THE PLOT THUS FAR
Pirate Captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz for the Pirate of the year Award. The quest takes Captain and his crew from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
Set in 1837, the story follows the adventures of a pirate captain called Pirate Captain in his attempts to win the Pirate of the Year competition for the first time. Despite being mostly deluded and incompetent he is actually kind at heart and has the respect of his crew. He is really up against it through when it comes to winning the competition because he is a pretty rubbish pirate and is up against the cream of the piratical world which includes Cutlass Liz and Black Bellamy. “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” is just packed with laughs, getting more good gags into 85 minutes than most sitcoms manage in a year. If you’re a fan of Aardman’s very-British-yet-utterly-accessible style of humour you’ll barely have time to breathe between laughs. The pacing is lightning fast without ever feeling rushed, which is typical of Aardman’s work, and its constant forward momentum is will keep most viewers hooked throughout its short running time.
Some of the backgrounds were digitized, so claymation purists may be upset, but it didn’t detract from the overall look of the movie. While not breaking any new ground, it’s always refreshing to see something different than CG animation, and I always applaud the use of a different medium. This was also shot in 3D, which adds nearly nothing to the film, and only acts as a gimmick for a few stick stuff out at you moments. Still, it’s a fun flick that deserves more attention from those of you with kids.
The Blu-Ray comes with a DVD, Digital Copy and tons of special features. You get a bunch of BD-J style games that are exclusive to the Blu-Ray, plus there’s some extra short films from Peter Lord. The big kicker is the extra bonus movie and the related flash card game. So many games and yet the bitrate never drops throughout the presentation. The 1080p transfer is damn near reference quality, plus you get a stunning DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
