The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

There are enough ideas and quotes for three films in this "feature-length Monkey Island without Guybrush Threepwood", but it's still more of a product than a heartfelt film from Aardman. This doesn't change the fun or the quality, even though this time it's aimed more at a younger audience. (16/08/2012)

"She's not a scientist, she's a Girl Scout! She's not a Girl Scout, she's a pirate!" The plasticine pirates, led by the Pirate Captain, sail the seas under an ominous looking flag with a skull and two crossed hams, their ship is packed with fun and I am very, very glad I saw the film at the movie theatre. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. The Aardmans came up with a plethora of all kinds of jokes for the young and the old, gave vent to their proverbial inventiveness and playfulness, and even called to arms characters like Charles Darwin and his domesticated (Gromit) monkey servant, the hysterical Queen Victoria, Jane Austen and the Elephant Man (I didn't know those two were dating), and they enlisted the help of a terrific soundtrack (when the schooner set sail for London and The Clash and their “London Calling" started blaring, I really wanted to scream pirate-style)... And what emerged was an irresistible adventure that in some ways recalls the best Asterix stories. Really (I'm not just referring to the magical cartoon traveling around the map, during which I learned, among other things, how the Panama Canal was created)! Three cheers then! And as the Pirate Captain says: "Nothing is impossible if you don't think!" (14/05/2012)

Studio Aardman has been doing quite well lately. The film "A Grand Christmas Ride" was a hit, and now "Pirates" are also doing quite well. I must say, I am not surprised. Their humor is dry enough, but in some places, it can really take your breath away - in the most positive sense of the word. It's not just individual jokes, but there is also a story that is quite original. "Pirates" are not completely riding on the wave of "Pirates of the Caribbean", but it can't be said that now is the right time for similar films. "Pirates" revolves around a competition for the best pirate, but it turns out that Queen Victoria is more important and becomes the main villain. Everything is presented with a sense of humor that is sometimes even heretical - at least considering the person of the Queen - but it doesn't change the fact that there are great entertaining scenes here that will greatly enhance your movie night. If you like simple humor, you probably won't enjoy it because this one is sophisticated. "Pirates" sometimes resemble grotesque and slapstick, but they take the best of them. A great advantage of the film is that it is capable of intelligent wordplay, which elevates the grotesque to a much higher level. "Pirates" combine the best of British humor. You will certainly not be offended to hear the voices of Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Salma Hayek, or Brendan Gleeson in the pirate and other characters. Another excellent comedy after "Teddy", for which I am not afraid to give a quite high rating. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/08/jane-eyre-ekologicka-afrika-cislo.html (24/02/2013)