The wizards of stop-motion mirth at Britain's Aardman Animations have significantly stepped up their art, craft, & storytelling style in The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists. Commonly known as Claymation (though the elaborately rendered miniature sets & figures are constructed with high-tech Plasticine), the process involves painstaking manipulation of physical forms to create the smooth movements & clever nuance of character that made Aardman famous with their iconic Wallace & Gromit shorts & the features Chicken Run & Flushed Away.