The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (released outside the UK as The Pirates! Band of Misfits) is a 2012 stop-motion animated swashbuckler comedy film directed by Peter Lord and written by Gideon Defoe, based on his 2004 novel. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation and Aardman Features, it features the voices of Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, & Brian Blessed. The film follows a crew of amateur pirates in their attempt to win the Pirate of the Year competition. The Pirates! was released on 28 March 2012 in the United Kingdom and on 27 April 2012 in the United States. The film received generally positive reviews and grossed $123 million against a $55 million budget. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Plot In 1837 London, Admiral Collingwood informs Queen Victoria that the Royal Navy mostly dominates the ocean, but they are still dealing with pirates. Meanwhile, the Pirate Captain enters Blood Island's annual Pirate of the Year competition, where the winner is determined by who can steal the most treasure. After several failed attempts to plunder ships, the Captain and his crew raid HMS Beagle and capture Charles Darwin. Recognizing the crew's dodo, Polly, whom they believe is a parrot, as the last of her species, Charles recommends that they enter her in the Scientist of the Year competition at the Royal Society of London. Assuming that the prize is money, the Captain agrees. Allowing the pirates to stay at his house for the night, Charles tries to kidnap Polly with the help of his chimpanzee, Mr. Bobo, but fails. The next day, the pirates enter the competition while posing as scientists and the dodo display wins the competition. However, instead of money, the prize turns out to be a meeting with the queen. Victoria requests Polly for her petting zoo, but the Captain refuses and inadvertently reveals his true identity. Before he can be executed, Charles, who is smitten with Victoria, informs her that Polly has been hidden and only the Captain knows where. Victoria pardons the Captain and orders Charles to find Polly. Charles and Bobo get the Captain drunk at a tavern and attempt to kidnap Polly. The Captain chases them into the Tower of London, where Victoria awaits. After she sends Charles and Bobo down a trapdoor into a garbage dump, she offers the Captain enough treasure to win Pirate of the Year in exchange for Polly; he accepts the offer and returns to his crew. At the Pirate of the Year ceremony, the Captain is declared the winner, but his rival, Black Bellamy, reveals that the Captain's pardon means he is no longer a pirate and therefore ineligible for the award. The Captain has his treasure confiscated and is exiled from Blood Island. When he reveals to his crew that he gave Polly away, they abandon him. The Captain returns to London and reunites with Charles and Bobo, who have become tramps. Charles reveals that Victoria did not want Polly for the petting zoo after all and in fact intends to eat her, being a member of a club of world leaders who dine on endangered animals. Polly is to be served at their next banquet, aboard Victoria's flagship, the QV1. The Captain and Charles steal an airship and locate the QV1, while Bobo goes to find the crew. Aboard the QV1, the Captain and Charles find Polly, but are confronted by Victoria. Bobo and the crew come to their rescue. While fighting Victoria, they accidentally combine a stash of baking soda with vinegar, causing an explosion that breaks the ship in half. Victoria attempts to escape with Polly in the airship, but Polly attacks her. The Captain rescues Polly and the pirates escape, while a furious Victoria revokes the Captain's pardon. Charles is taken to an island to continue discovering new animal species, while Victoria is left at the mercy of the animals she captured. The Captain continues adventuring with his crew, now accompanied by Bobo.
Voice cast
Hugh Grant as the Pirate Captain Martin Freeman as the Pirate with a Scarf, alias Number Two Imelda Staunton as Queen Victoria David Tennant as Charles Darwin Jeremy Piven as Black Bellamy Salma Hayek as Cutlass Liz Lenny Henry as Peg-Leg Hastings Brian Blessed as the Pirate King Russell Tovey as the Albino Pirate (United Kingdom) Anton Yelchin as the Albino Pirate (United States) Brendan Gleeson as the Pirate with Gout Ashley Jensen as the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate Ben Whitehead as the Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens (United Kingdom) Al Roker as the Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens (United States) Mike Cooper as Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood David Schneider as Scarlett Morgan Additional voices were provided by Tom Doggart, Sophie Jerrold, Sophie Laughton, Kayvan Novak, David Schaal and director Peter Lord.
Production Aardman Animations, who primarily use stop-motion animation, extensively used computer graphics to complement and enrich the primarily stop-motion film with visual elements such as sea and scenery. Director Peter Lord commented, "With Pirates!, I must say that the new technology has made Pirates! really liberating to make, easy to make because the fact that you can shoot a lot of green screen stuff, the fact that you can easily extend the sets with CGI, the fact that you can put the sea in there and a beautiful wooden boat that, frankly, would never sail in a million years, you can take that and put it into a beautiful CGI scene and believe it." Jeff Newitt served as co-director on the film.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
