So You Want To Be A Pirate (2012) – Short Review

Scientists and pirates (voiced by Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson and David Tennant) return for So You Want To Be a Pirate, a fun animated Aardman short that gives tips on how best to join their ranks.

Ahead of the DVD release of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists comes So You Want To Be a Pirate. At under twenty minutes long, the film feels more like a prelude to the feature’s release rather than a stand alone entity but it nevertheless provides some light-hearted fun.

Riffing on the characteristics already shown in the short’s feature-length companion, it embodies all that is good with Aardman productions; the characters are well made, the script well put together and the animation is nigh-on seamless.

Whilst many may have trouble with the fact that the film is so short, it harks back to the days of old when Aardman’s works were predominantly short pieces. While it feels like it should have been a meaty extra on the feature film’s DVD, it does well on its own despite its length.

Pirate Captain provides tips on remembering where you buried your treasure and surviving terrifying sea winds whilst DVD extras include child friendly features. It perhaps shouldn’t have warranted its own DVD release but So You Want To Be A Pirate is fun nonetheless – just don’t confuse it with the film when buying.