Oh man, oh man. I absolutely adore Aardman Animation. The only thing they’ve ever done that I wasn’t completely over the moon about was Flushed Away, and that’s because, of course, it was computer animated, not claymation. But even Flushed Away was a lot of fun! Anyway, I’m rambling. I was sure that Arthur Christmas was the only thing Aardman had on its slate these days, but out of nowhere, TK sent me the trailer for this amazing claymation pirate movie with one of the best titles ever: The Pirates! As if it couldn’t get any better than the terrific visual style and wicked sense of humour, the movie also has an all-star cast of voice talent, featuring the likes of Brendan Gleeson, Martin Freeman, Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Salma Hayek and Jeremy Piven! Sweeeeeet. Sorry, ghost ship, sir! Ooooooooo….here’s a plot summary:
Hugh Grant stars in his first animated role as the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain – a boundlessly enthusiastic, if somewhat less-than-successful, terror of the High Seas. With a rag-tag crew at his side (Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson, Russell Tovey, and Ashley Jensen), and seemingly blind to the impossible odds stacked against him, the Captain has one dream: to beat his bitter rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) to the much coveted Pirate Of The Year Award. It’s a quest that takes our heroes from the shores of exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Along the way they battle a diabolical queen (Imelda Staunton) and team up with a haplessly smitten young scientist (David Tennant), but never lose sight of what a pirate loves best: adventure!
The Pirates! comes out March 30, 2012.