The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists Movie 2012

Movie Information

Directed by:Peter Lord Jeff Newitt (Co-Director)

Produced by:Julie Lockhart,Peter Lord,Carla Shelley,David Sproxton.

Written by:Gideon Defoe

Based on:The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe

Starring:Hugh Grant,Martin Freeman,David Tennant,Salma Hayek,Jeremy Piven,Imelda Staunton.
Music by:Theodore Shapiro

Studio:Aardman Animations,Sony Pictures Animation.

Distributed by:Columbia Pictures

Release date: March 28, 2012 (United Kingdom)|April 27, 2012 (United States)

Running time:88 mins

Country:United Kingdom,United States.

Language:English

Budget:$55 million

Box office:$75 million

Plot: A crew of amateur pirates, under the direction of the ambitious, but equally inexpert Pirate Captain, try to plunder ships so that the Pirate Captain can accomplish his dream of winning the Pirate of the Year Award and outsmart his longtime rivals, Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz. After various failed raids on useless ships - including a plague boat, a nudist boat, and a ghost ship - they hijack the Beagle and encounter Charles Darwin, who informs them that Polly, the supposed parrot of the pirate crew, is actually the last living dodo. The pirates go with Darwin and his trained chimpanzee, Mr. Bobo, to London to show Polly to the Royal Society. Their plan is a success, but the pirates (who are disguised as scientists) are unmasked by Queen Victoria, who hates pirates.The Pirate Captain leaves Polly with the Queen in return for a pardon and a large gold treasure. He presents the treasure at the Pirate of the Year competition, only to be both disqualified and exiled when his pardon is discovered; in addition, his crew abandons him when they learn that he sold Polly. Returning to London in an attempt to save Polly, the Pirate Captain reunites with Darwin. Together, they find out that Queen Victoria is planning to eat Polly and other rare animals at a secret meeting with other heads of state on her flagship, the QV1. The duo hijack an airship from the Royal Society, and fly to the QV1 to confront Victoria. With the support of the pirate crew and Mr. Bobo, they are able to save Polly, sink the QV1 and defeat Victoria. In the end, the Pirate Captain learns the value of friendship and loyalty; while Darwin finds a girlfriend on the Galapagos Islands, and Mr. Bobo joins the pirate crew.

Production: Despite being a stop-motion film, Aardman is extensively using computer graphics to complement and enrich the film with visual elements like sea and scenery. Peter Lord commented, "With Pirates!, I must say that the new technology has made Pirates! really liberating to make, easy to make because the fact that you can shoot a lot of green screen stuff, the fact that you can easily extend the sets with CG, the fact that you can put the sea in there and a beautiful wooden boat that, frankly, would never sail in a million years, you can take that and put it into a beautiful CG scene and believe it.

Controversy: In January 2012, it was reported that the latest trailer of The Pirates! attracted some very negative reactions from the leprosy community. In the trailer that was released in December, The Pirate Captain lands on a ship demanding gold, but is told by a crew member, "Afraid we don't have any gold old man, this is a leper boat. See," when his arm falls off. Lepra Health in Action and some officials from the World Health Organization expressed that the joke shows the illness in a derogatory manner, and it "reinforces the misconceptions which leads to stigma and discrimination that prevents people from coming forward for treatment." They demanded an apology and removal of the offending scene to which Aardman responded: "After reviewing the matter, we decided to change the scene out of respect and sensitivity for those who suffer from leprosy. The last thing anyone intended was to offend anyone...". LHA responded that it was "genuinely delighted that Aardman has decided to amend the film," while the trailer was expected to be pulled down from websites, and the theatrical version of the film has got the "leper" word replaced with "plague.