Production is currently underway on ‘The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists’, an animated feature featuring the vocal talents of IFTA winner and Golden Globe nominee Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm) alongside Martin Freeman (The Hobbit), David Tennant (Dr Who), Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince), Jeremy Piven (Old School), Salma Hayek (Frida), Brian Blessed (Tarzan) and Ashley Jensen (How to Train Your Dragon).
The new stop-motion, 3D, animated film produced by Aardman Animations for Sony Pictures Animation sees Hugh Grant star as the bearded Pirate Captain and follows the adventures he has with his crew as he looks to beat his many enemies and compete to win the coveted Pirate of the Year award. It's a quest that takes the merry band from the shores of exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. The film’s other cast members include Salma Hayek (Frida), Brian Blessed (Tarzan) and Ashley Jensen (How to Train Your Dragon).
Brendan Gleeson plays one of the Pirate Captains' crew-members. The 'Into the Storm' and 'The Guard' award winning actor is no stranger to animation having already lent his voice to Cartoon Saloon's Oscar nominated feature, 'The Secret of Kells' as Abbot Cellach.
‘The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists’ will be created with the same hand-crafted technique that Aardman Animations brought to the Academy Award-winning film ‘Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ and ‘Chicken Run’. The film, written by Gideon Defoe, is directed by Peter Lord (Chicken Run) and produced by Peter Lord (Arthur Christmas), David Sproxton (Flushed Away), and Julie Lockhart (Humdrum).
The film will be distributed by Columbia Pictures, will be released March 30th, 2012 in the UK and Ireland.
