Project Detail

Pirates!

Synopsis

Pirates! is a swashbuckling adventure with a rich vein of surreal and broad comedy, based upon The Pirates! (in an Adventure with Scientists), from the bestselling series of books by Gideon Defoe. The movie will be created with the same beautiful hand-crafted technique that Aardman brought to the feature films Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Chicken Run. The story follows the fortunes of a cheerful but hapless pirate band as they cross the seven seas in search of the thing pirates love best: adventure. And what greater adventure can there be than battling Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz in an attempt to win the coveted Pirate of the Year trophy? From the Caribbean, their journey takes them to Victorian London, where they encounter Charles Darwin, an articulate ‘man-panzee’ named Mister Bobo, and an all-powerful enemy determined to wipe out pirates forever. The pirates find that their quest is a victory for good-natured optimism over the boring forces of common sense.

Details

Year
2011
Type of project
Features
Director
Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt
Producer
Julie Lockhart
Screenwriter
Gideon Defoe
Principal cast
Brendan Gleeson, Jeremy Piven

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Aardman Animation

Sales Company

Sony Pictures

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

The Elephant & Castle among the towers Elephant Families

Director: Elena Escalante

Year: 2025

A wave of regeneration is hitting London’s working-class neighbourhoods. South of the river, the demolition of Elephant & Castle’s shopping centre has uprooted the community who made it their own. As they navigate an uncertain future, they carry with them the legacy of a place that once felt like home. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025 - Short Film Competition - World premiere

The Big Bad Wolf The Big Bad Wolf

Director: Leo Wright

Year: 2024

After discovering the power of the humble brick, pigs forged ahead into the industrial revolution building houses, factories and shops to wolf-proof their lives. This is the story about a little piggie named Richmond who befriends a not-so-big bad wolf named Billy, much to the outrage of his father. Set in the Black Country, this film is about friendship, inclusivity and not judging a wolf by its cover. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025

title page for Dog Crease Pattern Dog Crease Pattern

Director: James Pollitt

Year: 2025

This stop-motion animated film uses an original origami dog design and paper shapes to interpret the unique and universal experiences of dog ownership and loss. The narrative and narration comes from supporters of the project who lent their stories and voices to the film. The film's title and design makes the connection between memory/routine and the patterns and creases left on a piece of paper when we unfold an origami model.