Tales of the Black Freighter

RELEASED 24 Mar 20090h 26m★ 6.6 TMDB

A mariner survives an attack from the dreaded pirates of the Black Freighter, but his struggle to return home to warn it has a horrific cost.

WATCH NOTE

2009 direct-to-video animated short adapting the pirate comic within Watchmen. Released separately on March 24, 2009, packaged with the distinct live-action Under the Hood and other supplements; this entry covers only the 26-minute short. Watchmen (2009) provides optional context. Its Ultimate Cut incorporates this animation, so watching both repeats the pirate story. No earlier DC adaptation is required. Animated Elseworlds collects separate continuities. Gerard Butler voices the Sea Captain, Jared Harris voices Ridley, Lori Tritel voices the Captain's wife and Siobhan Flynn voices his daughter. Official DC character-profile matches and complete supporting/silent appearance coverage remain unresolved.

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Where it fits in the DC universe

Tales of the Black Freighter is title 5 of 114 in our Animated Elseworlds viewing sequence. Tales of the Black Freighter adapts the pirate comic within Watchmen as a separate animated short. The 2009 Watchmen film offers optional context, but its theatrical version does not include this story. The Ultimate Cut incorporates the animation, so watching the short again after that cut repeats the same material.

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