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The Auctioneer was a pirate who operated in the Caribbean in the 18th century. A man of business, the Auctioneer ran various auctions where he would attempt to sell groups of wenches as brides. He was known to have resided on Shipwreck Island around the time of Jack Sparrow's quest to reclaim the Black Pearl.
Biography[]
Early life[]
- "And now, ya bilge rats, do I hear six? Who makes it six?"
"Six it be. Six bottles of rum!"
"I'm not spongin' for rum. It be gold I'm after!" - ―Auctioneer and a drunk pirate
Not much is known about the Auctioneer's early life, but it is known that he took a life of piracy. He spent several years as a pirate in the Caribbean, using Shipwreck Island as his base of operations. He joined many pirate expeditions against the Spanish settlements in the New World.[2] The Auctioneer had a head for business, and he started selling stolen goods to pirates of Shipwreck City. It's possible that he even established trade routes between Shipwreck Island and distant Spanish colonies like Peru.[3]
Isla Tesoro[]
- "Weigh anchor now, ya swabbies. What be I offered for this winsome wench? Stout 'arted and corn fed she be..."
"Hey, are you selling her by the pound?"
"Shift yer cargo, dearie, show 'em your larboard side." - ―Auctioneer and a drunk pirate
The Auctioneer with a winsome wench.
One day, the Auctioneer joined the pirate crew of the Wicked Wench and participated in the Pirate Captain's raid on Isla Tesoro. After the battle, he was selling women exclusively taken from Puerto Dorado. The Auctioneer and his two assistants set up the auction near a canteen called "La Cantina", which directly overlooked the waterfront. The auction itself took place in front of the "Mercado". During the auction, the Auctioneer presented a "winsome wench" until a group of drunken pirates chanted that they wanted the "redhead". As the Auctioneer's group of potential clients became more rowdy, one of his assistants fired a warning shot to keep them at bay. When offered six bottles of rum for a bride, the Auctioneer loudly proclaimed that he would accept only gold. When the "Red Head" began to show her leg seductively to the on-looking crowd of excited pirates, the Auctioneer demanded she cover herself up saying; "Strike your colors you brazen wench! No need to expose your superstructure!"[2]
Shipwreck Cove[]
Jack Sparrow[]
- "No! Don't you see? This is all the doing of one man! Jack Sparrow!"
- ―Auctioneer
The Auctioneer would soon transport his operations into Shipwreck Cove. At some point during his time there, he met with Captain Jack Sparrow, who offered him two wenches that he could sale fair and square: Scarlett and Giselle. And so the Auctioneer planned to auction the two unsuspecting wenches on the very night where both wenches believed they were to marry Jack Sparrow.[3]
The Auctioneer at Shipwreck Cove.
The Auction[]
As the wenches Scarlett and Giselle realized they were both deceived, the Auctioneer entered the room and began the auction to a group of pirates. He started with Giselle, giving her a flower bouquet, with the bid of 20 pieces of silver. The Marquis D'Avis and some others, including a drunk pirate named Gregor, would bid for Scarlett, whom they would refer to as the "redhead". Seeing that Scarlett was a very profitable venture, with the bid having gone up to forty, the Auctioneer took the flower bouquet from Giselle and gave it to Scarlett.
Throughout the auction, the bidding went from forty to fifty and sixty. Scarlett and Giselle would bicker throughout the bid, over who was worth more in the auction, eventually to a point where they start fighting each other. The Auctioneer stared in horror as the two wenches fought, fearing that he wouldn't get the profit from them. He was corrected, however, as the Marquis D'avis began the bid anew by bidding 200 for the pair. With the bid going to his favor, the Auctioneer offered Scarlett and Giselle as a great deal.[3]
- "Wildcats! I bid 200 for the pair!"
"Two-twenty-five!"
"Offering them as a lot!" - ―The Marquis D'Avis, a pirate and the Auctioneer
As the two wenches continued to fight, the bidding went higher. By the time the bid went up to 400, a group of pirates, led by Atencio, formed a corporation. As the bid went over 600, a pirate named Nigel bidded his goat, which caused Atencio to insert a goat in his bid. The bidding would conclude with the Marquis D'avis making the final bid with seven hundred and two goats, which the Auctioneer gladly accepted.[3]
After the Auction[]
- "No one owns me."
"We're not property."
"Are they for sale or not?"
[Pirates pointed their weapons at the Auctioneer]
"Wait! Lower your cannons! I traded for them fair and square, meaning I can do as I like, including resell at profit. It says so right over here in the hallowed Pirate Code!"
"Aye, the Code be the law as always. And woe to anyone who shows it any disrespect." - ―Scarlett, Giselle, the Marquis D'Avis, the Auctioneer, and Mungard
The Auctioneer shortly before quoting the Pirate Code.
As Scarlett and Giselle expressed their happiness for being rich and having goats, the Auctioneer corrected them by saying he has the goats as he shackled the two wenches together, stating that he owned them in a fair one-hundred percentage. Then an argument began, pirates and wenches alike, on if Scarlett and Giselle were for sale or not. The Auctioneer stated that he traded them fair and square, quoting what was in the Pirate Code, after which Mungard reminded the group of pirates that the Code was the law.[3]
The Auctioneer threatened by Mungard.
