The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Overview

There's something I really love about an Aardman film: I get all nostalgic about the days of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, for one, but mostly it's that in each of their films or shows, there's always a point where suddenly you stop and think, "Holy fuck, they made that with plasticine." Despite the fact that these days they apparently use some more technical material, the hand-sculpted models in The Pirates! Band of Misfits never fail to impress with their detail and depth.

The story follows the Pirate Captain and his titular misfit band of followers as they try to win the Pirate of the Year competition. In attempting to terrorise as many ships as possible to claim the best booty, the Pirate Captain instead stumbles across Charles Darwin, who encourages them to go about their win in a slightly different fashion.

Voiced by Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson and Imelda Staunton, this is a fun film that manages to avoid the pitfalls of trying to offer wink-wink jokes to parents while simultaneously distracting kids with the pretty colours. The adventure is daring and crazy, the characters are loveable, and the more than 500 days of production effort that went into the film are more than enough to keep you giggling along in your seat. Extra points go to Staunton's Queen Victoria, who somewhat takes the niceties out of the traditional portrayal.