I want to say we knew about this. I want to say this was one of those movie rumors that came out, like, thirty years ago but nothing seemed to be happening*. But sure enough, “Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists” is coming to the big screen:

Hugh Grant to voice Aardman’s ‘Pirates’

So yeah, Hugh Grant, ho hum. But also David Tennant for you Dr. Who fans, Martin Freeman (for the Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy geeks), and even Salma Hayek (of The Devil Wore Purple Plunder Pants, of course) will be featured as well.

*it was two years ago. I looked it up.

Aardman back in motion with two Sony pics | Entertainment | Film | Reuters.

So yeah – Aardman Animation brought us the likes of Wallace&Gromit and Chicken Run. And now they’re bringing us pirates:

“”Pirates!” is based on the best-selling series of books by Gideon Defoe that began with “The Pirates! (in an Adventure with Scientists).” The story, fashioned as a swashbuckling adventure with a rich vein of surreal and broad comedy, will follow a group of pirates who journey to London and meet Charles Darwin and a talking chimp named Mister Bobo, while an enemy tries to wipe them out.”

If you’re not already familiar with Gideon Defoe’s works, check out my reviews of his first two books, Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists and Pirates! in an Adventure with Ahab. Then go buy the books so you can sit in the theater and loudly proclaim, “Oh, the books were sooooo much better!”

Rating:
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab
by Gideon Defoe

Back in the charming days of yesteryear (I think it was 2004), Gideon Defoe took the literary world by storm with his groundbreaking novelette, “The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists.” Never before had the gritty world of pirates been so vividly realized, complete with the utmost attention to both historical accuracy and poetic beauty.

I am, of course, full of it.

Like its predecessor, Defoe’s second work, “The Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab” is sure to throw humorless historians into a tissy. But for the rest of us, it’s another wonderfully demented bit of comedic genius. Once again we’re invited to follow the adventures of a hapless crew of no-name pirates (“The Pirate Captain”, “The Pirate with a Scarf”, “The Pirate Who was Good at Math” and such), this time as they seek a way – any way – to gather the needed money to pay off a debt to the most dangerous of villians, Cutlass Liz. They attempt to gain said loot through a range of efforts, from improv-theater to whaling to out-right pirating. [read more »]

Rating:
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists
by Gideon Defoe

All true works of literary genius share three common traits:

1) They possess a timeless relevence

2) They speak to the reader on a level that is both highly personal yet universal

and 3) They most always feature a monocled-monkey on the cover, frequently clutching a pirate flag.

Based on this criteria alone, Gideon Defoe’s sure-to-be legendary novel of pirates, evolution, and ham is clearly one for the ages. His humor is deeply varied as it ranges from the very dry to the highly absurd – I literally couldn’t put it down, and was thus banned from the bedroom as my wife couldn’t get any sleep with me constantly giggling through the wee hours. [read more »]