Blackbeard pirates based on Adventures of Baron Munchausen?

Hello all, first time poster so don't be too harsh on me. I have to say Arlongpark is one of the more entertaining forum sites and a lot more tamer than the other big sites, aka Narutofan. Watching episode 325 (Banaro Island duel), I couldn't help but notice that the Blackbeard pirates were somewhat closely to the crew Baron Munchausen had in the Terry Gilliam Movie. Going with the Blackbead/Munchausen crew listing, we have a strong man in Jesus Burgess/Albrecht, a guy with amazing eyesight in Van Auger/Adolphus, and a possible speed guy in Laffitte/Berthold. What's missing from the formula is Doc Q as well as Gustavus on the Baron's side. For those unfamiliar with the movie, check out the Wikipedia article on it. What are you guys thoughts on this

Mahreow

Doc Q is SARAH POLLEY!

@Mahreow:

Doc Q is SARAH POLLEY!

lol explain what you mean by that

boiga

Welcome to the forums finnunt. Sarah Polley was the willful little girl who went along on the trip in the movie.

In regards to your question though, the companions of the Baron were actually based on a Brothers Grimm story called "The Six Servants" or "How Six Men Got On in the World." It's one of my favorites.

In it, there are 6 companions:

1.The clever ex-soldier
2.The strong man that can lift large trees out of the ground like twigs
3.A huntsman with perfect aim
4.A blower who can turn windmills miles away with just one nostril
5.A runner who takes off one of his legs so that he can rest
6.A man who has to wear his hat crooked or he will cause a horrible frost.

Here's the whole story: [hide] How Six Men Got on in the World
There was once a man who understood all kinds of arts; he served in war,
and behaved well and bravely, but when the war was over he received
his dismissal, and three farthings for his expenses on the way. "Stop,"
said he, "I shall not be content with this. If I can only meet with the
right people, the King will yet have to give me all the treasure of the
country." Then full of anger he went into the forest, and saw a man
standing therein who had plucked up six trees as if they were blades
of corn. He said to him, "Wilt thou be my servant and go with me?"
"Yes," he answered, "but, first, I will take this little bundle of
sticks home to my mother," and he took one of the trees, and wrapped
it round the five others, lifted the bundle on his back, and carried
it away. Then he returned and went with his master, who said, "We two
ought to be able to get through the world very well," and when they
had walked on for a short while they found a huntsman who was kneeling,
had shouldered his gun, and was about to fire. The master said to him,
"Huntsman, what art thou going to shoot?" He answered, "Two miles from
here a fly is sitting on the branch of an oak-tree, and I want to shoot
its left eye out." "Oh, come with me," said the man, "if we three are
together, we certainly ought to be able to get on in the world!" The
huntsman was ready, and went with him, and they came to seven windmills
whose sails were turning round with great speed, and yet no wind was
blowing either on the right or the left, and no leaf was stirring. Then
said the man, "I know not what is driving the windmills, not a breath of
air is stirring," and he went onwards with his servants, and when they
had walked two miles they saw a man sitting on a tree who was shutting
one nostril, and blowing out of the other. "Good gracious! what are you
doing up there?" He answered, "Two miles from here are seven windmills;
look, I am blowing them till they turn round." "Oh, come with me,"
said the man. "If we four are together, we shall carry the whole world
before us!" Then the blower came down and went with him, and after a
while they saw a man who was standing on one leg and had taken off the
other, and laid it beside him. Then the master said, "You have arranged
things very comfortably to have a rest." "I am a runner," he replied,
"and to stop myself running far too fast, I have taken off one of my
legs, for if I run with both, I go quicker than any bird can fly." "Oh,
go with me. If we five are together, we shall carry the whole world before
us." So he went with them, and it was not long before they met a man who
wore a cap, but had put it quite on one ear. Then the master said to him,
"Gracefully, gracefully, don't stick your cap on one ear, you look just
like a tom-fool!" "I must not wear it otherwise," said he, "for if I set
my hat straight, a terrible frost comes on, and all the birds in the air
are frozen, and drop dead on the ground." "Oh, come with me," said the
master. "If we six are together, we can carry the whole world before us."

