The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything:
A VeggieTales Movie

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mike Nawrocki
Produced by David Pitts
Phil Vischer
Mike Nawrocki
Paula Marcus
Written by Phil Vischer
Starring Phil Vischer
Mike Nawrocki
Tim Hodge
Cam Clarke
Yuri Lowenthal
Laura Gerow
Alan Lee
Music by Kurt Heinecke
Edited by John Wahba
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • January 11, 2008 (2008-01-11)
Running time
 85 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15 million
Box office $13.2 million

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie is a 2008 American computer-animated family adventure comedy film directed by Mike Nawrocki and written by Phil Vischer. Produced by Big Idea Productions and Starz Animation, it is the second film featuring characters from the VeggieTales video series, and was also the first theatrically released computer-animated film to be distributed by Universal Pictures.

Plot

Somewhere in the late 17th century, two pirate ships are fighting, while Alexander of Monterria is captured by Robert the Terrible; the other pirates search the ship for Eloise, but miss her hiding spot and leave. When Eloise and Willory emerge, she sends a device that her father made, a "Helpseeker," to find heroes to save Alexander. It evades the pirates on the ship and jumps into the sea.

Meanwhile, George, Sedgewick, and Elliot are working at a dinner theater. Sedgewick has invented a remote-controlled toy truck with a claw arm to help him do things he does not feel like doing - though when Ellen asks him to get her some barbecue sauce, it is out of range of his toy and he refuses to make the effort himself. Elliot has a list of things he is afraid of, and when Bernadette asks him to get the barbecue sauce, he says the back room is dark and therefore "on his list." George does what everyone tells him; his children, George Jr. and Lucy, idolize the star of the show, Sir Frederick, and he is worried he does not impress his kids.

Elliot, Sedgewick, and George want to be seen as heroes by their loved ones, but since they are only cabin boys, they think their dream is unattainable. After the show, while they are cleaning up, an old blind man appears out of nowhere. They audition but it backfires and messes up half of the restaurant; as a result, they are fired and thrown into the alley, where they find the Helpseeker and are teleported to the 17th century.

Meeting Eloise and Willory, they set off to Jolly Joe's where they learn it is Robert who has kidnapped the prince in the hopes of exacting revenge on the king and the clues to find Robert's fortress are hidden in a cave past the Rocks of Malabar. They do find the clues there, but Sedgewick happens across what appears to be a pool of cheese curls, and decides to stay on the island and relax instead of pursuing Robert. When George and Elliot return to the beach, they discover Robert's men have taken their boat and captured Eloise and Willory; they head out to follow the clues.

Back in the cave, the cheese curls turn out to be alive - and vicious. Sedgewick is attacked and discovers he can do anything without giving up. When George and Elliot get to the isle, the rocks start to surround them, but then Sedgewick arrives, having now swum across the ocean followed by the cheese curls. The rocks find the curls amusing and start to interact with them.

The pass opens and one of the rock-monsters helps them get through it. Within the hidden bay, they quickly find Robert's fortress, which is apparently unguarded, but a giant serpent attacks their ship. George and Sedgewick are terrified, but Elliot realizes the guardian is actually a mechanical device; when it "eats him," he is able to shut the machine down from inside and save his friends.

They rescue the prince and princess, with the help of Sedgewick's "labor-saving device," only to be stopped by Robert. Finding his self-respect at last, George uses a chandelier to knock Robert down. They escape through the fortress's cistern, with Robert in hot pursuit. Back in the bay, Robert's ship opens fire on the heroes, but the king shows up just in time, and Robert goes down with his ship.

The king gives them medals for their good work, reminding them heroes are not necessarily strong, handsome or dashing, but in fact anyone is right no how matter hard the situation. The Helpseeker returns them to the restaurant, just in time for the Friday night show, but Robert has stowed away on their trip back and attacks Sir Frederick, mistaking him for George; a final showdown with Robert sends him back to his own time. The audience cheers wildly, including their loved ones, and George's children respect him at last. Offered a second chance to be in the show, they refuse, saying life has plenty of adventure of its own... as the Helpseeker blinks once again.

Cast

Production

Phil Vischer completed the script for this film in 2002 (before Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was released). But because of the bankruptcy and buyout of Big Idea Productions, the film wasn't able to start production until late 2005.

The animation was done by Starz Animation in Canada in associates with Big Idea Productions in America.

Reception

On the critical response aggregation website Metacritic, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything received a score of 49/100 based on 13 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 39% rating based on 33 reviews.[1] The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes said, "This Veggietale should please the youngest crowds, but the silly script will tire the more discerning viewer." Despite the mixed reaction, users on the site were more favorable with a 62% rating. The film earned $12.7 million for Universal Studios out of an estimated $15 million budget.[2] The film was released on DVD on October 14, 2008.

The VeggieTales characters (left to right) of Mr. Lunt, Pa Grape, and Larry the Cucumber on the main stage at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers during the Celebrate Freedom 2007 concert on September 1, 2007 dressed in costume for the promotion of the film.

Songs

References

  1. ↑ "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie, Box Office, IMDb

External links

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