If you like Wallace and Grommit series of ‘claymation’ style animation, you would definitely love this one. It has all the stamp of the silly humour, delightful expressions with the added bonus of having brought it to the digital world. Much of the background and water (sea for instance) are digital with the unmistakable characters in a claymation style. Purists may be aghast but it definitely works for those of us who are in it just for a good time. The story is silly as they all are (for instance Chicken Run by the same group) but keeps a smile constantly on our lips.
The story timeline is 1837 – (A cute handheld signboard announces it at the beginning and sets the jolly tone for the entire movie)
The story, such as there is, runs like this. The initial scene shows Queen Victoria being treated to almost complete annihilation of her enemies. The French and the Spanish have both been defeated at sea and everything that England surveys is her domain – except for Pirates. In fact, Pirates are the most hated thing in the Queen’s mind.
Meanwhile the bumbling pirate captain called (no, I’m not kidding) The Pirate Captain runs the seas with his motley and bumbling crew consisting of the following characters – each kind of interesting in their own way as the story develops. The Pirate Captain is voiced by Hugh Grant.
The crew consists of a number two (Called Number Two or A Pirate With A Scarf), The Albino Pirate, The Pirate With a Gout and the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (with a bushy beard – you guessed it, it is a girl in disguise but contrary to your expectations, there is no romantic entanglement here). He also has a cute – but slightly fat and therefore unable to fly – parrot. Every pirate needs a parrot, right? It is called – what else? – Polly.
Though inept, he dreams of becoming the Pirate of The Year in the contest held by the Pirate Club every year and when he enters his name, finds that he is outclassed by almost all Top Pirates – Black Bellamy, Cutlass Liz and The Pirate King. He is also laughed out of the room but is determined to get so much wealth by the time of the competition that he simply cannot lose.
So he puts his heart into ransacking and after a few failures, manages to board a ship. Only to find that this ship is the famous Beagle, and the owner is one Charles Darwin. Disappointed that there were no treasures onboard, only some dead animals, he decides to amuse himself by making Darwin (good ol’ Charles) walk the plank.
Darwin is resigned to his fate and at the last moment, he looks at Polly and gasps. He tells the Pirate King that Polly is a Dodo, not a parrot – thought to be long extinct! He says that there is a huge honour and award if only the Pirate Captain will lend Polly for the competition to show rare animals – to Queen Victoria!
Not fully trusting Darwin and yet attracted by fame and fortune, the Pirate Captain and the crew go in disguise for the event, much to the chagrin of Charles. Hilarity ensues – a lot of clowning around.
Finally, Queen Victoria finds out about the Dodo and tries to capture it. When that proves difficult, she offers Pirate Captain a full pardon and immense wealth if only he would hand her Polly for safekeeping.
When he enters the Pirate Competition, his wealth gets him the Pirate Of The Year trophy but just as he was about to reclaim it, the pirate club discovers that he was pardoned (Pardoned!) by the Queen and so kick him out of the competition and also confiscate all his wealth.
Now penniless, he is forced to confess to his mates that he no longer has Polly either and they walk away from him, disillusioned.
He goes back to his dream of selling puppets but cannot forget Polly. He goes to meet her stealthily climbing the walls of the Royal Zoo and finds Polly’s cage empty. A dejected Darwin is nearby, who informs the Captain that Polly is in grave danger of being cooked and eaten by royalty from all over the world, as that is what Victoria likes to do every year. He says that he was also deceived by Victoria and is now fully disillusioned and dejected.
The rest of the movie is how they do reparations and recover Polly. No, this is not a Spoiler – how else did you think that a movie of this nature will end?
Brilliant to watch, if you like this style of animation and storytelling. Juvenile, if you don’t.
I belong to the first club and so will award 7/10
= = Krishna
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