Normally I love Aardman's output. I think Wallace and Gromit are fantastic and I even enjoyed "Flushed Away" on some levels. "The Pirates!" is a kids film that doesn't entirely play the film to their standards. Aardman has a talent for appealing to children without talking down to them, offering them the likes of Wallace and his put upon sidekick dog, but "The Pirates!" is so incredibly convoluted that it fails to deliver any essence of entertainment. The animation from Aardman is up to their usual quality with some wonderful stop motion scapes and hilarious characters, it just falls flat in terms of story. "The Pirates!" was originally titled "Fun with Scientists!" and notes the central premise revolving around the adventures with Charles Darwin, but most of the film twists and turns really never quite touching on that eccentricity and genius that Aardman is accustomed to providing audiences.

After considering quitting and selling baby clothes (huh?), the pirates instead turn to Darwin to enter his nearly extinct Dodo in to a science competition to win over the Queen who hates pirates. Man, I've never been so bored rolling out a plot before. Imagine the confusion watching the events unfold on-screen. "The Pirates!" is filled with plenty of misunderstandings and unusual character turns, none of which are all that interesting or remotely creative as Aardman is prone to providing its fan base. I couldn't be sure why the story was so weird, and often times the writing seemed to take surreal turns just for the sake of being surreal. The directors behind the film are better than this mediocre content, and Aardman definitely has seen better days in the way of stop motion animation.