You don’t have to be a fan of the enormously popular manga/anime series starring a band of super-powered pirates to understand this largely self-contained feature film about their encounter with a gold-obsessed potentate/entertainer and his floating nation/party-zone. But you may need to be a fan to enjoy it. Everything but everything is inflated to the point of bursting — conversation, character, bodies, buildings, and oh yes, the big, bold, blatant message about gold: the way it arouses, blesses, controls, corrupts, deforms, destroys, and generally infects everyone it touches. Except, surprisingly, the diminutive daredevil whose principal goal in life is to become King of the Pirates. Sure, pirates have booty in their job description, but he’s more interested in having fun with his buds, eating well and copiously, and triumphing over impossible adversity through sheer willpower (and magic). The whole thing feels like an excellent example of its type, even if its type is adolescent fever dream. Directed by Hiroaki Miyamoto. (2016) — Matthew Lickona
This movie is not currently in theaters.