‘The Pirates: Band of Misfits’: Not the plundering fun I’d expected

The Pirates: Band of Misfits (2012)

Directed by Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt

4/10  PG (not Arrrrr!)

When the “Flight of the Concords” song in the middle of your animated comedy is the funniest part of the movie, your ship has already sunk. 12 years after director Peter Lord’s “Chicken Run,” the stop-motion comedy scene has lost its touch. Since 2000, “Pirates” is only the third Hollywood production to use primarily clay in its production. It lost its funny.

“Pirates” tells the scurvy tale of one pirate’s (fittingly named Pirate Captain, played by Hugh Grant) quest for the “Pirate of the Year Award” and his encounters with Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria that keep him astray from his goal. The story is fresh and entertaining, and the action is decent, but its comedic shortcomings make “Pirates” an unfortunate bummer.

I will make an exception for the self-deprecating humor that’s scattered throughout the movie. Pirates contending “the thing I like most about being a pirate is all the chances to catch exotic diseases!” were pretty entertaining. But generally speaking, it just wasn’t funny. Beyond that, there really isn’t much to say. I regret using my coupon to rent “The Pirates: Band of Misfits” on DVD…even though I got it for free.