The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! passenger Charles Darwin. Darwin recognises the crew's pet Polly as the last living dodo, and recommends they enter it in the Scientist of the Year competition at the Royal Society of London for a valuable prize. Secretly, Darwin plans on stealing Polly himself with the help of his trained chimpanzee, Mr. Bobo, as to impress his love interest Queen Victoria. The pirates disguise themselves as scientists to enter the competition, and the dodo display wins the top prize, which turns out to be minuscule trinkets and a meeting with the Queen. The Pirate Captain hides Polly before the meeting. There,
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists sensible Victorian Lady who becomes an invaluable member of the crew, Charles Darwin as their helper and the mean Queen Victoria who is the villainess. The book introduces many themes and devices that are revisited throughout the series, including the Pirate Captain's bizarre behaviour and ridiculous schemes; the pirates' love of ham, and in particular the Pirate Captain's prize honey-glazed ham; the relationship between the Pirate Captain and his crew; and the use of footnotes to introduce historical and scientific facts relevant to the narrative. Aardman Animations in cooperation with Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation has adapted the book