Aardman Animation's latest stop motion film is a new
property for them. Directed by studio head Peter Lord, 'The
Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists' is a madcap, slightly
screwball comedy mish-mash of mild historical fact with a modern
sensibility, coupled to some genuinely inspired set pieces on a
scale not seen from the company.
Cleverly sending up all other Pirate films, and the
fact that the iconography of them has become so commonplace it has
become archetypal, all the major pirate characters in the film lack
proper names. Instead, we have The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant), his
second in command The Pirate with a Scarf (Martin Freeman), The
Pirate with Gout (Brendan Gleeson), Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate
(Ashley Jenson), and Albino Pirate (Russell Tovey). The crew find
themselves facing off against a naïve yet good hearted Charles
Darwin (David Tennant) and the ferocious, pirate hating Queen
Victoria (Imelda Staunton) over the fate of The Pirate Captain's
parrot, Polly. Who is actually a Dodo. And thus the greatest
scientific discovery in history.
The crew, from left to right: The Pirate with
Gout (Brendan Gleeson), Albino Pirate (Russell Tovey), The Pirate
Captain (Hugh Grant), Polly, The Pirate with a Scarf (Martin
Freeman), and Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (Ashley
Jenson)
As the summary sounds, the plotline is suitably
bonkers but also very funny. The result is a furious, Pythonesque
deployment of visual and verbal gags throughout the film that never
leaves the audience bored. Visual highlights include the cue-card
using Mr Bobo - a 'helper' Monkey that Darwin has trained to the
level of a Butler (and actually beyond), the sly use of markers on
the maps depicting the crew's journeys, and the numerous signs and
furniture that lampoon pirate culture and terminology that appear
throughout. The script is slightly less successful, though the
quick fire randomness often deploys a gem that can be overlooked -
for example, offhand asides from The Pirate Captain to Charles
Darwin about slugs and shared parentage with Mr Bobo seemingly
plant the seed of 'The Origin of Species' in a single cunning few
seconds, and then we are off again.
The vocal cast is uniformly excellent. At first
glance, the cultured Englishness of Hugh Grant is perhaps an odd
choice for The Pirate Captain, but again the aim is to subvert the
usual tropes we would associate with the subject matter. Grant
instead brings a level of moronic heroism and dash to the role,
playing an idiotic buffoon who is still capable of feats of daring
do when called on. As his first officer, Martin Freeman is once
again the straight man to a leading character of odd quirks, but
since he is capable of doing that so well it's churlish to make it
a complaint. Freeman is arguably the heart of the film, lending a
moral strength to the proceedings and instilling a degree of
loyalty that is tangible, as well as fulfilling the Aardman trope
of the sidekick who is smarter than his master, ala Gromit. Other
leading crew members aren't really given much to do beyond sight
gags - both Brendan Gleeson's Pirate with Gout and Ashley Jenson's
Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirates suffer from underwriting but
benefit from the one joke nature of their names. Russell Tovey
makes a mark though as Albino Pirate, fulfilling the most standard
form of typical Britishness in the kind hearted yet slightly dense
manner that you expect from a side character from Aardman
Animation.
David Tennant is a complex Charles Darwin, depicted
before his greatest work and as a geek in love, desperate to
impress a very particular woman and thus swinging from conniving
villainy to sympathetic hero. Imelda Staunton is good value as the
true villain of the piece. Her Queen Victoria is simplistically
drawn and diverts quite dramatically from historical fact by the
end, but she still carries off the part well. And in inspired
casting, the other side characters are filled out by larger names,
including Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, Lenny Henry and the
unmistakable booming of Brian Blessed.
Visually the film is a treat, technically ambitious
beyond any previous effort from Aardman. Blending traditional stop
motion with computer augmentation, the scale of the film is
impressive, particularly during a chase to prevent the kidnap of
Polly through Charles Darwin's home, and the stunning final
sequence at sea. The film is also the first stop motion from
Aardman to be produced in 3D, and the result is one of the better
films in the format, the effect never intrusive. Like Avatar, in
the end the 3D is so subtle and enveloping you allow it to swallow
you up, like one of those sea monsters you see on old sea charts -
though they were only ever drawn on as decoration of course.
While not a classic animation, The Pirates! In an
Adventure with Scientists is brilliantly and randomly funny, a
suitable diversion from the standard Pirate film. The whole voice
cast works with aplomb, and it's worth seeing just for the odd
teaming of Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman and David Tennant. We
heartily recommend it.
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists is now
on general release in the UK. It is released on April
27th in the USA. The film is showing in both 3D and
2D.