The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! is showing at Harbour Lights Picturehouse in Ocean Village, with screenings running from 14 August through to 15 November 2026. It's an Aardman animation, the same studio behind Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run, and it's based on Gideon Defoe's funny novel of the same name.

The story follows an inept pirate captain who's determined to win the Pirate of the Year competition. Along the way, his scurvy crew accidentally picks up a young Charles Darwin, and in the process, they inadvertently shape the course of his career. It's an action-packed run, and Queen Victoria pops up too, played by Imelda Staunton.

The voice cast is one of those lists that just keeps going. Brendan Gleeson leads as the captain, with Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Anton Yelchin, Martin Freeman, Brian Blessed, Russell Tovey, David Tennant, Ashley Jensen, Lenny Henry and Jeremy Piven all lending their voices. It's directed by Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt, and it runs for 88 minutes. It's rated U, so it works for all ages.

Because it's running for several months, you've got plenty of time to fit it in. It's playing at the Harbour Lights Picturehouse in Ocean Village, Southampton, from 14 August to 15 November 2026.