Out of the thousands of cornball,stupid,and just plain boring cartoons that came out of the 1990's,the short-lived animated series "The Pirates of Dark Water" stood out from all the rest. This was a grand series that was part "Star Wars",part "Thundarr The Barbarian",and part of all of those Errol Flynn swashbuckling films that came out of the 1940's. "The Pirates of Dark Water" was unique in its own special way,and it basically stood out from all of the other cartoons that were all over the place during the 1990's. It's concept was fairly unique. It tells the story of a young man who was the son of a lighthouse keeper who rescues a stranger foundering in the rocks near his home,and finds out that the man he'd rescued,was an aide to his true father, a great king. The stranger gives the young man(whose name is Ren)a magical compass crystal that will guided him to a dragon who will showed him that to claim his heritage is to find the Thirteen Treasures of Rule. Trouble ensues when a pirate ship captained by the evil Bloth is also aware of the treasure and will go to the ends of the earth,relentlessly pursing Ren for it and to claim the treasures for himself. With the help of his companions to aide him on his quest included Ioz,Tula,and Niddler(a monkeybird),Ren and his crew will stop at nothing to find the thirteen treasures,and to stay one step ahead of Bloth and his evil crew. The quest becomes more urgent with Ren learns that the Dark Water,which is carnivorous form of water that consumes anything it snares which is know to envelope and destroy his world. Only the treasures that Ren seeks can stop it,and any costs before it causes complete chaos throughout.About this show...the series first premiered as a five-part mini series titled "Dark Water",that aired on the FOX Kids Network from February 25,1991 through March 1, 1991. In the mini-series,which was the first five episodes of the regular series,and most notably during its first season,the original mini-series featured the voice of Roddy McDowell as Niddler,whereas the revised version the character was voiced by Hanna-Barbera regular Frank Welker(for all 21 episodes)which was dubbed onto the original five episodes that later ended up on ABC's Saturday Morning schedule. Originally shown first on FOX,"The Pirates of Dark Water" mini-series ran in the after school time slot on a Monday and ended the following Friday. The series was part of the FOX Kids grand lineup of some of the greatest animated shows ever;right up there with "Batman:The Animated Series","Animaniacs!",and "Peter Pan and the Pirates" that were put of FOX Kids' schedule during the 1990's.Only season 1 of the series contained the original five episodes,that were also part of ABC's Saturday Morning schedule(that ran during part of the 1991-1992 season,and again in repeats),while Season 2(which ended up in syndication) had 13 episodes that aired from October 12,1991 until December 7, 1991. Its third and final season(which was also shown in first-run syndication) finished with 8 episodes from November 8, 1992 until May 23, 1993. A total of 21 episodes were made during the production. The last telecast ended on May 23,1993. The episodes of the series were aired in the continuation from one segment to another(most of them ended with a cliffhanger until next week)as we join the antics and high adventure escapades of Ren,Tula,and Ioz as they go up against Bloth and his band of evil men in search for the lost treasures each week with great stories and brilliant animation. Simply amazing.This series was produced by Hanna-Barbera,who were known for their work with "Yogi Bear","The Flintstones",and "Scooby-Doo",just to name a few. The reason why "The Pirates of Dark Water" didn't last very long. For one it was a expensive show to produce,and due to production costs,and failing to meet the airdates,the series was never completed due to low ratings,which still had a great premise. The series ended abruptly after 21 episodes with only eight of the thirteen treasures collected. The led to the end of a great television show that became one of the best cartoons to ever come out of the 1990's. One of the reasons why "Pirates of Dark Water" became successful during its run came from its creator and producer David Kirschner along with Mark Young,Glenn Leopold,and Paul Sabella,who served as executive producer for this series along with a lot of Hanna Barbera shows that came around during the 1990's and early 2000's. Responsible for not this series,but were the producers behind "Swat Kats:The Radical Squadron","The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest", and "Dexter's Laboratory" to name a few.

Just to clarify a few things...What became "The Pirates of Dark Water" originally aired as the mini-series "Dark Water". It lasted one week and ran in the after-school slot on Fox starting on a Monday and finishing on the following Friday. This was during what I like to call "the golden era" of Fox. (The Simpsons, In Living Color, etc.) Anyway, here on IMDb it credits Roddy McDowall as the voice of Niddler for all 21 episodes of the series. This isn't correct. He was actually the voice of Niddler for the original mini-series and NOT for the ensuing series. His voice, in my opinion, was way cooler than that contributed by Frank Welker. (Sorry Frank) Welker's whinier version of the Niddler voice was dubbed onto the five original episodes when it was released for Saturday morning television. A lot of people didn't come to know the series until its Saturday morning incarnation and, therefore, never had the pleasure of hearing McDowall's Niddler. I remember being extremely disappointed watching the series and hearing a different, less cultivated voice. It really changed the character completely. Unfortunately, none of the uploads that I've encountered on the internet are of the original mini-series. Also, as of January 2009, it seems that the great fan site piratesofdarkwater.net is now regrettably defunct.

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!

Out of the thousands of cornball, stupid and just plain boring 'cartoons' this one stood out. Great characters with imaginative backgrounds and entertaining stories. Unfortunately, the show's main plot was never resolved because it was cancelled. Most likely because there weren't any toys sold for it. :S Fortunately I happen to have the complete series "film" on videotape... :D If you ever get the chance to watch this somewhere (hopefully Cartoon Network will rerun and better yet- CONTINUE this series) please do! Enjoy!