket guy who gave me the weak directions as to which door to go through. And, and! I started to cough about the time when Number Two is convincing The Pirate Captain not to give up on adventuring, so I sucked it up (...yeah!) so I didn't have to leave or disturb the other person (more or less singular--yeah) watching the movie.

Well, there was one person behind me, and one or two in front of me, one of whom was texting at times, because you could see the glow of the screen. I didn't mind...,it was like a faint glow of life in a vast ocean of empty space.

All that's true though; I'm not nearly creative enough to think up something like that. I'm only surprised I was gutsy enough to go through with it. I mean, you can't get in trouble for that sort of thing, can you? They're not going to haul you out of the theatre, kicking and screaming, for buying a ticket to one show, and seeing another? They're all the same price, aren't they?

*shrugs* I felt really good about it though. I'm especially happy that we got Polly back. Polly is our friend. And man, when I left the theatre, I felt like I was living for the very first time. I felt so special and happy about who I was.

"They're not scientists; they're Girl Scouts!"

"They're not Girl Scouts; they're pirates!"

I'm the Pirate Of The Year!

And pirates don't need any royal pardons. ;)

(And, you know, the Pirate King was a great Master of Ceremonies, and Vicky even had a decent bust, but, you know, there are just some things that we *don't* need from the royals...which is why pirates want to be outlaws--we want to be ourselves! Like Cossack rogues! And sometimes even "bearded ones". "Can anyone bring me a towel?" So let Vicky have fun with the Russians or the Portuguese or the Welsh instead...which is why it's good that the pirates could punch her in effigy, and good that Polly could bite her on the nose, when QV tried to use her against her friend!)

And anyway, it's actually a great piece of (animated) historical fiction...it's better than "Pride & Prejudice", even....

Yeah: this is my idea of a date movie. :)

(10/10)

Following Aardman Animations’ most notable triumphs, such as Wallace And Gromit, Chicken Run and most recently Arthur Christmas, they make their latest motion picture in their second consecutive collaboration with Sony Pictures Animations, but first stop-motion film in seven years. After the hilarious trailer and appearing to bring forth the charm, the jokes and the breath-taking stop-motion pieces that we’ve seen so often from Aardman in the past, expectations were exceedingly high. However, although The Pirates! Band Of Misfits (aka The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists), delivers with a fun story, great effects and voice portrayals from its stars, there was the vital lack of humorous jokes and emotional attachments between the characters and audience that became vital pieces missing from the film. Therefore, it became a minor disappointment.


Aardman Animations make their first film that isn’t of their own creation as The Pirates! Band Of Misfits/The Pirates! An Adventure With Scientists is based on the first two of a series of novels by Gideon Dafoe. Aardman co-founder Peter Lord co-directs his second feature film in 12 years, after Chicken Run and successfully embarks us on another wacky adventure. However, it was that the film as a whole did not appear as funny nor make the audience feel as emotionally connected as what we have experienced before. Nevertheless, Aardman still provide jaw-dropping stop-motion effects, successfully capturing the accuracy of voice roles with the clay-animated characters and the stunning background designs. Gideon Dafoe writes the script based on his own novels, which gives the film a fair advantage regarding dialogue.


Another reason why Aardman Animations have been so successful is that throughout their five feature films thus far, they have collaborated and worked with a wide range of talented actors, who have been particularly British. Hugh Grant stars in his very first animated feature role as the Pirate Captain with an eccentric but remarkable performance, like Johnny Depp as ‘Captain’ Jack Sparrow in the Pirates Of The Caribbean series. However, the Pirate Captain expresses an occasionally cowardly and rather clumsy nature like Jack, but he is actually a well-intentioned and rather kind character who respects his crew, which isn’t really what we see from pirates in any film. In addition, none of these pirates have official names. To the audience, their known names are either how they’re described or their profession.


Martin Freeman portrays the Pirate Captain’s right-hand-man The Pirate With The Scarf in his very first animated feature role too as he gives another good performance. Due to the well-established connection between Grant and Freeman as their characters, their voice-role debuts have gone off to a flying start and we need to hear them again in other upcoming projects. Alongside Grant and Freeman is a group of supporting actors portraying notable historical figures from the 19th century, aka the Victorian Era. Firstly, David Tennant portrays English naturalist Charles Darwin. Considering that Tennant’s voice acting was decent, Aardman and Dafoe did toy around a little bit with Darwin’s character about where his true loyalties lie. Nevertheless, it is an accurately animated representation of the late Darwin. Furthermore, there’s the Queen Victoria herself, portrayed by Imelda Staunton. Victoria doesn’t surpass the sinister and scheming nature of Miranda Richardson’s role as Mrs. Tweedy in Chicken Run, but the character of Queen Victoria expresses the greed of the power given to her. It was the unorthodox idea of these historical figures being transformed into comical and rather unrealistic characters that both made them successful but lame at the same time.


Overall, The Pirates! Band Of Misfits aka The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists is another successful film from Aardman Animations but due to the lack of humour, it does not quite show precisely what they are capable of achieving at their highest level. It is not like Wallace And Gromit or Chicken Run, but it is a solid enough return to stop-motion features for Aardman that is still a fun and exciting film with dazzling effects and will charm its audience in both 3D and 2D.