The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists!

There used to be a time when everything you owned was made in Britain: the clothes you wore, the carpet you stood on, the Rover parked on the drive, the Raleigh left rusting in the shed and the knives you used to cut the finest joint of British beef. Heck, even your fifteenth-century Ming vase was probably made up the road in Stoke. But times have changed and, for one reason or another, Britain has relatively little to boast about when it comes to producing things. However, in a nondescript Bristol street lies a building which contains one of the few British institutions which show no signs of slowing down production. Aardman.

It's been seven years since the guys and gals at Aardman last went back to primary school and played with plasticine in the name of film and they're back with a swashbuckling comedy in the form of The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists! Following the misadventures of the hapless Pirate Captain (brilliantly voiced by Hugh Grant) as he sets out to win the Pirate of the Year Award, the film assembles an impressive cast including Martin Freeman, Brian Blessed and David Tennant as Charles Darwin, who is captured by the Pirate Captain. But as Darwin is made to walk the plank, he notices that the Captain's 'parrot' is, in fact, the last remaining dodo and persuades him to accompany him to London to present the dodo to the Royal Society and make both their fortunes. Historically accurate this film is not, but what ensues is nothing short of mad brilliance.

This is not Disney Pixar, but in a way, that makes the film even better. The jokes come thick and fast and are, for the most part, very witty and charming. Much thought has clearly gone into creating the gags and the little background details – whether it's the motto under the Royal Society's sign – “Playing God since 1660” or the local dentist, “D. K. Ying Dentistry” – were brilliant but slightly distracting as I tried to multi-task and catch every joke at the expense of missing what the characters were saying. But then again I'm not a woman. Of course, the plot is as wacky as Jamie Oliver's choice of baby names, but this is no bad thing. Where else would you have a chase sequence involving a bathtub full of pirates hurtling down a flight of stairs in Victorian London, chasing a disguised monkey clutching a dodo?! But this is Aardman so we'll let them off...

The humour will appeal to a wide audience and, whilst this is obviously a children's film, adults will be more than entertained by the subtle jokes and fast-moving plot which won't leave you slumping in your cinema seat and drifting off into the land of nod as my Dad did when he took me to see Pokémon: The First Movie when I was seven. There was no need whatsoever for it to be in 3D but that goes without saying and I promise never to mention stereoscopy again...ahem. Posh boy Hugh Grant may seem an odd choice for the Pirate Captain but his performance is very convincing. From an artistic perspective, the world which Aardman has created is vibrant and bold: from the smog-filled streets of Victorian London to the exotic Blood Island, the plasticine models complement the CGI work which has been used to make Pirate Captain's high seas shine.

The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists! is film which has Aardman's fingerprints all over it (quite literally!) and, as a result, oozes charm and genuine humour. How well it will perform overseas to a non-British audience is open to debate but that's beside the point; Jack Wills may gloss over the fact that their 'Fabulously British' clothing lines are manufactured abroad but Aardman can swap the Jolly Roger for a Union Jack any day...

Clapperboard Rating: * * * *