Donkey

This article is about the animal. You may be looking for the musical theme "Donkey".

A donkey in John Brown's blacksmith shop.

"There is no donkey!"
"Then how do you breed them?"

―Carina Smyth and Cremble

A donkey is a domesticated animal, similar to a horse. It was domesticated in Africa, and has been used mainly as a working animal since that time. While working donkeys are often associated with those living at or below subsistence, small numbers of donkeys were kept for breeding or as pets in developed countries.

History

In the 1720s, a donkey was kept in the Port Royal smithy owned by John Brown. Brown's blacksmith apprentice, Will Turner, became particularly attached to the creature, always stroking its neck as he arrived at work. As the infamous pirate Captain Jack Sparrow hid from Commodore James Norrington's British Royal Navy forces in the smithy, trying to break the manacles in his hands, he noticed the donkey attached to machinery above. Sparrow used a metal crowbar dipped in hot water to burn the donkey's back, causing it to move forward along with the machinery, allowing the pirate to use the machine to break his chains. Will arrived shortly afterwards, calming the donkey down before discovering the pirate in the smithy. As a sword fight ensued between Sparrow and Turner, the donkey fled upon witnessing Will pulling out a hot cutlass. The donkey remained in the smithy one year later, when Lord Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company arrived to Port Royal, as one of Beckett's officers and group of Company soldiers broke down the door of the smithy and passed the donkey to arrest Will Turner.

Around the time of Beckett and the Company's occupation in Port Royal, a smuggler named Montanari owned a donkey in his business in bustling town.

During the quest for the Trident of Poseidon in 1751, Carina Smyth mentioned to Jack Sparrow's crew aboard the Dying Gull that she was an astronomer, with the pirate Scrum assuming that she bred donkeys. When Carina correctly stated that this was untrue and that an astronomer contemplated the stars, Scrum replied that this was done on a donkey, and the pirate Cremble asked how she would breed donkeys if there were none. Later on, when the pirates seemed to be getting nowhere in their search, Scrum blamed it on Carina for "forgetting the donkey".

When the Dying Gull crew were arrested by the British crew aboard the Essex, led by Lieutenant John Scarfield, the pirates were kept in the brig next to a donkey in another cell. Although the pirates escaped the Essex, the donkey was still aboard when the Essex came under attack by the Silent Mary, a cursed ghost ship captained by Armando Salazar. The donkey was then killed when the Mary crushed the Essex, blowing the ship up and sending its remains to the depths of the sea.

Behind the scenes

• Donkeys first appeared in Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. In the ride, three pirate musicians sing "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" as a dog and a donkey bark and bray backup respectively. The donkey is also among the fifty-five animals that appear in the ride.
• The donkey in John Brown's blacksmith shop was portrayed by Rosie in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
• A donkey was unlockable as a rideable creature in LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, unlocked after completing the "Port Royal" level.

Appearances

• Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean (First appearance)
• Climb Aboard if you Dare!: Stories from the Pirates of the Caribbean
• Jack Sparrow: City of Gold
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End video game
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
• Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life (Non-canonical appearance)

Source

• Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies (First identified as donkey)