Now the six came to a town where the King had proclaimed that whosoever
ran a race with his daughter and won the victory, should be her husband,
but whosoever lost it, must lose his head. Then the man presented
himself and said, "I will, however, let my servant run for me." The
King replied, "Then his life also must be staked, so that his head
and thine are both set on the victory." When that was settled and made
secure, the man buckled the other leg on the runner, and said to him,
"Now be nimble, and help us to win." It was fixed that the one who was
first to bring some water from a far distant well was to be the victor.
The runner received a pitcher, and the King's daughter one too, and
they began to run at the same time, but in an instant, when the King's
daughter had got a very little way, the people who were looking on could
see no more of the runner, and it was just as if the wind had whistled
by. In a short time he reached the well, filled his pitcher with water,
and turned back. Half-way home, however, he was overcome with fatigue,
and set his pitcher down, lay down himself, and fell asleep. He had,
however, made a pillow of a horse's skull which was lying on the ground,
in order that he might lie uncomfortably, and soon wake up again. In
the meantime the King's daughter, who could also run very well quite as
well as any ordinary mortal can had reached the well, and was hurrying
back with her pitcher full of water, and when she saw the runner lying
there asleep, she was glad and said, "My enemy is delivered over into
my hands," emptied his pitcher, and ran on. And now all would have been
lost if by good luck the huntsman had not been standing at the top of the
castle, and had not seen everything with his sharp eyes. Then said he,
"The King's daughter shall still not prevail against us;" and he loaded
his gun, and shot so cleverly, that he shot the horse's skull away from
under the runner's head without hurting him. Then the runner awoke, leapt
up, and saw that his pitcher was empty, and that the King's daughter
was already far in advance. He did not lose heart, however, but ran
back to the well with his pitcher, again drew some water, and was at
home again, ten minutes before the King's daughter. "Behold!" said he,
"I have not bestirred myself till now, it did not deserve to be called
running before."

But it pained the King, and still more his daughter, that she should be
carried off by a common disbanded soldier like that; so they took counsel
with each other how to get rid of him and his companions. Then said the
King to her, "I have thought of a way; don't be afraid, they shall not
come back again." And he said to them, "You shall now make merry together,
and eat and drink," and he conducted them to a room which had a floor of
iron, and the doors also were of iron, and the windows were guarded with
iron bars. There was a table in the room covered with delicious food,
and the King said to them, "Go in, and enjoy yourselves." And when they
were inside, he ordered the doors to be shut and bolted. Then he sent
for the cook, and commanded him to make a fire under the room until the
iron became red-hot. This the cook did, and the six who were sitting at
table began to feel quite warm, and they thought the heat was caused by
the food; but as it became still greater, and they wanted to get out, and
found that the doors and windows were bolted, they became aware that the
King must have an evil intention, and wanted to suffocate them. "He shall
not succeed, however," said the one with the cap. "I will cause a frost
to come, before which the fire shall be ashamed, and creep away." Then
he put his cap on straight, and immediately there came such a frost that
all heat disappeared, and the food on the dishes began to freeze. When an
hour or two had passed by, and the King believed that they had perished
in the heat, he had the doors opened to behold them himself. But when
the doors were opened, all six were standing there, alive and well,
and said that they should very much like to get out to warm themselves,
for the very food was fast frozen to the dishes with the cold. Then,
full of anger, the King went down to the cook, scolded him, and asked
why he had not done what he had been ordered to do. But the cook replied,
"There is heat enough there, just look yourself." Then the King saw that
a fierce fire was burning under the iron room, and perceived that there
was no getting the better of the six in this way.

Again the King considered how to get rid of his unpleasant guests, and
caused their chief to be brought and said, "If thou wilt take gold and
renounce my daughter, thou shalt have as much as thou wilt."

"Oh, yes, Lord King," he answered, "give me as much as my servant can
carry, and I will not ask for your daughter."

