.gif)
The Kraken (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Encyclopedia
The Kraken
is a fictional
sea monster
in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. The monster made its first appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
as an antagonist
portrayed through Computer-generated imagery
. Although a creation of Industrial Light & Magic for Dead Man's Chest
and designed by the film's producers, the Kraken is heavily based on the mythological
creature featured in Scandinavian
nautical lore by the same name
. Walt Disney Pictures
also became the first studio to produce this mythological creature using CGI
. The Kraken makes a final small, though symbolic, appearance in the third film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
In the films, the Kraken is a sea creature of monstrous proportions that is controlled by Davy Jones
, supernatural ruler of the ocean realms. When commanded, it destroys anything Davy Jones desires. The Kraken is used often by Jones to destroy ships that threaten him. One of the Kraken's most powerful weapons is fear, which can be used to keep a foe at bay, eliminating the threat altogether.
(Mr. Gibbs) pronounced it , so that pronunciation was adopted on set.
The Kraken was difficult to animate as it had no real-life reference, until animation director Hal Hickel instructed the crew to watch King Kong vs. Godzilla
which had a real octopus crawling over miniatures. During the filming of the attacks, Keira Knightley
(Elizabeth Swann
) divulged that "the Kraken, at the moment, is just Gore [Verbinski] running around, going, 'I'm a tentacle. I'm a tentacle. Be afraid.'" Gore Verbinski
worked with Industrial Light & Magic to create the scenes for the film involving the Kraken. When filming the attack on the Edinburgh Trader, they used the ship as a set in shallow waters. Many more sailors
were digitally added on board the ship, and others were digitally replaced for complex shots. When the time came to film the Edinburgh Trader being broken in half, two massive pipes were filled with 30,000 pounds of cement
for a total of 60,000 pounds and crushed down onto the set. To prepare for this event, most metal and the masts were removed, because the metal would prevent the ship from satisfyingly breaking in half while the masts would prevent better camera close-ups. Furthermore, the interior middle of the ship was lined with cables of explosives to blast the wood apart in the air. After the shot, other men were filmed on another blue tilting set and digitally added on deck. John Knoll
, Visual Effects Supervisor, confessed that it was extremely complex to add the Kraken's tentacles between all the environmental effects of water and wood debris.
When the time came to film Jack Sparrow in front of the Kraken's maw, Johnny Depp
's stand-in, Scott Sener, was used to experiment with what worked best with the slime at their disposal (which would represent the phlegm
of the Kraken). The slime was spattered about him with jets of air. For the actual filming, Depp
was spattered with the slime and acted his part without any representation for the Kraken. It was afterward digitally added along with sound, tentacles, and other visual effects
.
cut out his heart, and became the feared and mutated sea ruler, he presumably found the Kraken and came to command it. Since that time, the Kraken was used by Jones to destroy ships that blocked his path or those that carried potential crew members for his supernatural ship, the Flying Dutchman. In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
, it is summoned by the men of the Flying Dutchman turning a capstan
that drops a large, wooden mechanism into the water creating something similar to a depth charge
, reverberating across the water supposedly for miles.
It is also known that this Kraken was the last of its kind.
, brought to life using the most advanced computer-generated imagery
(CGI) from Industrial Light & Magic. Davy Jones
, who seeks Jack Sparrow's soul to recoup a debt, dispatches Bootstrap Bill Turner to deliver Sparrow the Black Spot
and announce that Jones' "terrible leviathan
" is stalking him. When a Turkish sailor retrieves Sparrow's lost hat from the sea, he unwittingly calls the Kraken. A large green mass silently rushes toward the fishing boat; moments later, the monster violently yanks it underwater in mere seconds. Then the Kraken attacks another ship and Will Turner
boards the wreckage that's left, after Jack Sparrow deceives him into believing it is the Flying Dutchman; the surviving crew members have been left psychologically traumatized by the Kraken's attack.
Davy Jones
later summons the Kraken to destroy the Edinburgh Trader, a merchant ship that rescues Will Turner
. The Kraken smashes the vessel in half with two of its massive tentacles, killing nearly all the crew. While he is momentarily submerged underwater, Will briefly glimpses the gargantuan monster.
When the Flying Dutchman falls behind the Black Pearl
during a chase, Jones calls upon the Kraken to finish it off. The Kraken glides its tentacles up the Pearl's hull. Based upon his previous experience aboard the Edinburgh Trader, Will quickly devises a strategic defense and orders the crew to fire the deck guns into the monster's tentacles, severely wounding them and forcing the Kraken to momentarily retreat, but returns and smashes the cannons before attacking the rest of the ship. Will
then has kegs of gun powder, rum, and other combustibles loaded into a cargo net and hoisted aloft. When the Kraken returns, Sparrow shoots the barrels, blasting the monster's tentacles in the resulting explosion: the wounded Kraken again withdraws.
