''Pirate's Passage'' is a 2015 Canadian

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

based on the 2006 children's book of the same name by William Gilkerson. It premiered on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

on 4 January 2015.

Plot

The story is set in 1952 in the fictional community of Grey Rocks,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, where 12-year-old Jim faces bullying at school. His widowed mother runs a local inn, which is facing a takeover by a wealthy family. Sea captain Charles Johnson appears to assist Jim and his mother through their struggles. However, Johnson appears to be a pirate who supposedly died two centuries ago. The story is based on William Gilkerson's book ''Pirate's Passage'', which won the 2006

Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature The Governor General's Award for English-language children's writing is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a children's book written in English. It is one of four children's book awards among the Governor Ge ...

Voice Cast

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

Captain Charles Johnson Captain Charles Johnson was the British author of the 1724 book ''A General History of the Pyrates, A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'', whose identity remains a mystery. No record exists of a captain b ...

Gage Munroe Gage Munroe (born January 4, 1999) is a Canadian actor. He has performed roles on television programs like '' Stoked'', ''Murdoch Mysteries'', '' Mr Moon'', ''Falling Skies'', and ''Alphas'', and has appeared in films like the 2008 Canadian drama ...

as Jim Hawkins *

Carrie-Anne Moss Carrie-Anne Moss (born August 21, 1967) is a Canadian actress. After early roles on television, she rose to international prominence for her role of Trinity in ''The Matrix'' series (1999–present). She has starred in '' Memento'' (2000), for ...

as Kerstin Hawkins *

Megan Follows Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows ( ; born March 14, 1968) is a Canadian actress and director. She is known for her role as Anne Shirley in the 1985 Canadian television miniseries ''Anne of Green Gables'' and its two sequels. From 2013 to 2017 ...

as Meg O’Leary *

Kim Coates Kim Frederick Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and in th ...

as Roy Moehner *

Colm Feore Colm Joseph Feore (; born August 22, 1958) is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries '' Trudeau'' (2002), his portrayal of ...

as Corporal Robin Hawkins *

Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (July 12, 1930 – February 25, 2023) was a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He was known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', ''The Rowdyman'', ''John and the Missus'', ''A Gift ...

as Harry Freelove, The Barber *

Paul Gross Paul Michael Gross (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian actor, film and television director, screenwriter, playwright, and producer. He rose to fame for his lead role as RCMP Constable Benton Fraser on the popular Canadian television series '' ...

John Rackham John Rackham (hanged 18 November 1720), perhaps known as Calico Jack, was a pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and Jamaica during the early 18th century. Rackham was active in 1720, towards the end of the "Golden Age of Piracy". He is mos ...

Rossif Sutherland Rossif Sutherland (; born Rossif Racette-Sutherland; September 25, 1978) is a Canadian actor, son of actor Donald Sutherland, brother of actors Angus Sutherland, Roeg Sutherland, and half-brother of actor Kiefer Sutherland. He has appeared in ...

as Klaus Moehner * Terry Haig as Mr. Herkes

Production

''Pirate's Passage'' was produced and written by Sutherland and Brad Peyton through Sutherland's production company Martin's River Ink and the studios of

PiP Animation Services PiP Animation Services Inc. is a Canadian full-service animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario. Its most notable work includes the PBS Kids series ''Cyberchase'' and ''The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!''. A Puffin serves as their masco ...

. Tandem Communications distributes the film outside of Canada.

References

External links

*
''Pirate's Passage'' at Tandem Communications
{{Brad Peyton 2015 television films 2015 films 2015 animated films 2015 adventure films 2010s animated television specials 2010s Canadian animated films 2010s English-language films Animated adventure films Animated films based on novels Animated films based on children's books Animated films set in the 1950s Animated films set in Canada Canadian adventure television films Canadian children's adventure films Canadian children's animated films Canadian animated television films CBC Television original films English-language Canadian films Films based on Canadian novels Films scored by Andrew Lockington Films set in 1952 Films set in Nova Scotia Flash animated films Pirate films Television films based on books English-language adventure films