On this the King was satisfied, and the other continued, "In fourteen
days, I will come and fetch it." Thereupon he summoned together all the
tailors in the whole kingdom, and they were to sit for fourteen days and
sew a sack. And when it was ready, the strong one who could tear up trees
had to take it on his back, and go with it to the King. Then said the
King, "Who can that strong fellow be who is carrying a bundle of linen
on his back that is as big as a house?" and he was alarmed and said,
"What a lot of gold he can carry away!" Then he commanded a ton of gold
to be brought; it took sixteen of his strongest men to carry it, but the
strong one snatched it up in one hand, put it in his sack, and said, "Why
don't you bring more at the same time? that hardly covers the bottom!"
Then, little by little, the King caused all his treasure to be brought
thither, and the strong one pushed it into the sack, and still the sack
was not half full with it. "Bring more," cried he, "these few crumbs
don't fill it." Then seven thousand carts with gold had to be gathered
together in the whole kingdom, and the strong one thrust them and the
oxen harnessed to them into his sack. "I will examine it no longer," said
he, "but will just take what comes, so long as the sack is but full."
When all that was inside, there was still room for a great deal more;
Then he said, "I will just make an end of the thing; people do sometimes
tie up a sack even when it is not full." So he took it on his back, and
went away with his comrades. When the King now saw how one single man
was carrying away the entire wealth of the country, he became enraged,
and bade his horsemen mount and pursue the six, and ordered them to take
the sack away from the strong one. Two regiments speedily overtook the
six, and called out, "You are prisoners, put down the sack with the gold,
or you will all be cut to pieces!" "What say you?" cried the blower,
"that we are prisoners! Rather than that should happen, all of you shall
dance about in the air." And he closed one nostril, and with the other
blew on the two regiments. Then they were driven away from each other,
and carried into the blue sky over all the mountains one here, the other
there. One sergeant cried for mercy; he had nine wounds, and was a brave
fellow who did not deserve ill treatment. The blower stopped a little
so that he came down without injury, and then the blower said to him,
"Now go home to thy King, and tell him he had better send some more
horsemen, and I will blow them all into the air." When the King was
informed of this he said, "Let the rascals go. They have the best of
it." Then the six conveyed the riches home, divided it amongst them,
and lived in content until their death.[/hide]While they do have the strongman and the sharpshooter, they are lacking the runner, the blower, and the freezer. Not to mention that Blackbeard is a drastically different character from the soldier or the Baron.

However, there are some other intriguing parallels between the stories. The soldier and his troop are also motivated by revenge at their former master and greed, which is very similar to Teach. Also, both had to combat excessive burning heat at some point in their stories.

But, in the end it seems more likely that Oda takes influence from any fantastical story he can get his hands on and mixes that up through out his story. After all, Lucky Roux is the fastest man in the world, not any of BB's troup, and it's aokiji who can freeze the place.

There's also lots of other Grimm references in the series, like poison apples, bargains with the devil, and talking animals. So this fits right in.

wow Boiga i did not realize that it came from a Grimm story. I do agree with you that Oda's influences come from a very wide variety of sources, which is why I love One Piece. Hopefully he does a character based off from the Baron as he was my favorite in the movie

Kitsune9-TailedBeast

O.O…...I had no idea anybody else had seen that movie.....

Next thing you know, the BB crew is going to go to the moon and meet Robin William's flying head which will battle Eneru for control of the Galaxy.

Gaiyae

Another one who thinks a like :)
The reason why i like OP so much is that it somehow reminds me alot of the baron Munchausen and Sinbad tales i heard when i was little. Luffy gaining new nakama with his adventures, and all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

@Gaiyae:

Another one who thinks a like :)
The reason why i like OP so much is that it somehow reminds me alot of the baron Munchausen and Sinbad tales i heard when i was little. Luffy gaining new nakama with his adventures, and all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

So true. Even though it's a japanese manga, it still incorporates different aspects of world culture that makes it really unique. Just because of that movie, I know the Blackbeard pirates are going to be epic.

Angel emfrbl

Sick of these kind of wild guesses… IF Oda says or its plain obivous, don't speculate. We get the backlash at the wikia and on wikipedia. Their nice ideas to explore though, but don't look for simulairities in every book. Lots of characters are based on each other in stories...

AlnaJames

Crew was not based on AoBM. Auger`s design, however, was based on Adolphus. Why am I so sure?
Just look:

Looks familiar eh? Oda tottaly stole the design, hehe >:P
Question is solved, I think.
Now you know why I think cosplaying Auger is a failrue idea, haha XD