History Franchise / CaptainSabertooth

** ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Completely averted. While plunderings and boardings usually take place off-stage, and are most often talked about rather than shown, they definitely do happen. The animated movie is a rare example where we get to see the pirates attacking another ship, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kQgiTV9Fkg though with a cheerful song and a bit of comical bumbling.]]

* {{Expy}}: Happy Jack, the replacement cook and ultimate antagonist from ''Captain Sabertooth and Gory Gabriel's Treasure'' is a slightly toned-down, less complex [[Literature/TreasureIsland Long John Silver]]. To really drive home the point, his Norwegian voice-actor in the animated movie is the same guy who played the cyborg Long John Silver in the Norwegian dub of ''Disney/TreasurePlanet.''

Most often the real main character of the Captain Sabertooth stories isn't the Captain himself, but his youngest crew member, cabin boy Tiny ("Pinky" in Norwegian and in some translations, like in the 2014 movie), an orphan brought up by the pirates, and who more than anything wants to prove himself as tough and ruthless as them -- though as early as the first play, ''The Treasure in Luna Bay,'' he ends up a DefectorFromDecadence and siding with the victims instead of the pirates.

Other important characters are the [[HypercompetentSidekick competent]] and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure polite]] first mate Longfinger, the [[FatIdiot fat and bumbling]] twins Wally and Wimp, the DeadpanSnarker and [[LazyBum slacker]] Benjamin, and the [[LethalChef incompetent ship's cook]] Tully -- and of course Tiny's {{Love Interest|s}} Veronica of Luna Bay, her Aunt Bessie and the retired sailor Red Rudy. More recent stories have introduced Tiny's friend Raveena, nicknamed "Raven."

* AscendedFanboy: His backstory varies a little from production to production, but when it comes up, Tiny is always portrayed as a big admirer of Captain Sabertooth and his men who wanted to be part of the crew for a long time before he was finally granted his wish.

** It varies between productions, but sometimes the pirates in general come across like this to Tiny... though they can also display a bit of BigBrotherInstinct towards him.
* BigEater: It's often downplayed because his love of gold and treasure overrides it, and of course because [[LethalChef Tully's cooking can take anyone's appetite away]], but Captain Sabertooth ''loves'' food. One of the most surefire way of getting him on your side, or at least make him willing to listen to you, is to offer him good food, and plenty of it. He lets Bella and Gusto stay at Port Abra because they're great cooks, and he lets Veronica stay on board the Dark Lady when she proves to be able to provide tastier food than Tully's, and Happy Jack gets a job on the Dark Lady when he mentions being an unemployed gourmet chef. Even Tiny's IAmSong contains a verse where he mentions looking for some nice food to bring back to the Dark Lady, because food makes Captain Sabertooth happy.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Surprisingly often for a kids' franchise. It's far less cynical than most instances of the trope, and is softened somewhat by the fact that TokenGoodTeammate Tiny is usually the central character -- but the stories never try to hide that, however charming and entertaining, Captain Sabertooth and his crew are ''not'' good guys. They have absolutely no scruples about stealing, plundering and terrorizing innocent people. The audience still roots for them because without fail, their antagonists are worse... and because the plunderings tend to conveniently take place off-screen so the audience don't get to see the victims. On-screen boardings and plunderings will either ultimately fail with no real harm done to anyone, or they'll involve {{Asshole Victim}}s that almost ''deserve'' being plundered.

* BroadStrokes: The franchise's general attitude towards continuity. The TV series is nominally a prelude to the stage plays, but there are several continuity errors between them, and who knows where the 2014 movie fits in. The stage plays can usually be placed into a continuity, except for ''The Hunt for the Magic Diamond,'' which only kindasorta fits in after three revisions that were so thorough that it's almost three separate plays, and even then you have to squint to make it fit (mostly due to the fact that Tiny all of a sudden has a little brother who's not so much as mentioned in the other plays). The animated movies have their own continuity.
* BrokenPedestal: Tiny idolizes Captain Sabertooth and wants nothing more than to please him -- though in ''Gory Gabriel's Treasure'' he gets disillusioned with him after the Captain has lied to and used him, going into a furious TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:

* CannotSpitItOut: Longfinger, with Rosa. In the TV series, Tiny and Raven try to act as matchmakers, with mixed results.

