Freeview film of the day: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
Salty swabs Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman and crew take to the high seas in a claymation adventure putting the "aaargh" into Aardman
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! ★★★★
1.30-2.55pm BBC2
Fans of Aardman Animations must wait until January for their next plasticine saga, Early Man. In the meantime, here’s one of their previous stop-motion spectaculars,a boisterous, Victorian shanty fruitily voiced by Hugh Grant (as the Pirate Captain), Martin Freeman (the Pirate with a Scarf) and David Tennant (a kidnapped Charles Darwin). Adapted from the first in his series of children’s books by Gideon Defoe, the plot concerns the nameless, amateur sea dogs and the Pirate of the Year competition. Technically, co-directors Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt do amazing work with lighting in dark spaces – with CGI standing in for pesky water – and Brian Blessed plunders the show as the Pirate King.
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