Review of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012) by Adrian C — 23 Mar 2013

From the makers of the Wallace and Gromit cinematic series and the movie Chicken Run (2000), the clay animation The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) follows the adventures of protagonist Pirate Captain and his amateur crew as they aspire to win the Pirate of the Year award. Through their adventures to pirate for gold to win the competition, the pirates manage to capture the socially inept Charles Darwin along the way and defeat the sinister antagonist Queen Victoria in an intense combat, all due to a huge fuss over a dodo bird.

Character Development.

Since the beginning of the film, Pirate Captain is well-established as the leader of his crew, where his subordinates have great confidence in him, and one would even "bet [his] face" that Pirate Captain would win the Pirate of the Year award despite his losing streak. While the audience can enjoyably laugh at Pirate Captain's poor decision making, lack of common sense, and ridicule from his fellow Pirate of the Year contenders, the audience is also touched in the end when Pirate Captain realizes that he already has everything there is to being a good pirate through the loyalty of his crew.

The creators of the film successfully mock the historical figures Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria. The setting of the film takes place before Darwin's world-changing theory of evolution; he is portrayed as a nerdy man who falters with both his scientific career and with women as evidenced by his first two statements upon his introduction in the film: "Dear diary - about to meet a watery grave. Will die without reaching second base with a lady." As he has yet to make a name for himself, Darwin is inspired to make the greatest scientific discovery of the year for the purpose of impressing Queen Victoria, his crush. The creators play on Queen Victoria's cold personality and plump stature by portraying her as a power hungry woman who has a particular liking for the most exotic animals-particularly Pirate Captain's pet dodo. The action-filled swordfight between Pirate Captain and Queen Victoria is followed by a comedic defeat where she is blown away into the sky.

Stepping Up from Wallace and Gromit.

Contrary to the past films, where every Wallace and Gromit character and Chicken Run (2000) character shared the same general face shape of Wallace, the creators introduced a fresher appearance to The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) by varying the face shapes among the male, female, and animal characters. The new appearances of the characters not only reflect a more stylish twist to the film in general, but it also intrigues the audience by adding flare to the supporting characters of the film. For instance, Pirate Captain's crew members are defined by their physical dress and appearance: Pirate with a Scarf, Albino Pirate, Pirate with Gout, and Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate. These said styles of dress and appearance poke fun at piracy back when albinism, gout, and cross-dressing were not at all uncommon at sea.

Although this film is a stop-motion clay animation, the producers used more extensive computer graphics to enhance the scenery, especially when the pirates are at sea. Thus, The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) presents a more realistic and more convincing story as the viewer can actually see the wind and water flow and as Pirate Captain's ramshackle ship sails-which otherwise would seem impossible to even float on water. Thus, the new technology employed in the making of the film synchronizes well with the setting of the story. Nevertheless, the producers also advance from using only clay to introducing wax into some smaller items. For instance, the producers successfully open the audience's appetites when they introduce the fresh, juicy looking ham during the crew's Ham Nite.

Call to Change.

Though rumored to have a sequel, Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) is an ingenious and entertaining film that will take a great deal of wit to beat. While the Wallace and Gromit film series may not be everyone's cup of tea, particularly not for Americans, Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) is nothing like the old, British-humored clay animations. Suffice it to say, anyone who has a sense of humor can enjoy and appreciate the drama, fresh appearances, and witty humor of the film. Therefore, to create a sequel to such a marvelous work of art poses a sky high risk of "killing" it as many sequels often do. In closing, for the sake of preserving the beautiful cinematic creation of Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012), it is highly recommended-if not urged-that the creators do not produce a sequel to this film.