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Kristy McNichol, Christopher Atkins, Ted Hamilton, Bill Kerr, Maggie Kirkpatrick ... see more see more... , Garry McDonald , Paul Graham , Chris Hession , Catherine Lynch , Kjell Nilsson , Roger Ward , Kate Ferguson , Ian Mortimer , Kurt Schneider , Chuck McKinney , Marc Colombani

An introverted girl who yearns for popularity (Kristy McNichol) attends a pirate festival in her seaside community, featuring a swordplay demo led by a curly haired hunk (Christopher Atkins). After se... read more read more...lecting Mabel (McNichol) to participate in the act, the instructor invites her aboard his boat for a real ride on the high seas -- at which point a gaggle of her catty acquaintances latches on for the trip. Sent to get hamburgers for the outing, Mabel is "accidentally" left behind when one of her "friends" pulls the anchor prematurely. Determined not only to fit in, but to track down her dream guy, Mabel steers a tiny sailboat into stormy waters in pursuit, and gets shipwrecked. Thus begins a fantasy in which the unconscious Mabel imagines herself in a real pirate adventure, complete with her dashing pirate hero, a legion of his crusty shipmates, and dozens of unwed sisters who must rise to the altar before she can. The fantasy mixes film parodies, love songs, animation, and the score of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance. The story also loosely follows the structure of said operetta. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Flixster Users

67% liked it

9,842 ratings

Critics

9% liked it

11 critics

PG, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Ken Annakin

Release Date: August 6, 1982

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DVD Release Date: March 22, 2005

Stats: 728 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (728)

  • ajv2688
    January 12, 2011
    ajv2688
    A fun musical comedy based on a play, and it's also a teen movie, I really enjoyed it.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    February 12, 2010
    YosemiteSamFan
    It surpasses Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean on the fun-scale!
    I'm fond of this great 80's teen pop movie with singing and dancing pirates, girls and policemen. It's cheesy, but good-spirited and fun.
    Favorite Scene: When Mabel (Kristy McNichol) demands that everybody have a "H... read moreappy Ending".
  • rezpatriot
    April 11, 2009
    rezpatriot
    Pretty cute pirate of penzance comedy musical. The jokes are really bad and so is everything else, i don't even know if your kids will like this. Actually I don't know of anyone who would like this but I did watch it all and didn't complain so it can't be too bad.
  • Beefy
    February 21, 2007
    Beefy
    Should be indefensible, but the music is relentlessly catchy. Fun on a no-brainer level.
  • deano
    November 13, 2006
    deano
    Worst Aussie musical film - bloody bored and dumb.
  • randallangela1
    March 27, 2009
    randallangela1
    I've never before seen Pirates of Penzance in such an 80s light. Scary, yet compelling.
  • moviefan1725
    July 13, 2008
    moviefan1725
    Talk about a guilty pleasure. This hormonally charge update of The Pirates Of Penzance stars 80's teen idold Kristy McNichol and Christopher Atkins. The movie was made in 1982. Pirate movies were not profitable then, nor were musicals. So whoever gave this production the green li... read moreght, probably didn't have a job too long after that. Atkins plays a pirate who wants to give up that life, and McNichol is the object of his affection. However Atkins is pursued by The Pirate King and his crew. When they find him, McNichol, her sisters, her father The Major General, and an squad of Keystone Cops..well...music ensues. Sound like a disaster? Of course it is. But it's one you can't turn away from. It's brightly shot, and the locations are beautiful. The whole movie is lighthearted, and doesn't even attempt to take itself seriously. The acting is what it is, and given the nature of the movie, it works well enough. The leads are likeable, and while they have no real romantic chemistry, they keep you involved in the movie. Plus I have to admit a MAD 80's crush on Kristy McNichol. Ted Hamilton, on the other hand, is a riot as the Pirate King. Then there's the music. For and 80's musical, it's really pretty good. Atkins even scored a top 40 hit with "How Can I Live Without Her?". It's a broad comedy with as many hit laughs, as misses. But any movie that manages to parody both Star Wars AND Indiana Jones, is a winner in my book. The movie is several levels of cheese...the writing, directing, acting...all grade A cheese. That's why I like it so much.
  • Doctor0Quinzel
    May 7, 2007
    Doctor0Quinzel
    Worst musical I ever sat through..
  • helwigs
    June 2, 2009
    helwigs
    I really don't know what I was expecting but I'm not sure that I was expecting that. It was really funny and some of the musical numbers were as well but others seemed to be really lame. I liked the spoof quality it had with the Star Wars random reforence. It has some very intere... read moresting jokes in it too.
  • RuthieGreenGirl
    April 12, 2009
    RuthieGreenGirl
    It was....interesting. DEFINITELY 80's though. Kristy has a mullet, and Christopher still has Blue Lagoon hair. Kinda wierd take on Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.

View All The Pirate Movie Reviews

Critic Reviews

James Sanford
August 30, 2005
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette

lurches from almost-unwatchable to so-awful-it's-fascinating. Next to this, even such notorious '80s epics as 'Grease 2' and 'Xanadu' look like high-class affairs. Full Review

David Nusair
July 6, 2005
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

Atkins and McNichol are cute and engaging, but that's hardly enough to allow the viewer to overlook the various atrocities on display. Full Review

David Cornelius
March 22, 2005
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com

Christopher Atkins is in it. I rest my case. Full Review

Janet Maslin
August 30, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Jake Euker
February 25, 2007
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

Emanuel Levy
July 9, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

James Plath
March 12, 2005
James Plath, Reel.com

No review available.

Jonathan R. Perry
March 8, 2005
Jonathan R. Perry, Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

No review available.

Frank Swietek
March 18, 2004
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion

No review available.

Carol Cling
October 3, 2003
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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The Pirate Movie Trivia

  • Which movie finds it's young stars wrapped up together in the skull and crossbones on the video cover?  Answer »
  • In which movie to Fredrick and Mabel, fight circumstance class and not to mention pirates, to be together?  Answer »
  • In what 80's movie did a group of Kids go underneath a resturant in search of gold and ended up finding a pirate ship and jewels?  Answer »
  • Who plays the Pirate King in The Pirate Movie, which co-stars Christopher Atkins and Christie McNichol?  Answer »
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