* CheerfulChild: Tiny, most notably in the stories that take place during his early childhood. Veronica and Raven as well.
** Tiny's younger brother Marco was probably the franchise's original CheerfulChild, back in the early days when Tiny was portrayed as older and more wily. [[CompositeCharacter Post-animated movie, Tiny took on Marco's age and personality]], which is probably why Marco only appears in one stage play (and the TV movie based on said play). When the play was adapted into an animated movie and Marco re-entered the franchise, his personality had changed; while still the younger brother, he'd taken on some of the original Tiny's wiliness and JerkWithAHeartOfGold traits.

* CompositeCharacter: Tiny, in the later stories, has pretty much taken on the personality and traits of his brother Marco (see CousinOliver below).
* CousinOliver: An interesting case here is Tiny's younger brother Marco. He was introduced pretty much out of nowhere in the third stage play, ''The Hunt for the Magic Diamond,'' and in the play's original version he's very notably younger than Tiny (who at the time was still portrayed as being in his teens) and portrayed as a wide-eyed CheerfulChild who idolizes Captain Sabertooth. However, Marco only appears in that one stage play (as well as in the TV movie ''The Dream of Captain Sabertoooth's Kingdom,'' which is partially based on said play) and subsequent stories don't so much as mention him... but his personality and even age was transferred over to Tiny. The result being that when the play was {{Retool}}ed later on to fit better with the later characterizations and iron out the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness bits, it was a lot like having two Tinys in the same story. The animated movie, which came out much later and re-introduced Marco to the franchise avoided this by turning Marco into a self-centered but ultimately goodhearted JerkWithAHeartOfGold, much like the original Tiny had been.

* DisappearedDad: Some of the stories focus on Tiny's search for his father Morgan, one of Captain Sabertooth's men who vanished without a trace and left only his infant son.

-->Pinky: Tiny. (Some protuctions/translations keep his name as "Pinky,")

* EvilLaugh: Hoo boy, this is ''everywhere,'' especially in the stage plays. Captain Sabertooth himself is the most frequent example, but just about every single pirate (except for Tiny and Tully) occasionally joins in on the evil laughing. Antagonists such as Happy Jack also frequently laugh evilly.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Both Tiny and Veronica.

* LoveableRogue: Most of the pirates qualify as this, especially in the stories where they're the protagonists. The exceptions are Tiny, who is more a straight-up hero who happens to be on the side of lawlessness, and Captain Sabertooth himself, who has a few too many moments of genuine villainy.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Raven. Her real name is Raveena, but after Tiny nicknamed her "Raven," that's what everyone calls her -- even her parents.

* ParentalSubstitute: Longfinger acts as a father figure to the orphaned Tiny. It's especially clear in the TV series, where it's also revealed that Rosa tries to be a mother figure to him and is the one who looks after Tiny when Longfinger is busy (though Tiny claims that he looks after himself more often than not).

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The TV series ''Captain Sabertooth, King of the Sea'' takes place before Tiny becomes a pirate, and as such Veronica doesn't appear. In her stead is the UsefulNotes/{{India}}n girl Raven (her real name is Ravina), the daughter of innkeepers Gusto and Bella. She fulfills a similar role as Tiny's best (and more sensible) friend -- though notably without the romantic overtones.

* TerribleTrio: In the very first story, ''The Treasure of Luna Bay,'' Captain Sabertooth forms one with Tiny and Wally, being the hands-on boss to the eager-but-bumbling Wally and the clever-but-reluctant Tiny. In later stories, more pirates are introduced, some of whom become major characters, and the trope never applies to the pirates again.

