Nappaland's MovieBlog

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THE PIRATES WHO DON'T DO ANYTHING: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE (G)

Plot Summary: Three wannabe pirates travel back in time to save a prince and princess from their evil uncle.

Reason for the Rating: N/A.

Is anyone else out there just your normal, average Joe? Not exceedingly athletic, artistic, or overtly talented? If so, this is a movie you will appreciate, and what’s even better, is that it’s a movie you can see with your kids.

The movie begins sometime in the 1700’s on a ship that is under attack by pirates. While Prince Alexander (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) is captured by his evil uncle, Robert the Terrible (voice of Cam Clarke), his sister, Princess Eloise (voiced by Laura Gerow) uses a mechanical ball to send for help.

In the present day, Elliot (Larry the Cucumber), Sedgewick (Mr. Lunt), and George (Pa Grape) all work for a dinner theater that puts on a play about pirates. While they see themselves as one day actually being part of the cast, possibly even the captain, for now they are cabin boys, otherwise known as bus boys.

One night while cleaning up, a blind man (okay, a blind green onion) appears and gives them some sort of prophecy, which the three take as an indication it’s time they should try out for a part in the play. While their hearts are in it, belief in themselves is not. Sedgewick doesn’t think he can climb the ropes, and Elliot ends up smashing the dragon. It ends in disaster, and the three lose their jobs as lowly cabin boys. While bemoaning their fate, Elliot finds the mechanical ball, sent by Eloise hundreds of years prior, and these three “pirates who don’t do anything” are sent on an adventure that will change their lives.

The ball takes them back to the 1700’s, to the ship where Eloise and her butler, Willory (Archibald), are waiting for a hero to come to the rescue. Willory is skeptical of the three heroes, but Eloise is thrilled, and believes they can save Alexander from the evil Robert. While this task seems overwhelming to Elliot and Sedgewick, George comes into his own. Tired of letting his kids down, he’d rather fail at trying than return to his family without trying at all. It is his desperation and determination that keep the three pirates seeking the end to their adventure.

Unlike other VeggieTales movies and DVD releases, this movie is not blatantly Christian, but is rather a parable about who God is, how much he loves his children, and the battle between good and evil that wages every day. The King is away on a trip, and his children don’t know when he will return (sound familiar?), but they are confident in his love for them and believe he will return soon to free them from Robert the Terrible (who has been banned from the kingdom and spends his time thinking up all kinds of evil plots to capture the kingdom). What a wonderful story to explain God the Father, his love for us, and the hope we have for the future, not only to our children, but to anyone who loves a good story.

The only problem with The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything is that it’s not the best we’ve seen from Big Idea Productions. The storyline is interesting enough and the songs are fun, but the silliness factor is missing. There wasn’t much laughter in the audience, and sometimes the dialogue was just too long. For instance the prophecy told at the beginning is impossible to understand, much less remember, as is the clue found in the cave. Which takes away audience participation and anticipation.

MOVIEBLOG RECOMMENDS:

Despite the drawbacks, The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything is a movie the whole family will enjoy, and it will provide an opportunity to have important conversations about God and what we can do when we believe in even the smallest talent he has given us.

AFTER THE SHOW: 

• What was your favorite part of the movie?

• Elliot, Sedgewick, and George learned that they can do more than they imagined. What is something you would like to try, but have been afraid to?

• How is God like the King? Explain.

JW

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