Most people in the wider media friendly universe are well aware of Aardman, Nick Park and Wallace & Gromit. For me it all started with my grandparents VHS copy of A Grand Day Out and from that point on I've always been pretty excited about what comes next in the world of Bristol based claymation. Chicken Run is still my steadfast favourite which means for me it's technically been all down hill since their first feature length jaunt. Will Pirates usurp the crown or am I forever destined to be asking which came first, the success or the fame?
The plot of Pirates is as follows, The Pirate Captain has a loyal crew of lovely misfits who love ham and arguing about the best part of piracy but when it comes to his wider public image, he is a laughing stock to his pirating peers. He needs to prove himself and he decides the best way to do this is to win Pirate of the Year, a competition measured by the amount of booty a pirate has amounted over the year. He sets off to pillage and plunder but, after several unsuccessful attempts, finds himself severely disheartened. It's not until Charles Darwin tells him his plump parrot is actually a Dodo that he hatches a new plan to win scientific discovery of the year which will award him unthinkable riches that he'll then use to win Pirate of the Year. It's a somewhat convoluted story but one that perfectly fits the jumbled and silly tone of the film and a plot that also keeps the film constantly moving and never dull.
Aardman are known for their joke-every-second approach to film making with puns literally lining the very walls and that style still applies with enough of the jokes landing to reach Airplane! levels of constant giggling. Each character is a pitch perfect stereotype to the point that each is called by their traits like my personal favourite "Pirate with Gout". Having said that the film has it's fair share of duds like the monkey and his breaking of the forth wall. Having said that a joke that didn't work for me will probably work for thousands of others, that is the mastery of the joke-every-second approach, you're always keeping someone happy. It's also a film with endless style. It pulls off that bizarre British world of pirates perfectly and retains that great look that all Aardman films stick to.
My main issue with this film is that it's in no way surprising and at times feels like Aardman for the sake of being Aardman. Maybe it's just that now we all know their tricks and they're hyper rural England feel has gone too far to the point that at times it feels like they are stereotyping the stereotype of the stereotypical stereotype. It's an easy to watch film that you can't help but enjoy. That being said it is at times so eager to please it feels like it's groveling. I had fun though so who am I to complain?
JO
Sam Says:
I really thoroughly enjoyed The Pirates! It was a rollicking thrill ride of fun, japes, jokes, heart, piracy, songs and glorious beards. It sails along at a fast pace and provides you with so much to hear, see and do that I wasn't bored for a second. Sure it's not a masterpiece, there are a few bizarre mis-fires, a frankly odd Joseph Merrick cameo and a musical cue that doesn't quite fit right, but those are superfluous niggles for a film that provided me with more genuine fun and entertainment than all of the Pirates of the Caribbean films put together. 4 Stars.
