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Helmsman (skeleton)

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For other uses, see Helmsman (disambiguation)
"I'm gonna teach it to the whole crew.
We'll sing it all the time!"
This article covers material from Disney Parks attractions around the world, including Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.
Therefore, the factual accuracy of this article or section is disputed.
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"The Caribbean abounds with gales and hurricanes. Aye, and a ghost ship is said to sail these waters, with her skeleton helmsman forever lashed to her cursed wheel. It is said that she can be seen sometimes in the light of flashing lightning, when the wind is screaming like the Devil himself was after Davy Jones."
―Unknown[src]

This man was a pirate that eventually served as the skeletal helmsman of a ghost ship which was wrecked within Dead Man's Cove.

Biography[]

"What terror lurks in the mind o' stout 'arted seamen...battling the angry seas?"
―Unknown[src]

At some point during the Golden Age of Piracy, this man was part of a pirate crew that sailed the Caribbean in search of a cursed treasure hidden in the subterranean grotto of Dead Man's Cove. When they came near Isla Tesoro, their ship was wrecked on the rocks, a ghost ship sailing a storm-tossed lagoon, Hurricane Lagoon. Brilliant flashes of lightning illuminate the pirate's ghastly skeleton remained at the helm of the wrecked ghost ship, clutching the ship's wheel, dead set on steering his vessel into any port in this particular storm. The tattered remains of his uniform flail in the howling wind as the skeletal steersman weathers the worst of the storm on his eternal voyage in this haunted realm that recalled the struggles pirates endured on the open seas..[4][6]

Gallery[]

Behind the scenes[]

The ghastly skeleton clutching the ship's wheel first appeared in Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.[2][1][3][4] By 2006, the toy figure of the skeleton helmsman was released under the name "Helmsman".[citation needed] Jason Surrell's book Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies refers to the character as the "skeletal steersman" and the "ghost ship's skeletal captain" along with unused narration recorded for the ride identified the Helmsman's wrecked ship as the Royal Fortune.[7][4]

By November 2002, the skeleton clutching the ship's wheel in a storm served as the teaser poster for the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.[8][9][10]

When Marc Davis and Walt Disney originally designed Pirates of the Caribbean as a walk-in attraction, they considered putting in it a skeletal helmsman named Jolly Roger.[11] About 40 years later, the name was given to Jolly Roger, the main villain of Pirates of the Caribbean Online, who was said to be based on the "disembodied skull that talks" who narrates the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park attraction.[12]

The video game adaptation of the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End features "The Stormy Ship", an area in Davy Jones' Locker where an unnamed helmsman steers his wrecked ship for all eternity, thinking he's caught in a storm even though he's stranded in the middle of the desert. When Jack Sparrow takes the wheel the helmsman disappears.[13]

In Terry Rossio's original 2012 screenplay draft for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, there is a grinning skeletal pirate hanging onto the wheel of a sunken brigantine, the Abyss, with the movement of the undersea tides causing him to sway back and forth.[14] This was meant to be an homage to the ride, with the subtle implication that the skeleton was either alive, or perhaps only seemingly so.[15]

The scene from the original Disney ride was redesigned in the 2016 attraction Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure at Shanghai Disneyland, where the skeleton magically transforms into Jack Sparrow.[16] By July 2017, Hector Barbossa was added to the Disneyland Paris version of the ride, standing close to the skeletal helmsman.[citation needed]

The 1972 Dead Man's Raft zap/action model kit was probably inspired by the Helmsman's role in the ride.[citation needed]

On the 50th aniversary of the Pirates ride, Disney released a mug with the Helmsman on top.[citation needed]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Story of the Robust Adventure in Disneyland and Walt Disney World
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Sound Track of the Fabulous Adventure
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Disneyland: From the Pirates of the Caribbean to the World of Tomorrow
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies
  5. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean action figures
  6. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean | Rides & Attractions | Disneyland Park | Disneyland Resort
  7. ↑ Ghostly Voices by Paul Frees
  8. ↑ ::CineMovies:: Première image de "The Pirates of the Caribbean" en exclu!! - Archived
  9. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean Teaser Image! - Coming Soon! - Latest News - Archived
  10. ↑ FilmForce: Dead Men Tell No Tales - Archived
  11. ↑ Marc Davis – Disney Legend
  12. ↑ Sail the Virtual Seas as a Pirate Bold - Archived
  13. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
  14. ↑ Wordplayer.com: WORDPLAY/Archives/Screenplay - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES by Terry Rossio
  15. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Men Tell No Tales - Annotations - Terry Rossio - 8/14/12 - Page 3
  16. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure
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