Lego Pirate Misadventures is a YouTube brickfilm series following the misadventures of a group of Lego Pirates, which typically have little to do with actual piracy. Created in 2007 by Dorf-Gannon & Mayhem, the series currently encompasses four proper episodes, as well as a "cop-out" which has little to do with the rest of the series. Much of its humor is derived from a mixture of character comedy, absurdism, parody and the general misfortune of the hapless cast.
The plot follows Pirate Crew 8934-15; a mismatched bunch led by the overconfident, loopy and incompetent Captain, who is far more concerned with his image as a pirate rather than his actual qualifications. Trying to keep Captain's antics in check is his put-upon first mate Patch, though the plot demands that his efforts usually end up being all for naught. Rounding out the team are the off-kilter Blue and the reality challenged Commodore, whose primary purposes in life seems to be to accidentally make life harder for the whole crew.
The series can be viewed here
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The series as a whole contains examples of:
- Animation Bump: The animation gets noticeably better in between episodes, most prominently between 2 & 3.
- Arson, Murder, and Admiration: The pirates unexpectedly stumble across Davy Jones' bedroom (after having been fired by him earlier in the episode). Davy Jones thinks they must have been coming to kill him in his sleep.Davy Jones: That's the piratiest thing I've ever head of!
- Beware the Nice Ones: Commodore is the height of politeness and has done the fewest violent things out of anyone in the series. He can also snap your mind like a twig.
- Big Bad: One in each episode; Darth Vader in 1, Johnny Paperhats in 2, Davy Jones in 3 and the Prison Warden in 4.
- Call-Back: Johnny Paperhats, who appears in 2, gets mentioned in 3. He also cameos in 4.
- Crapsack World: Implied in 3 and the Cop-out, as pirates operate in public, have an entire academy dedicated to learning the trade, have a hit TV show called "Torture Time with Mr. Cuddles" where they broadcast people being tortured to death, and are ruled by a guild filled with obstructive bureaucrats. Also, people get gunned down in public a lot, often for little or no reason.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Blue. Hoo-boy, Blue.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The series can draw some, at times, uncomfortable parallels with reality.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Captain isn't terribly proud of any part of his name, Isaiah Jameson Clarabell Puddykins Gunnelsworth III. Likewise, Commodore has an embarrassing set of initials, Terrence Bags. This leads into...
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Captain, Commodore and Patch all have real names, but are only ever addressed by their ranks and nickname, respectively.
- Built with LEGO: A given, really.
- General Failure: Captain appears doomed to fail any time he tries anything remotely nautical.
- Hammerspace: People regularly pull guns, and in one case, a spear, out of nowhere.
- Minion with an F in Evil: The main cast, who, despite being pirates, can't really seem to get the whole 'scourge of the seas' thing going. This is actually the driving force behind the plot of 3.
- Mundane Fantastic: The main characters are pirates who dress in the style of 18th-century swashbucklers, and are often involved in efforts to loot treasure and pillage the seas. They also live in a crappy apartment, need tradesmen licenses and attend an office party in a stereotypical cube farm.
- No Fourth Wall: The characters are perfectly aware that they're in a film series, to the point of using the camera's presence to predict when things are about to occur, or use previous episodes to determine how things are going to turn out.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Occasionally happens to Commodore, as he seems to oscillate between Aussie and Londoner.
- A Pirate 400 Years Too Late
- Self-Deprecation: Dragons Den seems very fond of taking shots at themselves. For example, Mayhem asserting that he's responsible for "Backseat Driving" in 4.
- Shout-Out: Tons, especially in the later episodes. Mayhem and Dorf Gannon are huge film geeks by their own admission.
- Suddenly Shouting: Captain, to compliment his Hair-Trigger Temper.Captain: Yeah, but a pirate business party, should maybe be taking place, I dunno, in a cave or something, like on an island. Not, y'know, IN AN OFFICE BUILDING!!
- Treasure Map: The acquisition of a "legendary" one initiates the plot of #2.
- Villain Protagonist: Well, they ARE pirates. It's in the job description.
