The Pirates of Dark Water
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pirates of Dark Water is a fantasy animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Entertainment in the early 1990s. Using a detailed, realistic form of animation, it followed a group of adventurers on a quest to collect the Thirteen Treasures of Rule, which possessed the combined power to stop an evil substance known as "Dark Water" from consuming the alien world of Mer.
Due to expensive production costs and failing to meet the airdates, the series was never completed, ending abruptly after 21 episodes with only eight of the thirteen Treasures collected.
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[edit] Characters
The heroes of the story, described by the show's introductory narrative as an "unlikely but loyal crew of misfits," have different backgrounds and are driven by different motives, as do the villains, and they often find themselves working at cross-purposes.
[edit] Heroes
- Ren (voiced by George Newbern): The prince of the once-grand kingdom of Octopon and the main protagonist, Ren was raised by a lighthouse keeper in the outskirts of his homeland, unaware of his destiny and heritage. He wields the broken sword that belonged to his father in its whole form. By the beginning of the second season, he freed one half of the planet from the Dark Water.
- Niddler: A monkey-bird who once belonged to Bloth, until he escaped by aiding Ren's own escape from the pirate lord. He hails from the island of Pandawa. He is usually depicted as a little greedy and constantly ravenous for food, his favourite food being minga melons, but he likes Ren, and his ability to fly often comes in handy. In the original 5-part miniseries "Dark Water", Niddler was voiced by Roddy McDowall. Once subsequent episodes began to be produced and the show was renamed "The Pirates of Dark Water", Niddler's voice was re-dubbed with the voice of Frank Welker.
- Tula: She is an ecomancer with the ability to control the elements and biological life, both sentient and non-sentient, as well as a natural affinity towards nature and animals. She is headstrong and often flusters Ioz. She is introduced as being a simple barmaid, but she stows aboard Ren and Ioz's ship, claiming she "wanted to get away from the drudgery of life on land." It's soon revealed that she's a character with many secrets.
- Ioz: A rogue and pirate, he joins up with Ren initially for the promise of treasure. Throughout the seasons, his character matures and he becomes fond of Ren and his idealism, evolving into a protective brotherly figure to him and often risking his life for Ren and the quest for the Treasures. However, he still continues his attempts at getting rich quickly but is mostly unsuccessful.
- Zoolie: A jolly, redheaded rogue who runs a gamehouse in Janda-Town. He and Ioz crewed together on Bloth's ship, the Maelstrom. Though not a main character, he does make recurring appearances, by offering advice and assisting Ren and his friends whenever they make port in Janda-Town.
- The Wraith: A swift, beautiful ship, originally owned by the pirate Joat, that Ioz commandeers for Ren from the Janda-Town docks. It has a unique, dynamic mainsail that rotates to slow the ship or act as a parachute, and this mainsail can be attached to become a large glider. The Series Bible written during the initial production of the show says that the Wraith was built with lumber from mystical trees on a remote island, and that the lumber still retains the life-force of those trees, making the ship seem as if it's haunted or has a mind of its own. The Series Bible also describes a series of mysterious carvings in the decking that Ren and his friends are unable to decipher, which seem to describe the secrets of the ship. However, this was not integrated into the show or the comic books.
- Teron is a supreme ecomancer who sprouts roots from his body in order to replenish himself from a portable supply of native soil when he is away from his homeland, Andorus. He is first seen in the series as a prisoner on Bloth's ship, and Bloth uses his power for evil, in turn exhausting the local environment and its positive life-energy. Tula has great respect for him as an ecomancer, and she was sent on a mission to bring him back to Andorus to heal the Dark Water-ravaged island.
- Roulette is a merman-like creature, who leads the heroes to the Lo-ac flower, Mer's most powerful panacea, on the island of Myragon, in order to use its nectar to kill a beast who stands between them and the Fourth Treasure of Rule. He initially appears obnoxious and ungrateful. Later, it is learned he once had wings before being biologically transmuted against his will and being trapped in the fishbowl on a stick he currently lives in. Ren is able to use the Lo-ac flower to transform Roulette back to his original state, and he assists them in obtaining the Treasure without hurting the beast guarding it.
