History Main / FriendlyPirate

Of course the concept of a Friendly Pirate would be very bizarre in reality. Piracy is defined by the act of robbery or criminal violence by ships or boats. So if they aren't breaking any laws then why are they considered a pirate at all? In spite of the fact they are no different from any legal sailor, the commitment to the roleplay is enough for them to be deemed a pirate. Alternately, they may be a form of KarmicThief, engaging in stealing and plundering but only from [[AssholeVictim evil people who really deserve it]].

Of course the concept of a Friendly Pirate would be very bizarre in reality. Piracy is defined by the act of robbery or criminal violence by ships or boats. So if they aren't breaking any laws then why are they considered a pirate at all? In spite of the fact they are no different from any legal sailor, the commitment to the roleplay is enough for them to be deemed a pirate.

* Salty from ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' is a diesel engine who acts like a pirate captain, calling other characters "captain", "matey", and "me hearties". He spends most of his time working at Brendam Docks and telling tales of the sea to the other engines. He is one of Sodor's [[WhiteSheep friendlier diesels]], having no animosity towards steam engines. He even becomes friends with a tank engine named Porter when the latter arrives on Sodor and the two share in their work.

* ''Fanfic/JuniorOfficers'': Kwazii's backstory as a pirate is elaborated on more than in the [[WesternAnimation/TheOctonauts original series]][[note]]He was a pirate known as "Kwazii the Brazen" until he was separated from his crew.[[/note]], and he's still as friendly as ever.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'' features Captain Metalbeard, who is respected among the generally benevolent Master Builders and seems to be more concerned with opposing Lord Business' tyrannical regime than stealing for profit.

* The 1973 Creator/ShawBrothers movie, ''Film/ThePirate1973'', revolves around the life of 19th-century pirate [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheung_Po_Tsai Cheung Po Tsai]], who in the movie is depicted as a diplomatic gentleman and a Robin Hood-esque hero. He only plunders the ships of corrupted governors and often passes himself off as a trader or merchant before deciding whom he should rob, preferring to leave innocent villagers and unarmed sailors alone. Upon finding out a coastal town he intends to attack was actually exploited, Cheung instead decides to stay and help the locals fight against the tyranny of ruling officials. He even became friends with Admiral Wu, sent by the Imperial Court to arrest Cheung, and they end up fighting against a common enemy by the end of the film.

* In ''The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes'', Holmes describes Captain Marston as "a sort of Robin Hood type", robbing the rich and giving to the poor. He also never does physical violence to his victims, and always made sure they get to safety. However, Marston is a PosthumousCharacter and so we only have Holmes's word on this.
* The children's book ''How I Became a Pirate'' tells of Braidbeard and his crew of friendly pirates in need of a digger. They take in a young boy they find on the beach and happily teach him the pirate ways.

* The 1973 Creator/ShawBrothers movie, ''The Pirate'', revolves around the life of 19th-century pirate [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheung_Po_Tsai Cheung Po Tsai]], who in the movie is depicted as a diplomatic gentleman and a Robin Hood-esque hero. He only plunders the ships of corrupted governors and often passes himself off as a trader or merchant before deciding whom he should rob, preferring to leave innocent villagers and unarmed sailors alone. Upon finding out a coastal town he intends to attack was actually exploited, Cheung instead decides to stay and help the locals fight against the tyranny of ruling officials. He even became friends with Admiral Wu, sent by the Imperial Court to arrest Cheung, and they end up fighting against a common enemy by the end of the film.

* Played with in ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''. To most of the world, pirates ''are'' considered to be murderous criminals, and piracy is firmly outlawed. However, the films tend to depict many pirates as being {{Noble Demon}}s with a code of honor. Most notably Jack Sparrow and the ''Black Pearl'' crew fall under this category, as despite all of the unpleasant things they do, they are still considered the good guys and oppose the truly evil pirates.

