The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists (3D) review

It looks polished and the script tries hard to win a broad appeal, but there is something lacking from this ultimately unsatisfying animation. Not Aardman's finest hour.

The hype...
British studio Aardman Animation's latest offering attempts to follow in the footsteps of global hit 'Wallace & Gromit'. The ludicrously lengthy title should be no barrier, especially considering some of the big names lending their vocal talents to this project, but a few controversies have seen the removal of the more risqué gags. So our main concern is that this diluted version will be aimed solely at the youngsters.

The story...
It's nearly time for the Pirate of the Year awards and The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) is determined to win the big prize. His bumbling crew aren't much help, but then the captain himself isn't exactly the finest swash-buckler on the seven seas.

For one thing, he has a Dodo for a parrot, and it's this creature that draws the attention of Charles Darwin (David Tennant). He persuades the pirates to come to London - and risk the ire of noted pirate-hater Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) in the process – so that the captain can present his pet to a group of scientists and scoop a prestigious award.

Unfortunately Darwin is working in cahoots with the Queen, and such a rare bird is far too valuable to be left behind. And so begins a mad dash across London and onto the high-seas where treasure, glory, fancy banquets and Brian Blessed await.

The breakdown...
The Aardman studios can do no wrong, or so last week's budget would have you believe. They are a reliable source of success in the British film industry and have a pedigree that's hard to argue with. With a hilarious trailer to boot, this should be treasure chest of laughter... On paper perhaps, but in reality 'Pirates!' doesn't live up to expectations.

At times the film feels like all of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films rolled into one. An amazing opening is followed by confusingly lengthy detours and an over reliance on a lead character whose charm can't quite carry the ever-thinning material. There's also a large, lazy dollop of 'crowd-pleasing' shenanigans that serve only to lay bare the lightweight direction.

It's not even that the pastiche element is overplayed. You would think that there would be more direct comparisons to the Johnny Depp series that kickstarted the pirate genre – this film would not have been made otherwise – but not much is directly said about the franchise.

That's not a major criticism, (we're not going to sit here and complain about a film being original and NOT pilfering ideas from elsewhere), but it is symptomatic of a lack of focus that misses several opportunities and allows tedium to set in early.

It's especially problematic given that all the scenes could do with a trim, and in an already relatively brief animated film that is a serious issue.

Hugh Grant plays the lead pirate, and sounds like he's having a whale of a time. It's infectious to begin with, but it soon loses its appeal and by the end it left us yearning for a bit more depth and variety. It's the same story with the booming Brian Blessed: it's great for a bit but eventually grates.

The idea of 3D stop-motion is still a mind-blower, but it has already been done – and much better might we add – in 'Coraline'. 'The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists' is a technically adept film, but it never pushes itself as hard as we wanted it to.

In the end the ideas just aren't strong enough to sustain a feature film, and none of the characters are as memorable as Aardman's finest creations.

The verdict...
It's hard to figure out just what is askew, but there is certainly something amiss in this film. It's amusing for the most part, and the cast sound like they are having a ball, but it nonetheless feels like something of a vanity project that never truly excels.

Rating: 3/5

'The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists (3D)' is released in the UK on 28 March. Certificate: U.