[edit] Villains
- Bloth: The ox-sized, humanoid captain of the feared pirate ship Maelstrom, he is after the Thirteen Treasures of Rule. He destroyed Primus's fleet 17 years prior to the timeline of the show, and captured Primus and his aide Avagon, though the seven captains accompanying Primus were able to escape with the Treasures. Bloth has since been hunting them obsessively, and destroying every remnant of the House of Primus just as obsessively, including killing every heir to the throne of Octopon that he could find and ravaging and pillaging the ailing city. He held Primus captive for 17 years before the old man escaped back to Octopon and to Ren. Upon learning that Primus has a son, he transferred his fanatical hatred of Primus to Ren, and began to hunt the boy across the twenty seas of Mer, in order to capture the Treasures, and to kill Ren and the house of Primus. In the second season, he makes an uncertain and untrusting alliance with Morpho, a major agent of the Dark Dweller.
- Mantus: Bloth's second-in-command. He offers his cool and calculating personality as a battle strategist for Bloth's fleet.
- Konk: A short, fat pirate who works for Bloth, he lost his leg thanks to a close encounter with his master's ferocious pet, the Constrictus, and for a long time was the only one to ever survive being thrown to the Constrictus. Although not particularly smart, Konk possesses more bluster than most of Bloth's crew and is always trying to win Bloth's praise.
- The Lugg Brothers: Two huge, dimwitted siblings who are members of Bloth's crew. They try to assist Konk, but their stupidity makes them more of a hindrance than anything. They only make appearances as main characters in the first 5 episodes of the show.
- The Dark Dweller: The powerful, evil creature that created the Dark Water. He had the Treasures originally scattered because their power is the only thing capable of opposing him and his mission to swallow Mer in Dark Water.
- Morpho: A servant of the Dark Dweller and the leader of his worshippers, the Dark Disciples. He joins forces with Bloth and serves as the above-water liaison for the Dark Dweller, so that they can aid each other in their mutual goal of killing Ren and his friends, though they have two very different goals for the Compass and Treasures. He was an alchemist who was doing research on the Dark Water when the Dark Dweller captured him and transformed him so that he was no longer fully human, making him into an eternal servant. He possesses a tentacle in place of one arm, and half his body has been reshaped into something inhuman. He refers to himself as a creature of two worlds, Ren's and the Dark Dweller's.
[edit] Mer
Mer is a world very different from Earth, with a variety of its own creatures with varying degrees of intelligence, such as the monkey-bird and the leviathan. Much of the planet's surface is water, comprising Mer's twenty seas, and most of the crew's stops are made at islands. Parts of Mer are continually in flux, like a river of spiked rocks that rises out of the ocean in the first episode and appears to defy physics (none of the characters are bewildered by the spectacle aside from its danger, but whether this is the Dark Water's doing or just the nature of the geologically hyperactive planet is unknown).
Octopon was once the greatest city on Mer, referred to as "the jewel in the crown of Mer" by Ioz in episode 14, though it lies in ruin until Ren collects the first seven Treasures. It is then partially restored. Octopon seems to have been centuries ahead of the current technological state of Mer, although it is probable that civilization is countinually in decline due to the Dark Water oozing from the planet's surface.
[edit] Merian Species
Monkey-birds: Niddler's species. They are winged monkeys with beaks. On Mobo Island, there is a race of monkeybirds who only possess the stumps of their wings, due to their wing growth being stunted by the stecca fog surrounding their island. They all, or at least the monkeybirds on Pandawa, consider the monkeybird Queen of Pandawa to be "The Mother To Us All." It is not known whether she is their biological mother or not.
Dagron: An obvious play on "dragon", they are actually wyverns (flying dragons with no front appendages), but with front paws on their wings. In episode 16, the characters are on an island known as Dagron Island, but the dagrons native to this island have become extinct due to a humanoid known as the Dagron Master hunting and selling them. This Dagron Master uses a magic hide to transform unfortunate sailors into dagrons to sell to pirates such as Bloth.
Leviathans: Large serpentine sea monsters, similar to Terran mythology. Their skin can withstand Dark Water and they are thus hunted by people who want to make diving suits out of their skins (The Little Leviathan). They can grow to unknown size and most in the show are only medium class. It has been suggested that Bloth's ship is made from Leviathan bones, but the skull of the ship does not resemble those of the leviathan.
The Constrictus: A "Horror-Beast" that Bloth feeds his disloyal crew and captives to. Ren is one of only two to survive the Constrictus, the other being the peg-legged pirate Konk. It appears as a giant four-headed, worm-like, sharp-toothed monster. It lives in the bowels of the Maelstrom and is seen nowhere else on Mer.
The Dark Water: Has various sentient qualities and seems acidic in nature, though it has only been seen as having the properties of tar and swallowing its prey whole. It has been known to lunge out at ships and people, as well as engulf entire islands. The show also reveals a master of the Dark Water, the Dark Dweller, who seems to be composed of Dark Water himself, though he is more materialized as an entity.
