Postman Pat
  and the
  Pirate Treasure    (2004)
  
   producers:  Cosgrove Hall Films
                      for Entertainment Rights
   animation:  stop-motion animation
      run time:  25mins

 
    "Avast ye landlubbers, we're going to have a visitor!"
 

    Postman Pat's son Julian and his best pal Meera are playing pirates around
    the garden, and battling through Mum's borders in the process. It's the Greendale
    Flower Show today and they're squishing her flowers, why don't they look
    for buried treasure instead?

    Just then, Pat arrives with a postcard and some exciting news. Cousin Matt's
    coming over from America - today!

    As if on cue, Polly the cat turns up, with Matt himself close behind.
    Matt could pass for Pat's twin brother, except he has a goatee and moustache 
    and he's dressed up as a sailor. And Polly is the spitting image of Jess, only
    she wears a pink collar and has fluttering blue eyes. Oh, but she's not Matt's
    cat. She's a ship's cat and she comes with the vessel he's hired.

    Matt takes Pat, Julian and Meera and Jess and Polly to investigate his big
    blue boat, and they bump into Reverend Timms. He recalls Matt as a little boy,
    and his memories of him are tied in to the mysterious disappearance of the
    Greendale Cup - the first prize trophy at the Flower Shows of olde. It
    disappeared long ago, and nobody knows what happened to it, but the
    flower show has never been quite the same without it...

    Matt knows, though. He took it as a lad, and buried it on an island for a
    treasure hunt game. But a bout of chicken pox prevented him from reclaiming
    it, and he moved to America soon after. So that's why he's back now,
    with a boat and his old map, so they can track down some real treasure
    after all!

     

    At last! - Here's a Postman Pat special that does indeed feel "special". 
    On DVD the film has a 16:9 ratio so that it certainly looks the part.
    And from the word go, there's a rousing piratical score to accompany
    the action. There's also an extra vitality to proceedings, and the characters
    engage and interact beautifully. That's not to run down the preceedings
    films. It's just that this one has an extra sprinkle of magic dust. Perhaps
    it's the jaunty theme and its scenic locations inspiring the animators?

    The new Postman Pat specials always have a selection of magic moments
    and details. Here you're spoilt for choice. The kids wear terrific home-made
    pirate gear throughout the film. Matt reflects on his mischievious past by
    way of a grainy, sepia interlude in which we see a young Reverend Timms
    and Mrs Goggins. The final hornpipe dance is a delight too. Oh, and look
    at baby Nikhil in his pushchair, with his adorable knitted bunny...

    The best moment of all? - It has to be the coy exchange between Dr Gilbertson
    and PC Selby. Selby's testing the mic before the Flower Show when the good
    Doctor persuades him to sing for her. It's a treat!
    
    As Matt and Pat and kids search for their treasure we keep returning to
    Charlie and the Pottage twins, helping the Greendale folk find their own
    lost treasure with the aid of Charlie's metal detector. We also watch as the
    Flower Show is set up, and the judging begins. Needless to say, our
    island plunderers return - trophy in hand - just in time to award the
    Grand Prize, and it's all wrapped up with a good old-fashioned
    pirate jig...

 

    Here be treasure!

     So you want to find the Greendale Cup? - First you have to hire
     a big blue boat, and sail her to a nameless island. Once there:

     » Find the big tree in the middle of the island. It's marked with
         a letter M (for Matt)...

     » Let Cousin Matt take 30 paces in the direction of the fallen log
         that looks like a crocodile...

     » Start digging. And keep digging until you realise that Matt's
         big pacing has lead you to the wrong spot...

     » Go back to the tree with the M and let young Julian measure
         out 30 paces in the direction of the fallen log that looks like 
         a crocodile...

     » Start digging. And keep digging until you strike a buried chest.
         Therein lies your prize!
        
 

    Trophy Time

     » The award for Most Artistic Floral Arrangement goes to Sarah Clifton.

     » Reverend Timms wins the top prize for Best All-round Display,
         thanks to his wonderful roses!

 

    Singalong-a-Simon

     Simon Woodgate has written all the songs and music for Pat's
     new series and he's at his very best here, with a brash piratical score.
     And there's a new song too. "Sailing on a Pirate Ship" plays as the
     gang set sail on Matt's boat. Meera takes the helm and nudges the
     boat against the riverbank. They use a telescope to spy on PC Selby,
     who crashes his bike whilst waving to Dr Gilbertson. Pat steps in a
     bucket and he and Matt take a tumble on their just-swabbed deck.
     Then Pat is tied up with rope and they all dance a hornpipe....

    "We're sailing on a pirate ship
     When we say Yo-Ho-Ho!"

            - Sailing on a Pirate Ship by Simon Woodgate

 

    Greendale Glitches

    This perfect little film has no glitches, no ommissions, no stopped
    clocks or continuity errors...

    Well, none have been found thus far!
    
 

    Broadcast info

    Unlike the other three specials, "Postman Pat and the Pirate Treasure"
    had its tv premiere prior to its home video launch.

    The film aired on BBC2 on September 20th 2004, and it was
    subsequently released on DVD/VHS six months later, 7th March 2005.

 

    based on the original series written by John Cunliffe

    based upon the original television series
    designed and produced by Ivor Wood