Director Peter Lord’s “The Pirates! Band of Misfits,” is a fun, quirky, British comedy.

Based on Gideon Defoe’s, “The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists,” this stop-motion animation adventure is yet another example of animation that can entertain both young and old.

In this hilarious misadventure, the Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant), with some help from his first mate, Pirate with a Scarf (Martin Freeman), and the band of misfits, is hoping to win the “Pirate of the Year Award.” The only thing keeping him from victory is the fact that he’s not a very good pirate.

Of course, with a crew that includes the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (Ashley Jensen), The Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens (Al Roker), the Albino Pirate (Anton Yelchin) and the Pirate with Gout (Brendan Gleeson), he’s in good company.

He and his crew finally find their key to claiming the top prize is with their big-boned parrot, Polly, who it turns out is actually the last Dodo. With some help and interference from Charles Darwin (David Tennant) and his chimpanzee butler, they win the “Scientist of the Year Award.”

Unfortunately, the pirate-hating Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) stands in between them and a clean exit from London, and it turns out she has a passion for rare animals.

Not surprisingly, everything works out in the end, despite the Pirate Captains best and hilarious efforts.

Bits like the Pirate Captains love of ham (fitting, given the style of humor), the bands ability to disguise themselves in the blink of an eye (think girl scouts with beards), and the Pirate Captain’s ability to pull store a seemingly infinite number of objects in his beard, are just a few examples of the quirky humor that make this film worthy of its Oscar nomination.

Having seen this film in 2D, I can’t speak to the film’s use of its highly publicized 3D.  However, I can tell you that the lack of cannon balls flying at your head, did not detract from its clever and well-timed humor.

The blend of slapstick and slightly subtler humor make this film entertaining from start to end.

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