The Pirates! confronting danger.
The Pirates! Band of Misfits, as an Aardman Animation film, is what you’d expect – a very silly, charming trifle. The humour has a British tinge of whimsy (and a couple of throwaway moments are quite dark, as befits pirates) and everything is a light frothy mix that effortlessly entertains.
The plot, such as it is, involves the Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) trying to win the Pirate of the Year award. Involving his game and loyal crew, all given only descriptors for names like The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate and The Pirate Who Likes Sunshine and Kittens, the plot revolves around a Pirate King, Charles Darwin, Queen Victoria and the last remaining dodo. There’s action, adventure and laughs, all sprightly and fun.
I could have done with the Pirate Captain being a little less stupid at times, but Hugh Grant makes him charming all the same, even with his vanity and obliviousness. Martin Freeman, as the second-in-command Pirate With A Scarf, is well-experienced with the long-suffering second banana who provides the voice of reason. There’s even a non-ironic use of a Flight of the Conchords song.
Not quite as good as Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Wererabbit or Chicken Run, but still well worth seeing.
Macguffin & McGuffin 