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Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: The movie ... is a cheerful entertainment, suitable for kids and parents of the brighter stripe. It's just not Nick Park great. Read more
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: That the film happens to be in 3-D, with digitized settings and backgrounds, doesn't detract from the timeworn charm of watching blob-like characters lurch erratically through harebrained comic pratfalls. Read more
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: A curiosity cabinet of visual pleasures but so breezy and lightly funny that you may not realize at first how good it is. (You're too busy grinning.) Read more
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: My 7-year-old guest tugged my sleeve midway through the screening and whispered, "This is a good movie." I'll second that. Read more
Tasha Robinson, AV Club: Pirates! comes with all the usual Aardman strengths intact, particularly the sense that its characters and creators alike are too good-hearted and sweet to nitpick. Read more
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: I wouldn't use it as a study guide for Victorian history, though it would be fun to see the reaction on the teacher's face when the test was graded. Read more
Tom Russo, Boston Globe: The movie looks meticulously crafted, of course, and is consistently, drily amusing. Read more
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: A few hours after seeing the 3-D version of "The Pirates!" I was smiling at the memory of the best bits, some so fleeting they practically dare an audience to catch them on the fly. Read more
Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly: Even when the whimsy in The Pirates! Band of Misfits's history-be-damned story (which also ropes in Charles Darwin) feels a bit forced, the magic of the medium never does. Read more
William Goss, Film.com: To paraphrase a certain man with a certain luxuriant beard, it's only impossible to enjoy if you stop to think about it. Read more
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: A delightful romp whose varied pleasures should please kids all along the age spectrum. Read more
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A clever piece of business that is a complete pleasure to experience. Read more
Rafer Guzman, Newsday: You may laugh more than the child who brought you to "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," a subtly screwball animated comedy with a distinctively British wit. Read more
Bruce Diones, New Yorker: The action is beautifully staged, delightful, and exciting. Read more
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The filmmakers have said they are already dreaming up a sequel. They needn't hurry. Whatever treasures these pirates have are well buried. Read more
Ian Buckwalter, NPR: Pirates is just what audiences have come to expect from Aardman: smart, adventure-driven comedy with all-ages appeal and an affinity for clever sight gags. Read more
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: The result is indeed a rollicking good time, even if Aardman's ambitions don't quite dazzle as usual. Read more
Sara Stewart, New York Post: The joyfully silly gags in "Pirates!" often feel old-fashioned in a "Looney Tunes"-esque way... Read more
James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The Pirates!, like previous Aardman productions, is not just for kids. Read more
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: This splashy sendup is a dead man's chest of laughs. Read more
Jody Mitori, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: This pirate tale is a misguided adventure that doesn't fully set sail. Read more
Nell Minow, Chicago Sun-Times: Another deliriously silly stop-motion animation delight from Aardman, filled with giddy pleasures and witty details. Read more
Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail: Designed to please all generations of irreverent humour-lovers, The Pirates! Band of Misfits may not be heart-warming (it is about nasty, scurvy pirates!) but it's breezy rollicking fun. Read more
Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Pirates are right up there with vampires, werewolves and people saying "LOL" out loud on the list of Played-Out Pop Culture Phenomena, but leave it to Aardman Animation to find the remaining reservoirs of fun in a bunch of seafaring scalawags. Read more
Tom Huddleston, Time Out: A brilliant mish-mash of styles and genres, crammed with ideas and intelligence and carried off with a sense of rebellious fun and breathtaking invention not seen since, well, 'The Wrong Trousers'. Glorious. Read more
David Fear, Time Out: Anyone still doubting that the Claymation studio behind Wallace and Gromit deserves a seat at the grown-ups' table only needs to see its pitch-perfect collaboration with author-screenwriter Gideon Defoe... Read more
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Purists can rest easy. This marriage doesn't scupper Aardman's classic clay-based animated heritage and the script is still filled with the kind of dry laughs only the Brits can conjure up, with many of the jokes of the visual variety. Read more
Leslie Felperin, Variety: After dipping its toes into pure CG animation for Arthur Christmas, Aardman integrates its feted old-school stop-motion technique with top-drawer visual effects to create the irrepressibly amusing The Pirates! Band of Misfits. Read more
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: A script that consistently finds fresh outlets for its running gags makes for a sufficiently rollicking pleasure cruise from Britain's Aardman Animations... Read more
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It makes for an experience that, while geared toward younger, more fidgety audiences, has enough humor to keep Mom and Dad from falling asleep. Read more