The Pirates of Dark Water

Prince Ren, the son of the dying King Primus of Octopon, sails around the fantasy world of Mer on a ship called the Wraith, searching for the "Thirteen Treasures of Rule". The treasures are prophesied to save Octopon and Mer from the threat of Dark Water, an all-consuming black sentient liquid that has taken over the seas. His loyal crew of misfits that help Ren on his journey are the ecomancer Tula, a monkey-bird Niddler, and the treasure-hungry pirate Ioz. Ren's opponent in his quest is the pirate lord Bloth of the warship the Maelstrom, who will stop at nothing to get the treasures and control the Dark Water himself. ==Characters==

Heroes • Ren (voiced by George Newbern) – The prince of the once-grand kingdom of Octopon and the main protagonist of the series. Ren was raised by a lighthouse keeper on 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. • Niddler (voiced by Roddy McDowall in the miniseries, Frank Welker in the TV series) – A monkey-bird who once belonged to Bloth until he escaped by aiding Ren's escape from the pirate captain. He hails from the island of Pandawa. Niddler is usually depicted as a little greedy and constantly ravenous for food, his favorite food being minga melons, but he likes Ren and his ability to fly often comes in handy. • Tula (voiced by Jodi Benson) – Tula 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. Tula 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". • Ioz (voiced by Héctor Elizondo) – A rogue and pirate who 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. Recurring characters • Zoolie (voiced by Dick Gautier) – A jolly, redheaded rogue who runs a gamehouse in Janda-Town. • Teron (voiced by Dan O'Herlihy) – An ecomancer who sprouts roots from his body to replenish himself while away from his homeland, Andorus. 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 brings him back to Andorus to heal the island of the Dark Water. Teron also helps Tula adjust to her new powers as an ecomancer when they first manifest. Villains • Bloth (voiced by Brock Peters) – The pirate captain of the feared pirate ship Maelstrom and one of the primary antagonists of the series. Bloth is after the Thirteen Treasures of Rule to gain control of the Dark Water. He destroyed Primus's fleet seventeen 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. • Constrictus - A worm-like creature who lives in the bowels of the Maelstrom. Anyone who displeases Bloth gets thrown to the Constrictus. • Mantus (voiced by Peter Cullen) – Bloth's second-in-command with long limbs, hands, and feet and insectoid-like traits. He offers his cool and calculating personality as a battle strategist for Bloth's fleet. • Konk (voiced by Tim Curry) – A pirate who works for Bloth. He lost his right leg thanks to a close encounter with the Constrictus. For a long time, Konk was the only one to ever survive being thrown to the monster. 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 (voiced by Earl Boen and Frank Welker) – Two huge, dimwitted super-strong siblings who are members of Bloth's crew. • The Dark Dweller (voiced by Frank Welker) – One of the primary antagonists of the series. The Dark Dweller is a 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 evil master plan to swallow Mer in Dark Water. • Morpho (voiced by Neil Ross) – 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. Morpho was once an alchemist until he was captured by the Dark Dweller and transformed into a chimeric form resembling a variety of sea creatures. • Joat (voiced by Andre Stojka) – A pirate and the previous owner of the Wraith, which was stolen by Ioz. He uses his metal claw in place of his left hand mercilessly in battle. ==Ships==

• The Wraith – A swift, beautiful ship, originally owned by the pirate Joat, that Ioz steals for Ren from the Janda-Town docks. It has a unique, dynamic mainsail that rotates to slow the ship or act as a parachute. This mainsail can also be detached 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 is haunted or has a mind of its own. • The Maelstrom – Bloth's massive and deadly warship. It is built from the bleached carcasses of leviathans, and resembles a gargantuan floating fossil. Below the main deck sits a labyrinth of passageways, sewer lines, holding cells, and slaves' quarters. The dreaded Constrictus lives in the bowels of this death vessel. ==About 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 leviathans. The world has 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 world 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 lying in ruins until Ren collects the first seven treasures and it is partially restored. Octopon seems to have been centuries ahead of the current technological state of Mer, although it is probable that civilization is continually in decline due to the Dark Water oozing from the world's core. ==Episodes==

Series overview Miniseries (1991) Season 1 (1991) ABC reaired the miniseries from September 14, to October 12, 1991, before premiering new episodes. Season 2 (1992–93) ==Voice Cast==

