The Pirates! Band of Misfits Movie Trailer
MPAA Rating: PG, for mild action, rude humor and some languageGenre: Animated Family Comedy
Runtime: 88 minutes
Starring: Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman, Jeremy Piven
Studio: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation Inc., Aardman Animations Limited
Director: Peter Lord
Release Date: March 30, 2012
The Pirates! Band of Misfits - Official Synopsis
In The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Hugh Grant stars in his first animated role as the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain – a boundlessly enthusiastic, if somewhat less-than-successful, terror of the High Seas. With a rag-tag crew at his side (Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson, Russell Tovey, and Ashley Jensen), and seemingly blind to the impossible odds stacked against him, the Captain has one dream: to beat his bitter rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) to the much coveted Pirate Of The Year Award. It’s a quest that takes our heroes from the shores of exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Along the way they battle a diabolical queen (Imelda Staunton) and team up with a haplessly smitten young scientist (David Tennant), but never lose sight of what a pirate loves best: adventure!
The Pirates! Band of Misfits and Other Aardman Productions
The Pirates! Band of Misfits is presented in Aardman's characteristic claymation style, and is the studio's first 3D stop-motion adventure. Stop-motion in all its forms is an admirable undertaking, requiring painstakingly small movements of characters and scenery to make the movie. A great behind-the-scenes explanation of the technique can be found on the bonus features of the direct to DVD movie Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death. Even better, as painstaking as the process is, it is something that kids can easily try at home. Kids can learn a lot by making their own stop-motion production, and they will definitely come to appreciate the work that goes into making a full-length stop-motion feature.
What makes Aardman movies stand out?: Claymation (or animation that looks similar to claymation), quirky British humor, and unique storylines among other things. If it is an Aardman movie, you can expect that it will a bit different from the norm and present you with at least a few scenes or lines that are unexpected. In my line of work, unexpected is gold. Here are a few other recent movies on which Aardman has applied their Midas touch:
