Animation Source Forums

Over the years of working for various different masters, it appears that the Minions worked for a pirate crew (maybe Redbeard?) at one point. While the movie or the junior novel doesn't suggest this, the merchandise does. This appearance of being pirates could simply be promoting the film, or be an idea that didn't make it into the film itself. Whatever the reason, it's too bad it wasn't apart of the film. But I guess that leaves wiggle room for fans to come up with their own ideas and creations.

If I were to imagine what may have happened to the Minions while they were pirates, I imagine them loosing the loot in the depths of the ocean by mistake.

Your thoughts?

Well there are a great deal of historical periods which were not covered in the movie (because of time constraints I am sure). The minions could have (and probably did) work for a number of history's most famous villains. And this latest suggests the notorious and vicious pirate Edward Teach, more famously known as "Blackbeard". lol

Of course, history is replete with other infamous pirates of the 1600s, 1700s and even the early 1800s. Those being:

William Kidd
Bartholomew Roberts
Anne Bonny
Mary Read
Henry "Long Ben" Every
Sir Henry Morgan
François L'Olonnais
William Dampier
Edward Low
Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy
Stede Bonnet
Edward England
Benjamin Hornigold
Thomas Tew
Charles Vane
John "Calico Jack" Rackham
Jean Lafitte

I came across a mini figure for the medieval times while I was working on the merchandise page, so that does backup your idea of them working for other villains.

James Purefoy, in what is arguably the best portrayal of Blackbeard I have ever (and most anyone else has ever) seen on television, even though there are a few historical errors (based on period accounts anyway) which would bug historical nuts like myself. But they are small details. This, from National Geographic's 2006 documentary-drama "Blackbeard: Terror at Sea":

It is interesting to note the extreme variety in historical flags of the most infamous of pirates of the so-called "Golden Age" (the late 1600s through the mid 1700s)--the era of Blackbeard and some other pirates. Here are a couple of links which show actual historical flags of the era...though many you might not recognize.

(Also note that pirates who preyed upon the Spanish gold and silver ships traveling "the Spanish Main", which was a sea course running from Central and South America, through the Caribbean, to Spain itself, generally didn't fly the kinds of flags seen here, and may have only flown, at most, red banners...the so-called "jolie rouge"...a name later changed in English to "jolly roger"...the name given to flags showing death symbols. Red banners simply meant that a vessel would be given no quarter.)



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_Roger



http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/Pirates/tp/Famous-Pirates-And-Their-Flags.htm

Cool. Maybe I can find the documentary on YouTube or something. lol

That might be difficult. I tried earlier. However, it is on DVD, and fairly easy to find either on Amazon or on National Geographic's website. And not expensive at all. Trust me, it's worth it. It's told from the perspective of (and narrated by) Israel Hands, a pirate who joined up with Blackbeard in his early days. (EDIT: I do have it on DVD myself. Not a wasted purchase for sure!)

Purefoy adds a delightful sinister nature and sound to Blackbeard's voice and personality.

I'll have to check my bank balance to see where it stands. lol But I'll add it to my wishlist on Amazon for now.

I was in Walmart today (yeah yeah, I know...lol), and briefly wandered into the toy department. Sure enough, I found Minions toys and figurines. And there were several pirate-themed ones of various sizes. lol (Some, of course, were mixed with other themes...)

Examples (there were others too):


http://minions-store.com/toys/minions-toys-pirate.html


http://www.walmart.com/ip/Minions-Deluxe-Figure-Build-A-Minion-Pirate-Cro-Minion/43389838

Was this your Walmart experience? :lol:


I've seen those "build a minion" before, though I've never seen any of the pirate theme. But I do have the McDonald's pirate figure. If you tap him on a hard surface or simply talk, he'll make noises.



This video (at 42 seconds) demonstrates the sounds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPqDgHJEhEQ

lol noooooot quite. But close.

They had a few different Minions products too.

By the by...I see nobody else has caught onto your little pun in the title of this thread. lol I did. But I figured I'd see if somebody else was going to take a shot at it.

Are you referring to the "pirate period?" I saw a poster with the title on it while I was looking for some pictures to post here. I only added the last bit myself.

Indeed. There's a minion amount of merchandise out there. XD

Noooo...lol. How you added "A lost treasure" on the end.

I just realized that I misread your post. lol My bad. I thought you meant someone else had used the title somewhere else.