100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 119: The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Director: Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt

Genre: Animation/ Family/ Adventure

Runtime: 88 minutes

Year: 2012

Starring: Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, David Tennant, Brendan Gleeson

Description: Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) 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.

Review: If you are a pirate or a scientist, eventually it’s all about the fame, the booty or the girl. At least, if we believe “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”. We see how a failed pirate tries to win the ‘Pirate of the Year Award’ and how Charles Darwin discovers a rare parrot.

“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” is a so-called Claymation, made by the companies Aardman and Sony. It gets an English touch because of the voice actors, the absurd humor and the atmospheric streets of 19th century London. The American touch is noticeable because of the movies moral and postmodern humor. Like a 19th century scientist playing around with a Rubik’s cube and funny remarks about the Academy Awards. With that the film is filled with physical jokes and word jokes.

The movie isn’t innovative, but it looks stunning. And “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” is a successful animation with a high entertainment level. That it never lives up to movies like “Chicken Run” and “Wallace and Grommit”, doesn’t matter. We weren’t expecting that.

Rating: 3/ 5