The Pirates! Band of Misfits International Trailer: Hijinks on the High Seas

Aardman Animation can do no wrong, ladies and gentlemen: From Chicken Run to Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, these folks stick to loopy, yet dry material and make it fun for kids and adults every time. In their new feature The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Aardman takes buccaneering out of Jack Sparrow's realm and back into the world of kiddy imagination. The new international trailer features all the bug eyes and red beards you can muster, plus the vocal talents of Hugh Grant, Jeremy Piven, and Salma Hayek.

Of course, this is the international trailer. America isn't good enough for narration touting "luxuriant beards!" The movie itself reminds me a bit of the underrated James and the Giant Peach adaptation from '96, with its fantastical seafaring and splashy claymation. I assume this movie doesn't get as dark as that did, but Aardman Animation's penchant for wryness and wisdom may, in fact, qualify the company to be the heir apparent to Roald Dahl.

• The Pirates: Band of Misfits' International Trailer [MovieWeb]