The Pirates!

After nearly two years, H and I finally got out to see a movie in a theater. Instead of jumping into something heavy, we decided for lighter fare: The Pirates! Band of Misfits (In the rest of the English speaking world, where they are not afraid of science, the subtitle is Adventures with Scientists.
It is an Ardman claymation film. Ardman are the people who created Wallace and Grommet, Chicken Run, and Sean the Sheep. As one would expect from Ardman, the film looks incredible. I am always amazed at how detailed and lush their films look. The characters are amazingly expressive. They have facial expressions, body postures, and movements that are, in some cases, even more expressive than what you can get from a human actor. The backgrounds were equally detailed. Some of them are digital, but they all flow together seamlessly. We saw it in 2D and I cannot see how 3D would do anything to improve the visuals. It would probably detract from the experience by being a distraction.
The story was OK. It had a good number of laughs and a wicked portrayal of Queen Elizabeth. Overall, it is a pretty standard issue story for a family movie. The writing will appeal to kids and adults alike. H felt like the first part of the movie dragged a bit, but I didn't mind the beginning at all.
The most impressive thing about the movie was the craftsmanship. It was clearly made by people who care about turning out high quality products. The movie was years in the making and it shows. It is a stark contrast to a lot of the poop that studios crank out simply for a buck. If you want to support quality, skip Transformers, John Carter, G. I. Joe and all of the cookie cutter romance movies spit out from the Sparks factory, and see Pirates!.