The Atani: A tribe of albino dwellers who protect themselves from having to go out into the sunlight by living in a labyrinthian world. They are friends of Primus, but very distrustful of the outside world.
Mutants, Aliens, or Humanoid Species: Many of the pirates and citizens of various towns are seemingly non-human. One in particular resembles a hammerhead shark. Bloth may not be human either. This may be Mer's take on race.
The Game Players: Small creatures resembling elves and frogs, with either great technology or god-like powers. Only two are featured in the show, and they ensnare Bloth and Ren into a game, thus forcing the enemies to cooperate to ensure their survival.
The Eighth Treasure: The eighth Treasure of Rule has evolved into a small, dinosaur-like infant known as the margar. This is presumed to be from the imbalance in the world from the growing Dark Water. Since this is the last treasure discovered, it is unknown if the remaining five have also morphed or if the treasures themselves are all alive. Many more are said to exist.
[edit] Episodes
- The Quest
- Dishonor
- Break Up
- Betrayal
- Victory
- Andorus
- A Drop of Darkness
- The Beast and the Bell
- Panacea
- King Niddler
- The Collection
- The Little Leviathan
- The Darkdweller
- The Dark Disciples
- The Ghost Pirates
- The Dagron Master
- The Game Players of Undaar
- The Pandawa Plague
- Sister of the Sword
- The Soul Stealer
- The Living Treasure
[edit] The Thirteen Treasures and Their Locations
The Compass: Given to Ren by Alomar, a lizardlike creature, and the spiritual attendant of Ren's father Primus, both of whom have been guarding it in the Abbey of Galdebar (TV) or the Abbey of the Gallows (comics), to locate the treasures.
It is presumed the first seven Treasures are those hidden by Primus's loyal seven servants, the captains who accompanied him on his original quest, as many references are made to them having hidden them. Teron, supreme ecomancer of Andorus, openly admits to having hid the Third Treasure of Rule, and Avagon, the devoted aide of Primus, was witness to Primus giving the Treasures to the captains to prevent them from falling into Bloth's hands.
The First Treasure: At the top of a rocky tower on the far side of the Dragon's Maw, a narrow pass with high waterfalls on either side, in an area of Mer that's particularly prone to much geological activity. The Compass reacts particularly strongly to this Treasure.
The Second Treasure: Located in Pandawa, home of the monkeybirds. It was part of the crown of the monkeybird Queen, which had been hidden under the house of the ruthless slaver Jargis once he assumed control and transformed the island into a slave colony. Once Ren and Niddler helped spark the monkeybirds to revolt against the slavers and retake Pandawa, the crown was uncovered. Upon hearing of Ren's quest for the Treasures, the Queen gives Ren the Treasure as a token of gratitude.
The Third Treasure: Underneath the island of Andorus, hidden by the supreme ecomancer Teron, who placed a spell on it so that only a member of the House of Primus traveling alone would be able to find it. It's also guarded by a spirit of disease and pestilence known as the Blight that the ecomancers had banished there, but which was revived by the Dark Water when it ravaged Andorus.
The Fourth Treasure: The specific location is unknown, but Ren had to dive underwater for an extended period of time in order to retrieve it.
The Fifth Treasure: On the island of Miragon, at the top of a mountain guarded by a monstrous wormlike crab, the gallquin.
The Sixth Treasure: In a cave at the top of Mobo Mountain, the tallest mountain on Mobo Island. The entire island is surrounded by stecca fog, a type of highly corrosive fog, and this fog wraps around the mountain as well. Also guarding the Treasure is the Ferrix, a monstrous creature that breathes this stecca fog the way a dragon breathes fire. Once the Treasure is retrieved, it dissolves the stecca fog. Additionally, through sorcery, it's revealed that the Ferrix was a normal ferret placed under a spell.
The Seventh Treasure: Found near some Dark Water vents on the ocean floor.
"Non-Primal" Treasures
The Eighth Treasure: A purple, dinosaur-like baby. It has evolved or mutated. (Episode 21)
The Lost Treasures: Treasures nine to thirteen are not found within the show. However, fan speculation believes they may also be similarly transformed like the eighth treasure. This is supported by some dialogue by Jenna in the fourteenth episode, and by closing lines by Tula in the twenty-first episode. Some fans also speculate that the Thirteenth Treasure could be the Compass or Ren, but this is unsupported by the show.
The Dark Treasure: It is also speculated there may be Dark Treasures of Rule or that they can be corrupted.
