Pirates Of Dark Water should not be confused with the Pirates Of The Caribbean movie. Rather this was a brilliant cartoon that was well animated with excellently designed characters and an interesting plot. Ren is a young man in search of the 13 treasures of Rule, with the help of a magical crystal in the form of a compass and his fellow companions, Loz, Tula and Niddler, a monkeybird. However, they also have to contend with a one-eyed pirate named Sloth and his henchmen: they of whom are also after the thirteen treasures.
It has a very 'exotic'/ eastern look and feel to it, the concept is original and imaginative and the story lines are intriguing. Pirates of Dark water was a combination of swashbuckling, high- sea action adventure with a bit of fantasy and sci-fi thrown in the mix as well. And from an animation company famous for producing cutesy cartoon shows such as Hucklebery Hound, Yogi Bear and The Flintstones to name but many, this is impressive stuff.
The episodes are aired in the form of a continuation from one segment to another, as we join along and follow the antics of Ren, Loz, Tula and Nibbler in their quest for the treasures, and to prevent the dark water from getting to them and thus cause further havoc and destruction. Sadly however, we never got to see the completion of the attainment of the 13 treasures of Rule because the show was eventually cancelled in the end. This is very disappointing and thus, this particular issue and theme which was running throughout the series, was never resolved. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic cartoon full of intrigue, mystery and shall I add culture all mixed in and of which really worked well. Pirates of Dark Water was great fun, not to mention it was one of the best 90s cartoons around at the time. Great job Hanna Barberra I'd say!
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