- "You're gonna pay for that!"
"No! Wait! Sold to the man with the goat!"
"I only borrowed the goat!"
"Buyer's remorse! They're still yours!" - ―Mungard, Auctioneer, Nigel and Marquis D'Avis
As all the pirates wondered what would happen next, Giselle asked the Auctioneer if he owned the stocking that she wore or a song she might sing, in which he confirmed undoubtedly. It was then that Giselle gave Mungard a hard slap on the face, which then caused a stir between the group of pirates. An angry Mungard vowed that the Auctioneer would pay and then pointed his pistol at the Auctioneer. Fearing for his life, the Auctioneer began a toss of the key to Scarlett and Giselle's shackles, with the holder whom Mungard would point his pistol at. The key would go from Nigel to Atencio and then the Marquis D'avis, who then tossed the key to the Auctioneer, who was once again threatened by Mungard.
The Auctioneer holding the Code.
In this confusion, Gregor accidentally fired his pistol, ricocheting his pistol into the air; thereby causing another stir. The crowd gasped as Mungard turned around with his pistols. The Auctioneer, holding the Code on him, stated that this madness was the doing of Jack Sparrow. Hearing the name Sparrow, Mungard turned around asking where as his pistol fired; in which the bullet hit the Code. The Auctioneer, still holding the Code, fell backwards to the ground. Everyone, including Mungard, stared in shock of what just happened.[3]
A dazed Auctioneer being helped up.
The pirates whisper among themselves about Mungard shooting the Code, in which one of them saying that Captain Teague would have his head. Mungard then ordered the Auctioneer to be taken out of here. A group of men, including the Auctioneer's assistant, helped get the Code off of a dazed Auctioneer, who blabbered about a shipment of Peruvian llamas. Mungard then ordered the Code to be locked up and warned the crowd of pirates that if any of them speak a word of what occurred, that he would have their tongues.[3] His further fate is unknown.
Personality and traits[]
The Auctioneer
In his life of auctioneering, the Auctioneer had a head for business as he started selling stolen goods at some point in his pirate career. He also had great respect for the Pirate Code, as it provided him the leverage in his sells.[3]
Equipment and skills[]
The Auctioneer wore a long blue frock coat with an undershirt that was decorated with frill. His ginger hair was always seen held back by a red bandanna. The Auctioneer had worn two different hats in his life: a large black bicorne with a jolly roger[2] and a feathered blue tricorn.[3] On his hands were three rings. Like many other pirates, the Auctioneer possessed a sword on his belt.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
The Auctioneer in the Disneyland ride.
- "That's probably the biggest misconception about Pirates. Blaine Gibson told me point blank that not one pirate is based on a specific person, including Walt Disney and Sid Caesar. I know the pirate you're referring to, and he does bear some resemblance to Sid, but that wasn't a conscious thing on Blaine's part. The Auctioneer is in fact inspired by an actual person, a WED architect at the time of the show's development, but Blaine would like to keep that person's identity anonymous. But even the Auctioneer isn't a "direct lift" of that person's appearance."
- ―Jason Surrell
- The Auctioneer first appeared in Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, where he was voiced by Paul Frees.[2] Archived audio of Frees's line "Shift yer cargo, dearie, show 'em your larboard side" was featured in the featured film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.[4] John Vickery portrayed the Auctioneer in the short film Tales of the Code: Wedlocked.[3]
- The Auctioneer is one of the most advanced animatronic figures in the ride, being updated whenever new advances in the technology come along.[citation needed]
- The "auction" scene in which women are offered for sale by the Auctioneer has remained largely intact since the attraction opened, though the "Take A Wench For A Bride" banner comes and goes with some refurbishments.[citation needed]
- There was a popular fan theory that the Imagineers themselves used their own facial features for the pirates. When asked if there was any truth to the rumors, Jason Surrell debunked them, according to Blaine Gibson's part. Though Surrell said that the Auctioneer was inspired by a WED architect at the time of the ride's development, whose identity was kept anonymous, but even the Auctioneer wasn't a "direct lift" of that person's appearance.[5]
- "I will start the bidding at one pieces of eight - and with this one I’ll throw in a goat."
- ―Auctioneer
- The Auctioneer was featured in Jeff Nathanson's 2013 early draft of the Dead Men Tell No Tales script. He would have led a wench auction in Coronation Bay, selling the imprisoned Carina Smyth to a vicious looking pirate who offered twenty pieces of eight against Jack Sparrow's ten.[6]
Appearances[]
- Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean (First appearance)
- Disney Parks Presents: Pirates of the Caribbean
- Pirates of the Caribbean (Little Golden Book)
- Tales of the Code: Wedlocked
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Voice only)
- Virtual Magic Kingdom (Non-canonical appearance)
- Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
- Disneyland: From the Pirates of the Caribbean to the World of Tomorrow
- Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Estimation based on John Vickery's age during the filming of Tales of the Code: Wedlocked, and the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides takes place in 1750, several years after the events of Wedlocked.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Pirates of the Caribbean (ride)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Tales of the Code: Wedlocked
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- ↑ Jason Surrell - Dead Men... TELL NO TALES! - TellNoTales.com - Archived
- ↑ Dead Men Tell No Tales script by Jeff Nathanson, second draft, 5/6/2013