[edit] Other media
In November 1991, Marvel Comics produced a comic book series based on the show. Originally intended as a six-part limited series, it was extended to nine issues to include a three part original story.
A series of action figures based on the characters from the show was also produced.
Pirates of Dark Water video games were also released for various consoles, the two most common being the Super-Nintendo and Sega Genesis systems. These were two completely different games.
[edit] Trivia
PoDW was made fun at in one of a series of early "joke" commercials on Cartoon Network. These commercials featured a "viewer's" question & CN's comical take on the "answer". In Pirates' case, it was on the "unaired episodes", CN claims to have the episodes on tape & to air them right there, but instead, they show footage of a kitten lapping milk, as to give the idea that someone taped over what would be the nonexsistant episodes.
[edit] Credits
- Executive Producers: David Kirschner, William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
- Co Executive Producers: Jack Petrick, Paul Sabella, Mark Young
- Created by: David Kirschner
- Producers: John Dorman, Ted Turner
- Written by: Lane Raichert, Mark Young, Kelly Ward
- Additional Dialogue by: Jim Woodring
- Creative Designer: Iwao Takamoto
- Supervising Director: Ray Patterson
- Director: Don Lusk
- Animation Directors: Joanna Romersa, Masaru Tonokouchi, Allen Wilzbach, Kiyotaka Kantake, Joan Drake, Katsuhisa Yamada, Robert Alvarez, Takaya Noda, Shinich Yoshikawa
- Production Designer: Floro Dery
- Storyboard Artists: Jim Woodring, Keith Tucker, Adrian Gonzales, Gil Kane, Tim Burgard, Lane Raichert, Alfredo Alcala
- Recording Director: Gordon Hunt
- Animation Casting Director: Kris Zimmerman
- Talent Coordinator: Jamie Thomason
- Music: Tom Chase, Steve Rucker
- Director of Music Production: Bodie Chandler
- Graphics: Iraj Paran, Tom Wogatzke
- Graphics Assistant: Parviz Parandoush
- Design Supervisor: Scott Jeralds
- Character Design: Tim Burgard
- Design Assistants: Barbara Krueger, Mario Williams, Dana Granger, Viki Kirch, Scott Hill, Eric Clark
- Layout Supervision: Takashi Saijo
- Animation Supervisors: Frank Andrina, Shinich Yoshikawa, Takuya Noda
- Background Supervisor: Al Gmuer
- Animation: Toshi Mizumura, Marie Mascarina, Hiroaki Kawuguchi, Achin So, Akira Watanabe, Wincat Alcala, Yoshinori Kanamori, Jess Espanola, Romy Garcia, Luis Dimaranan
- Background Key Artists: Craig Robertson, Andrew Phillipson, Joe Binggeli, James Hegedus, Eric Heschong
- Background Key Design: Gerald Forton, Gil Kane, Carol Lundberg, Herb Hazelton, Lew Ott
- Xerography: Star Wirth
- Ink & Paint Supervisor: Alison Leopold
- Color Stylist: Karen Greslie
- Production Coordinator: Vicki Casper
- Animation Checking Supervisor: Jan Adams
- Animation Checking: Howard Schwartz
- Production Assistants: Tori Pollock, Sandy Benenati, Debby Lathrop, Shannon Fallis-Kane, Margot McDonough, Nancy Grimaldi, Rosalinda Moore, Olivia Knighton
- Program Administrator: Barbara Simon Dierks
- Supervising Film Editors: Terry W. Moore, Larry C. Cowan
- Editors: Gil Iverson, Tim Iverson, Michele Douglas
- Music Editors: Cecil E. Broughton, Robert S. Birchard
- Sound Editing: Sound Off Studios
- Sound Direction: Alvy Dorman, Stan Wetzel
- Track Readers: Jim Hearn, Kay Douglas, Carol Iverson, Kerry Iverson, Denise Whitfield
- Negative Consultant: William E. DeBoer Jr.
- Produced in Association: Fil-Cartoons, Inc., Tama Production Co. Ltd
- Production Supervisors: Jerry Smith, Kunio Shimamura
- Executive in Charge of Production: Jayne Barbera
- Executive in Charge for Turner: Vivian Schiller
- International Production Executive: Paul Sabella
[edit] External links
- Andorus's Pirates of Dark Water Page
- Petition to release Pirates of Dark Water on DVD
- The Pirates of Dark Water at the Internet Movie Database
- The Pirates of Dark Water at TV.com
- Action Figure Archive - Pirates of Darkwater action figure guide, message boards and online store.
