Shiver me timbers! Captain Pugwash returns

Watch out Jack Sparrow.

A new pirate film franchise may be challenging "Pirates of the Caribbean" and its mastery of the high seas.

Captain Pugwash, the cowardly leader of a band of portly privateers, is about to get the movie treatment.

A live-action film based on the cult children's 1950s books and subsequent television series by British illustrator John Ryan is in the pipeline, its producers said at the Cannes film festival.

Producer Elliot Jenkins said they hoped to repeat the success of Paddington Bear's move to the big screen.

"Just as 'Paddington' refreshed a much-loved British brand without losing its charm, we're going to do the same, albeit with a bit more of a mischievous indie spirit."

He said the film, which they hope will be the first in a franchise, turns on Pugwash's and the crew of The Black Pig's rivalry with his arch-enemy Cut-Throat Jake.

"We want everyone to leave the cinema with a big grin -- not least the parents, who we are going to target with a few gags that might fly over their kids' heads," Jenkins added.

Pugwash creator Ryan famously won a libel case against British newspapers for suggesting that Master Mates and other crew members' names contained hidden double entendres.

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