The Boy and the Pirates parents guide

The Boy and the Pirates Parent Guide

Overall B-

While wandering the beach near his home, Jimmy (Charles Herbert) finds a bottle washed ashore. Inside is a genie that grants the young boy his wish to be a pirate onboard the ship of the infamous Captain Blackbeard.

Release date April 13, 1960

Violence C+
Sexual Content A
Profanity A-
Substance Use C

Why is The Boy and the Pirates rated Not Rated? The MPAA rated The Boy and the Pirates Not Rated

Run Time: 82 minutes

Parent Movie Review

“Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it,” says the old adage. And those wise words are exceptionally true for Jimmy Warren (Charles Herbert), a sullen child who would rather be a pirate sailing the seven seas than stuck at home doing school work and chores. But he realizes the folly of his fancy when a genie in a bottle actually fulfills his request.

Magically appearing on board the Queen Ann’s Revenge some two hundred years in the past, the young boy quickly attracts the attention of the vessel’s captain Blackbeard (Murvyn Vye). Accused of being a stow-away, he is given the choice of walking the plank or swabbing the deck. Suddenly life as a cabin boy doesn’t seem all that different than life in 1960s suburbia—except back in Massachusetts he wasn’t subject to death threats.

He has another problem too. It seems the ever-so-congenial genie (Joseph Turkel) that granted his petition really had ulterior motives for being so benevolent. Trapped within his bottle for the last 2000 years, the miniature man knows the only permanent way out is to have someone else take his place. As few are likely to volunteer for such a trade, he cunningly blackmails Jimmy into the position by bestowing the wish. Now, the only way the unwilling victim can back out of the deal is by returning the genie and his bottle to the exact place they were found, within the next three days. This may prove difficult however, as the pirate ship is at full sail and headed in the opposite direction.

While Jimmy tries to formulate a plan to get the rum soaked, trigger happy Captain to make the necessary course correction, he is also caught in the current of the buccaneers regular attacks on other seafaring travelers, and witnesses sword fights, cannon fire, pistol shots, murders, and plundering. Among the stolen cargo is a female hostage about his age. After befriending the blonde girl (Susan Gordon), she becomes his accomplice in the attempt to turn the boat back towards their home shore.

Although the pirating activities are never gory, they are plentiful, with several on screen killings. The script does endeavor to lighten the mood by throwing in some humorous confusion over modern day inventions (such as matches and bubble gum), and creating a hero out of one of the crewmembers (Paul Guilfoyle). Nevertheless, just as Jimmy discovered, youngsters hungering for this kind of action may find they lose their appetite once a feast of fighting is placed before them.

Starring Charles Herbert, Susan Gordon, and Murvyn Vye. Running time: 82 minutes. Theatrical release April 13, 1960. Updated

The Boy and the Pirates
Rating & Content Info

Why is The Boy and the Pirates rated Not Rated? The Boy and the Pirates is rated Not Rated by the MPAA

After arguing with his parents, a young boy is magically transported back in time to join a group of seafaring pirates. Life onboard proves hard when various crewmembers utter death threats or try to make him share a secret by scaring him with a hot fire poker. During battles with other boats, men engage in hand-to-hand combat, sword fights (stabbings are depicted), pistols are shot (deaths are implied) and prisoners are taken. None of the violence includes blood or gore. Cannon fire sinks a ship. Some entrails are shown when a child tries to clean a fish. The pirates drink a lot of rum, especially the captain. Some name-calling and a joke about multiple wives are heard.

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The Boy and the Pirates Parents' Guide

The character of Blackbeard portrayed in this film is based on a real pirate. You can learn all about the scurvy scallywag at this webpage: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pirates/bbeard.html

Home Video

The most recent home video release of The Boy and the Pirates movie is June 26, 2006. Here are some details…

DVD Release Date: 27 June 2006

Packaged as a double feature, The Pirate and the Boy releases to DVD along with the title Crystalstone. The audio track is available in English, with subtitles in English Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.

Related home video titles:

Another wish granting genie wanting to be set free is found in the film Aladdin. A young boy finds himself at the mercy of a cunning pirate in the classic tale Treasure Island. Child actor Charles Herbert (who plays Jimmy) also starred in another ship story, a romantic adventure called Houseboat.

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