* ''WebAnimation/{{Hololive}}'': Houshou Marine of Generation 3 is a PirateGirl who is a kind and friendly GenkiGirl. She became a vtuber in order to gain enough funding to buy a real pirate ship.

* ''Creator/ArtixEntertainment'': Captain Rhubarb is the franchise's main pirate and he is generally civil in talking to the Player and will also train them in becoming a pirate. The only unpleasant thing he ever does is throw the Player overboard if they answer the pirate quiz incorrectly, and even then he gives them a second chance once they make it back onto the ship.

* Long John Silver from ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet''. While it's implied that he has done some nasty things in the past, and is fairly antagonistic at the beginning, he proves to be an AffablyEvil LovableRogue who has a lot more moral scruples compared to his fellow SpacePirates, and develops a strong and genuine friendship with the main protagonist Jim Hawkins (whom he treats like a surrogate son of sorts).

* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheAdventureOfAllTime'' involves Aladdin and Paige having to retrieve the lamp from a pirate ship. These pirates, lead by Blondebeard, are foppish, pacifistic, and overly friendly. However, they're on the verge of being taken over by far more vicious pirates...so Aladdin turns Blondebeard into UsefulNotes/{{Blackbeard}}, at which point he abandons all shades of the trope and becomes fully evil.

Related to but not mutually exclusive to ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything, as Friendly Pirates can still be fairly active in their piracy, such as getting around the moral issues of their profession by only raiding TheEmpire, with or without a {{Privateer}} license from a "good"-aligned polity.

* ''Film/TheLegoMovie'' features Captain Metalbeard, who is respected among the generally benevolent Master Builders and seems to be more concerned with opposing Lord Business' tyrannical regime than stealing for profit.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'': Isabela isn't entirely friendly at first, but she's also far from evil. As the game progresses, CharacterProgression pushes her further and further into this trope, to the point that if her Companion Meter is maxed out she admits that GoodFeelsGood and she's happy to have found you and the rest of the party.

* ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'': The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything prove they are nice pirates in that their goals in ''Jonah'' are to... enjoy cheese snacks, and the entire reason they help Jonah is so that they can afford to purchase more cheese snacks. That, and their pirate ship features ping pong and other toys for goofing around on. They even offer Jonah a refund when God forces them to make him walk the plank.

* Played with in ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''. To most of the world, pirates ''are'' considered to be murderous criminals, and piracy is firmly outlawed. However, the films tend to depict many pirates as being {{Noble Demon}}s with a code of honor. Most notably Jack Sparrow and the ''Black Pearl'' crew fall under this category, as for all of the unpleasant things they do, they are still considered the good guys and oppose the truly evil pirates.

* Brigid from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' is the captain of Orgahill pirates, who starts off as Sigurd's enemy, but whose honorable ways eventually cause her crew to mutiny against and to oust her, after which she joins Sigurd's army. While she was raised by her crew's late captain, she is eventually revealed to be the long-lost twin sister of Lady Edain of Yngvi, whom the pirates had kidnapped as a baby.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' we have Fargus and Dart. The former is a jovial but powerful pirate captain who offers you passage aboard his ship if you can beat his crew in a sparring contest and later becomes an important ally. The latter was saved by Fargus as a boy when he washed up unconscious on the shore and went on to become one of his most trusted crewmates. Dart automatically joins the protagonist's party and can become a powerful berserker.

** This is also a bit of a plot point concerning the setting and the world's police force, the Marines. Marines are seen as this army who enforce justice and meant to be defenders of innocents while pirates are chaotic evil that need to be stamped out. But we're shown very early that some Marines can be corrupt and use their power for their own ends while hiding behind the justice banner. On the flip side, some pirates in the series are friendly and don't wish to cause trouble, usually only sailing for the adventure of it. Essentially, a main Aesop that is frequently shown is "don't judge a book by its cover" and that actions determine if a pirate is evil or not, not the title.