Pirates have become cool again with the trilogy of films
made by Johnny Depp but those films might be just a tad too intense for the
youngest of children. With that in mind the folks at Aardman studios, the stop
motion group responsible for Wallace and Gromitt among other things, have come
up with some pirates of their own. They've just been unleashed with this film.
The story follows a group of pirates that aren't quite up to
snuff in the pirate hierarchy. Sure they have the peg legs and eye patches, but
this ragtag group just doesn't seem to pillage near as much as most. They're
led by the Pirate Captain who does his best to keep his crew happy and content
(hey, don't forget ham night!). But Pirate Captain has dreams of his own, of
becoming the Pirate of the Year.
The only problem is the amount of pirating he and his crew
does. With Cutlass Liz and Black Bellamy always bringing in more booty they win
the competition every year. Rather than allow him the chance to do better, the
group always ridicules him as well.
That could all change when Captain Pirate and his crew board
a boat stocked with all sorts of stuffed animals and body parts. The boat
belongs to Charles Darwin who's been seeking a special scientific discovery so
that he can become the Scientist of the Year award back in London. He too has
had a tuff time but when he sees Captain Pirate's parrot he recognizes it is
not a parrot at all but the extinct dodo bird. Darwin convinces Captain Pirate
to take him to London along with the bird where they will win all sorts of
treasures for their discovery.
Even though the queen has placed a bounty on the heads of
every pirate to sail the seven seas the group heads for London. Once there
Darwin attempts to steal the bird from Captain Pirate to claim the award for
himself. He fails and Captain Pirate wins the award, stunned to find that it
isn't booty at all but an award along with the chance for time with, of all
people, the Queen! Darwin failed to mention the reward would be time spent with
the woman of his dreams.
The Queen also wants possession of the dodo bird for her
private zoo but Captain Pirate doesn't give in easily. After discovering he is
a pirate and nearly decapitating him, she stops and pardons him in the hopes he
will turn over the bird. When she offers treasure as well, Captain Pirate sees
the chance to return to Blood Island with more booty than anyone has ever
claimed and win the prized Pirate of the Year award. But all doesn't go as
planned, something that always seems the case with this group.
The story may seem pretty well straight forward but in truth
there is more beneath the obvious here. It's not just about Captain Pirate
winning the award and gaining some self esteem. Instead the story is more about
discovering who you really are and what is really important in life. For
Captain Pirate that boils down to winning the award he's cherished for so long
or remaining true to both Polly (the dodo bird) and his crew.
As with all Aardman Studio films this one is chock full of
sight gags that run from beginning to end. Each one may be a small portion of
the film seen but they all will garner laughs from adults as well as children. They
do a nice combination of jokes that older viewers will get but won't offend the
young crowd.
The stop motion animation is as always amazing. In a world
where computer animation seems to have taken over, it's nice to see someone
using this technique and not allowing it to fade away. Somehow just watching it
makes you realize how creative and artistic it is in comparison.
The final word about this film though is that it is truly
entertaining. It's a movie that both young and old will enjoy and have fun
with. Topping that off is the fact that it offers something that youngsters
will not realize they are getting and that is a set of morals to accompany the
tale. They'll learn that wanting something and doing anything for it at the
sake of losing everything that is truly important isn't quite worth it. And for
a movie to entertain and get that point across is truly an amazing feat. So
hoist the rigging and set sale for the high seas with this film that the whole
family can enjoy.
Click here to order.
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