* TrueCompanions: The pirates are like a family, for better or for worse. The crewmembers fight and bicker and make fun of each other, sometimes they try to outright cheat or snub one another, while Captain Sabertooth bosses them around and threatens to make them walk the plank if they don't pull themselves together; Tiny is often overlooked and gets the worst jobs... but at the end of the day, they all have each other's backs and ''will'' band together in the face of adversity.

* WomenAreWiser: Veronica is altogether more sensible than Tiny is, and Aunt Bessie is likewise notably smarter than Red Rudy. Raven zig-zags around the trope and occasionally subverts it; while she's on the whole more level-headed than Tiny, she has plenty of moments when she's being the foolish one of the two.

* BroadStrokes: The franchise's general attitude towards continuity. The TV series is nominally a prelude to the stage plays, but there are several continuity errors between them, and who knows where the 2014 movie fits in. The stage plays can usually be placed into a continuity, except for ''The Hunt for the Magic Diamond,'' which only kindasorta fits in after three revisions that were so thorough that it's almost three separate plays, and even then you have to squint to make it fit (mostly due to the fact that Tiny all of a sudden has a little brother who's not so much as mentioned in the other plays).

* BigEater: It's often downplayed because his love of gold and treasure overrides it, and of course because [[LethalChef Tully's cooking can take anyone's appetite away]], but Captain Sabertooth ''loves'' food. One of the most surefire way of getting him on your side, or at least make him willing to listen to you, is to offer him good food, and plenty of it. He lets Bella and Gusto stay at Port Abra because they're great cooks, and he lets Veronica stay on board the Dark Lady when she proves to be able to provide tastier food than Tully's.

* * PirateGirl: In the franchise's early days, mostly thanks to Captain Sabertooth's HeManWomanHater tendencies and refusal to allow women on board, there weren't any female pirates. In later years, though, the Captain seems to have relaxed his position on women slightly, and a handful of pirate girls have showed up from time to time -- most notably Freya and Dina from Port Abra, and of course the nameless pirate girl who acts as the protagonist of the play ''Captain Sabertooth's Pirate Party.''

* EyepatchOfPower: Completely averted with Wally and Wimp, who both have eyepatches but are still bumbling and unsthreatening comedy relief.

* CousinOliver: An interesting case here is Tiny's younger brother Marco. He was introduced pretty much out of nowhere in the third stage play, ''The Hunt for the Magic Diamond,'' and in the play's original version he's very notably younger than Tiny (who at the time was still portrayed as being in his teens) and portrayed as a wide-eyed CheerfulChild who idolizes Captain Sabertooth. However, Marco only appears in that one stage play (as well as in the TV movie ''The Dream of Captain Sabertoooth's Kingdom,'' which is partially based on said play) and subsequent stories don't so much as mention him... but his personality and even age was transferred over to Tiny. The result being that when the play was {{Retool}}ed later on to fit better with the later characterizations and iron out the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness bits, it was a lot like having two Tinys in the same story.

** Tiny's younger brother Marco was probably the franchise's original CheerfulChild, back in the early days when Tiny was portrayed as older and more wily. [[CompositeCharacter Post-animated movie, Tiny took on Marco's age and personality]], which is probably why Marco only appears in one stage play (and the TV movie based on said play). When the play was adapted into an animated movie and Marco re-entered the franchise, his personality had changed; he wasn't ''quite'' as much of a CheerfulChild and was a lot wilier and more selfish.

** Tiny's younger brother Marco was probably the franchise's original CheerfulChild, back in the early days when Tiny was portrayed as older and more wily. [[CompositeCharacter Post-animated movie, Tiny took on Marco's age and personality]], which is probably why Marco only appears in one stage play (and the movies based on said play).

** Tiny's younger brother Marco was probably the franchise's original CheerfulChild, back in the early days when Tiny was portrayed as older and more wily. [[CompositeCharacter Post-animated movie, Tiny took on Marco's age and personality]], which is probably why Marco only appears in one stage play (and the TV movie based on said play).

* UltimateJobSecurity: Tully is the worst chef on the seven seas, and though Captain Sabertooth is always complaining about the food and talking about getting a ''competent'' ship's cook, somehow Tully always ends up keeping his job -- or getting it back, when it turns out that the replacement cook is either a traitor (Happy Jack) or more annoying than Tully (Malena Pirate).

The franchise is best known for its [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic well-written]] and [[EarWorm extremely catchy]] songs, as well as its character-based comedy and kid-friendly horror.

* ''Captain Sabertooth and the Magic Diamond'', the CGI animated movie from 2019.

* AwesomeEgo: Captain Sabertooth, in ''spades.'' When you title yourself "King Of The Seven Seas," sing boastful songs about how awesomely gruesome and dangerous you are, and play up the mythical parts of your origin where you hint that you were "born from an eternal fire"... yeah, humility is not exactly your strongest suit. Thing is, though, most often the Captain can actually back up his boasting. True, he isn't quite as dangerous and invincible as he likes to present himself, and he can be prone to childishness and [[LargeHam hamminess]] in that certain way that a villain in a kid's franchise often is... but he is a genuinely good swordfighter and competent ship's captain, he's got a good head on his shoulders and is good at reasoning and deduction. What ''really'' qualifies him for this trope, though, is the fact that his ego refuses to ''ever'' let him give up. He's a {{Determinator}} to the extreme; even when all the odds are against him, even when it's clear to everyone else that he's lost the battle and everyone else would have given up all hope, Captain Sabertooth is still at it, fighting to turn the tables in his favor and taking it for granted that everyone ''knows'' he'll manage. This is probably why, while it's fairly rare for him to score a total victory in his stories (he doesn't get the treasure he wanted, or it turns out to [[WorthlessTreasureTwist not have the value he thought it did]]), he almost never outright ''loses'' either. At the end of the day, he'll at the very least have proved himself to be of a better caliber than any of his adversaries, and can sail off for new adventures in the firm knowledge that he'll still the King of the Seven Seas.

* CasanovaWannabe: Benjamin has a definite eye for the ladies, but on the whole he doesn't have much luck with them.

* LovableCoward: The aptly-named Wimp.

* NotAMorningPerson: [[WordOfGod According to creator and original actor Terje Formoe]], Captain Sabertooth doesn't like mornings; he thrives more during the night.

* PirateParrot: Surprisingly, there's an almost complete lack of them in the franchise. AThe animated movies have a couple (one of them acting as an alarm clock on board the Dark Lady), and in the TV series a cockatoo appears in one episode (as the pet of a fugitive) but other than that there's not a parrot to be found anywhere.

* TreasureMap: The franchise is ''full'' of these, usually with some cryptic message or riddle that needs to be interpreted or solved correctly.

Other important characters are the [[HypercompetentSidekick competent]] and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure polite]] first mate Longfinger, the [[FatIdiot fat and bumbling]] twins Wally and Wimp, the DeadpanSnarker and slacker Benjamin, and the [[LethalChef incompetent ship's cook]] Tully -- and of course Tiny's {{Love Interest|s}} Veronica of Luna Bay, her Aunt Bessie and the retired sailor Red Rudy. More recent stories have introduced Tiny's friend Raveena, nicknamed "Raven."

* CasanovaWannabe: Benjamin has a definite eye for the ladies but not much luck with them.

* DisguisedInDrag: Benjamin does this on occasion, sometimes getting stuck with Tully as "her" husband.

* HookHand: Benjamin's lesser-known brother Odin has one. In some productions, like the animated movie, Benjamin has one too, but most often he's portrayed with two normal hands.

* PirateParrot: Surprisingly, there's an almost complete lack of them in the franchise. A couple are briefly seen in the animated movie (one of them acting as an alarm clock on board the Dark Lady), and in the TV series a cockatoo appears in one episode (as the pet of a fugitive) but other than that there's not a parrot to be found anywhere.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Ghosts are the only thing Captain Sabertooth is afraid of. He's almost completely fearless in the face of pretty much everything else... but if he encounters a ghost, he loses all his nerve.