In a recent review I mentioned how great it is when you see a film from which you were expecting little, but it delivered a lot. The latest feature from Aardman Animations is the latest example, though you may ask why I'd be apprehensive about approaching a film from a studio with a decent back catalogue such as Aardman. Well, its based on their film output (as opposed to their solid gold TV productions) which began with the fun Chicken Run, but evened out with the somewhat groan worthy Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (though that was a box office success) before stalling with the below average Flushed Away and Arthur Christmas. Those last two films were Aardman's first foray into computer animation which may partly explain their lack of recognition, but it's back to stop motion for Pirates! and it's a welcome return indeed. However, this film does also have elements of computer graphics, but they are mainly used for backgrounds and they complement rather than distract throughout the film. Of course, you might also be a bit apprehensive due to that awful title (itself taken from Gideon Defoe's first book in his Pirates! series), but you can't judge the book by its cover in this instance. Set in 1837, the film follows a pirate captain called, er, The Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Grant) as he attempts to win the coveted Pirate of the Year award for the first time. Things go awry though when he and his oddball crew cross paths with Charles Darwin (David Tennant) and end up making their way to London despite grave warnings about Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) and her hatred of pirates. As always the animation is great and Aardman's usual mix of visual jokes and verbal humour is to the fore. What makes this stand out though is that it doesn't take itself seriously in anyway (one scientist to another on seeing a dodo: "Makes gravity look like a load of crap!"), but it is still extremely smart in terms of it's script and direction. No doubt that part of this is down to Aardman stalwart Peter Lord taking directorial duties and giving us a film that children and adults alike can enjoy (albeit on different levels). Voice duty wise Grant is great, playing down his usual bumbling Englishman shtick and giving The Pirate Captain a proper personality. Even better though is Staunton as the villainous Queen, though it's hats off to the animators for making her such an enjoyably monstrous creation (though it must be said she bears more than a passing resemblance to Futurama's "Mom"). Throw in a great foot stomping soundtrack as well and you have one of the best films of the year and the hope that the current discussions regarding a possible sequel come to fruition.
The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
A welcome return to form for Aardman and this packs more thrills and laughs than the last few Jack Sparrow outings put together. Rating: 8/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment