The Pirates! Band of MIsfits

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (Rated PG)

• Voiced by Hugh Grant, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, Anton Yelchin, Brendan Gleeson, Ashley Jensen
• Directed by Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt
• Plot: A pirate captain and his crew of rejects set out to defy the odds and win the Pirate of the Year award.

“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” is the latest film from Aardman Animations, makers of “Chicken Run”, “Wallace & Gromit”, and “Arthur Christmas.”  Unfortunately, “The Pirates!” does not live up to those earlier films.  In fact, I’d be hard pressed to say it was better than “Flushed Away”, probably the weakest of the studio’s offerings.

Hugh Grant voices Pirate Captain, a rather unorthodox pirate who has far more enthusiasm than pirating skills.  His crew is even worse shape, including an albino, a girl (who wears a fake beard and goes by the moniker “The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate”), and a pirate who is fond of sunsets and kitties (voiced by Al Roker).  Pirate Captain’s one goal is to defeat his rivals, Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek), and win the coveted Pirate of the Year award.  All the while, he must avoid the ruthless Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) who is out to destroy all pirates.  In the end, Pirate Captain must make a choice about whether winning or friendship is more important.

Much of the movies humor comes from sight gags with the pirates.  Unfortunately, this grows tiresome fairly quickly, and the plot just isn’t interesting enough to maintain interest.  The movie almost seems like it’s trying to pull of Monty Python.  It's way too uneven of an effort

While the animation is superb and the movie does have its chuckles, it’s not up to Aardman’s usual standards.  That doesn't mean it's not better than the stuff other studios have been churning out.

It’s worth checking out when it comes out on DVD, but I don’t think its worth the cost of taking a family to the movies.