• George Newbern as Ren • Jodi Benson as Tula • Earl Boen as Lugg Brother #1 • Peter Cullen as Mantus • Tim Curry as Konk • Héctor Elizondo as Ioz • Roddy McDowall as Niddler (miniseries version) • Brock Peters as Bloth • Frank Welker as Niddler, Lugg Brother #2, Kiroptus, Dark Dweller Additional voices • René Auberjonois • Michael Bell • Roscoe Lee Browne • Darlene Carr • Philip L. Clarke • Regis Cordic • Jim Cummings as Jargus (in "Break Up"), Skorian • Keene Curtis as Garen (in "The Collection") • Barry Dennen • Paul Eiding • Harlan Ellison • Richard Erdman • Robert Foxworth • Linda Gary • Dick Gautier as Zoolie • Ellen Geer • Dorian Harewood • Allan Lurie • Tress MacNeille as Queen Malu • Kenneth Mars • Nan Martin • Julie McWhirter • Candi Milo as Solia • Kate Mulgrew • Dan O'Herlihy as Teron • Jan Rabson • Peter Renaday • John Rhys-Davies • Neil Ross as Morpho • Stanley Ralph Ross • Michael Rye • Pepe Serna • Andre Stojka as Joat • Les Tremayne • Jessica Walter as Avalon • Paul Williams ==Production==

David Kirschner, the president and chief executive officer of Hanna-Barbera, created the series based on an idea he had when he was a child, inspired by "the works of Robert Louis Stevenson and the pictures of Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth". The original five-episode miniseries was "the most expensive animated project" Hanna-Barbera had taken on up to that time, with each half-hour episode costing US$500,000. Each half-hour episode consisted of 12,000 cels, double the number "of a typical Saturday morning cartoon series". Overseas animation studios • Fil-Cartoons, Inc., Manila, Philippines • Tama Production Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan (episodes 1–2, 5) • Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan (episode 3–4) • Mr. Big Cartoons, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (episode 3–4) Other studios • Madhouse, Inc., Tokyo, Japan • Big Star Enterprise, Inc., Seoul, South Korea • Kennedy Cartoons • Toronto, Ontario, Canada • Manila, Philippines ==Broadcast and release==

The show first premiered on Fox Kids in early 1991 as a five-part mini-series titled Dark Water. Following a number of animation tweaks and other changes by Hanna-Barbera, those episodes were rebroadcast later in 1991 as the first five episodes of the regular series. Notably, the original mini-series featured the voice of Roddy McDowall as Niddler, whereas in the revised version, the character was voiced by Frank Welker. The first season, consisting of 13 episodes, aired on ABC. The second season, consisting of the last 8 episodes, aired in first-run syndication as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. Home media The complete series was released on DVD on August 31, 2010. ==Reception==

The Pirates of Dark Water was reviewed favorably in The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide, which contrasted it with other cartoons from the same period, noting that it was "...serious, well-written, and had a certain amount of craft in its character animation and watercolor backgrounds." Collider called it one of the 14 greatest kids cartoons of the 1990s as well as a property worthy of resurrection. Screen Rant said the show "has a robust cult following to this day and was one of the best adventure shows of its era, with surprisingly strong writing and a beautifully designed world." ==In other media==

Comics 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. The toyline consisted of Ren, Niddler, Ioz, Zoolie, Bloth, Konk, Mantus, Joat, and the Wraith. Video games Pirates of Dark Water video games were released for the Super NES and Sega Genesis platforms, both published by Sunsoft. The Super NES version is a side-scrolling beat 'em up, co-developed by Japanese and American staff members, where players can choose to play as Ren, Tula or Ioz and proceed to fight Bloth's gang. Up to two players can play simultaneously. Each character has a life-draining Desperation Attack (spinning kick for Ren, ecomancer energy for Tula, and spinning punch for Ioz) and the ability to block – something not common in games of this genre. The Genesis version, developed by Iguana Entertainment, is a side scrolling platform game with role-playing elements. A Pirates of Dark Water role-playing game was released in 1994 but had a limited production run. Cartoon Network interstitials The show was parodied in one of a series of early interstitials on Cartoon Network. These commercials featured a "viewer's" question and Cartoon Network's comical take on the "answer". In Pirates' case, it was on the "unaired episodes". Cartoon Network claimed to have the episodes on tape and promised to air them, instead showing footage of a cat lapping milk, suggesting that someone taped over the only copy of what would have been the nonexistent episodes. ==Notes==