Mini-Review "The Pirates: In an Adventure with Scientists"

I was excited last year at finally getting another Aardman claymation feature in “The Pirates.” When I asked a friend who got a chance to see it before me, he gave an unimpressed shrug and said, “It was silly.”

Truth is, that is a really good summary of the film. But it is no small feat to produce a truly entertaining, intelligent, but silly movie. And that is what this “Band of Misfits” is. The plot is suitable, but extraneous to the intent of the film, which is really all about silly fun. Most “kids” films are all about getting to a point—a lesson—but this one doesn’t really care about that. Oh sure, there is the whole lesson the Pirate Captain has to learn about not hurting those who care about him in an effort to validate himself before the world. But that is not as vital to this film as getting in a few well placed witticisms and rivaling Monty Python with bits of Plasticine.