The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Best known for its silly, cheeky Wallace & Gromit shorts and feature films, Britain's Aardman Animation studio blends its stop-motion, plasticine Claymation technique with CGI special effects in this family-friendly frolicking adventure set on the high seas. For 20 years, bumbling Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Grant) has wanted to win the coveted Pirate of the Year award that is presented when his swashbuckling colleagues of seafaring rogues convene on Blood Island. Yet he doesn't stand much of a chance compared with the plundering booty hauls of his dastardly rivals—like Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven), Peg Leg Hastings (Lenny Henry) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek). But Pirate Captain's fortunes change in 1836, when he encounters The Beagle, a research ship carrying young scientist Charles Darwin (David Tennant), who identifies his beloved parrot Polly as the last surviving dodo. Darwin convinces Pirate Captain that if portly Polly is presented to the Royal Society in London, great riches will follow. The complication lies in sailing to London, where Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) has barred pirates from entering the Thames—forcing the buccaneers to travel in disguise and engage in many manic chases. Adapted by Gideon Defoe from the first two books in his continuing series and co-directed by Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt, this is jolly good fun. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Peter Lord, co-director Jeff Newitt, and editor Justin Krish, the all-new mini movie “So You Want to Be a Pirate!” (18 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the DVD version is “Mr. Bobo's Flash Card Challenge” and DVD-ROM features. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “From Stop to Motion” making-of featurette (21 min.), two short films by Lord: the 1996 Oscar-nominated “Wat's Pig” and 1989's “War Story” (18 min. total), “Bubbles of Fun: The Bathtub Chase Scene” featurette (8 min.), a “Pirate Disguise Dress-Up” game, and bonus DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a fun film.] (S. Granger)