83
Entertainment Weekly by Adam Markovitz
You can almost smell the brine in the boat helmed by Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) on his quest to win Pirate of the Year.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
No one else has come close to translating England's homegrown blend of deadpan and madcap for a younger audience, much less with such impressive Claymated technique. You couldn't ask for better lesson in "Anglo-Absurdism for Beginners."
75
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Suffused with satire, wit, and the dry, tongue-in-cheek flavor of comedy one rarely finds in American productions, this stop-motion animated excursion pokes fun at pirate conventions while representing icons Queen Victoria and Charles Darwin as a bitch and a twit, respectively.
80
The Hollywood Reporter by John DeFore
A delightful romp whose varied pleasures should please kids all along the age spectrum.
80
Although this family-friendly tale of feckless adventurers pursuing a prize is consistently funnier than "Arthur," in language, humor and attitude it's as endearingly British as Yorkshire pudding, soccer hooliganism and wonky teeth.
60
Though we'd love to see how Aardman handle Defoe's followup, An Adventure With Communists, this amiable but overstretched diversion is unlikely to spawn a Caribbean franchise.
70
Village Voice by Nick Pinkerton
A script that consistently finds fresh outlets for its running gags makes for a sufficiently rollicking pleasure cruise.
80
Another Aardman triumph. The animation house's most technically ambitious project so far and, if not quite at the genius level of Wallace & Gromit, still a comedy treasure and far too good just for kids.
80
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
It is effortlessly and unassumingly funny – and terrifically smart.
75
Tampa Bay Times by Steve Persall
The movie's memorable moments involve a silently expressive dodo bird and "man-panzee," stealing the show from human caricatures acting silly.