Aardman Animations unveiled their latest stop-motion movie Pirates! Band Of Misfits today at the San Diego Comic-Con.
The panel began with an exclusive first look at the film’s trailer, which introduced the bumbling Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Grant), a useless treasure hoarder who’s desperate to win the pirate of the year award.
Among the hijinks the trailer presented, highlights included a giant sea monster and some staggeringly detailed olde England sets.
In the wake of the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, it’s difficult not to judge Aardman’s newest flick against that titanic franchise – and the film’s trailer played out as a blend of POTC by way of Wallace & Gromit (naturally).
It’s definitely the most kid-friendly thing the studio have ever done.
More promising were the snippets of footage that co-director Peter Lord brought with him as he went through each of the film’s central characters.
Of the villainous Queen Victoria (a fantastically over-the-top screecher voiced by Imelda Staunton), he said “she’s a very, very bad lady indeed”.
Meanwhile, Lord picked out the day that Salma Hayek recorded her part as feisty femme-pirate Cutlass Liz (in Paris, no less) as “the best day on the whole movie”. Can’t think why.
“Hugh Grant was quite a catch,” Lord said of casting his lead. “We do have a special standing in the UK, we’ve become loved and people know we’ll treat them well and give them a good part.”
Pirates! Band Of Misfits opens 28 March 2012.