Sparrow, knowing the Kraken, now angrier than ever, will attack again, then orders the crew to abandon ship. Realizing that the Kraken is only hunting Sparrow, Elizabeth uses trickery to chain him to the mast, then escapes with the crew. The Kraken makes its final assault just after Sparrow frees himself, with Sparrow's sword pointing at it after his hat is vomited from it's mouth; he says, "Hello, Beastie," after which the Kraken drags Sparrow and the Black Pearl
to Davy Jones' Locker
.
for his dead pet
, and also for his lost love, Calypso. It is never revealed how Jones killed the Kraken, although the finding of a dead pirate with a black-spot on his hand, would suggest that the Kraken was lured onto the beach of an island, and, bereft of water, drowned in air.
After Jack Sparrow is rescued from Davy Jones' Locker, he proclaims his desire to become "Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate". When Sparrow and Captain Barbossa
go ashore for fresh water, they find the Kraken's carcass washed up on the island's beach, a notable sadness
in its dead eyes. Observing Jack's reaction as he surveys the dead monster, Barbossa tells him that being the last of anything means that eventually there will be none left at all. Jack finally realizes the enormity of Lord Beckett
's threat to exterminate all pirates, and he agrees to attend the Brethren Court on Shipwreck Island with Barbossa.
, and then was brought to life by technicians at Industrial Light & Magic. Its body resembles a massive, cuttlefish
-like cephalopod
. In the book
, Pirates of the Caribbean: A Visual Guide, a profile view of the Kraken is seen, with a ship for scale. The second edition, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, states the Kraken to be as long as ten of that ship. The book also depicts the Kraken as a cephalopod
-like beast, with a ring of tentacles at the base of its head
and a long, sharp tail
similar to a squid (this could be used to keep it at level with the ship underwater). The fictional monster has also large round eyes with orange irises and black pupils. Interestingly, the eyes seem to show pain, most likely from when Jones had to kill it, although it could also be the Kraken's default expression. The Kraken in this shot does not look as big as the given photo from the visual guide.
Its massive, sucker-lined tentacles are said by Mr. Gibbs to, "suction your face
clean off". The suction disks are powerful enough to pull down a ship from its underside and have contorted a human's face to the point of leaving it smothered by its own skin in Dead Man's Chest
. The Kraken also uses these powerful suckers to silently pull itself along the rocks lying on the oceans' bottom, much as does an octopus
. After the Kraken's tentacle
s were severely damaged by cannon
fire
and an explosion during the assaults on Black Pearl
, it resurfaced with its wounds appearing healed. It is unclear if the Kraken has the ability to instantly regenerate itself or if it was using different tentacles. It is also notable that the Kraken has two forearms significantly larger than the others, like the hunting tentacles possessed by squids and cuttlefish. The beast employs these to crush ships. The weight of the two tentacles can split a ship along its width.
When it revealed its mouth to character Jack Sparrow, it resembled a Sarlacc
; the interior is lined with over six sets of spiked teeth and its breath emits a reeking odor of "a thousand rotting corpses". Jack, however, is not at all daunted by the foul breath claiming it is "Not so bad," and deliberately leaps into the Kraken's jaws, trying to kill it.
, ruler of the seas, summons the Kraken to destroy vessels. On-board his ghostly ship, the Flying Dutchman is a massive capstan with a carved Kraken on the top, the so-called Kraken's Hammer. To call the Kraken, the crew rotate the capstan
clockwise, lifting it to its highest point. It then slams down, blasting shockwaves
through the ocean, thus summoning the Kraken. One shockwave usually does the job unless the Kraken is farther away. The Kraken Hammer is seen again in At Worlds End, still aboard the Dutchman; though broken and unusable, it is still able to rotate, as shown during Sparrow and Jones' duel. The lines chanted by Davy Jones as the Kraken is summoned ("...And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake...The Kraken!") are similar to the lines from the Book of Job
: "Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therin. Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning."
The Kraken attacks anyone marked with the Black Spot, which is delivered to its victims by Flying Dutchman crewmen and can only be removed by its captain, Davy Jones
. According to the writers' commentary on the Dead Man's Chest
DVD, those marked with the Black Spot are taken by the Kraken to Davy Jones' Locker, where they must experience their worst fears for eternity.
Kraken attacks often leave the survivors, if any, psychologically damaged, traumatized or deranged. In one case, a survivor is left without a face, it having been contorted by the suckers. Also, the Kraken appeared to have eaten at least six of the crew-members of the Edinburgh Trader.
Kraken
Kraken are legendary sea monsters of giant proportions said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland.In modern German, Krake means octopus but can also refer to the legendary Kraken...
is a fictional
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
sea monster
Sea monster
Sea monsters are sea-dwelling mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size.Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy or scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water...
in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. The monster made its first appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
as an antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
portrayed through Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. Although a creation of Industrial Light & Magic for Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
and designed by the film's producers, the Kraken is heavily based on the mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
creature featured in Scandinavian
Scandinavians
Scandinavians are a group of Germanic peoples, inhabiting Scandinavia and to a lesser extent countries associated with Scandinavia, and speaking Scandinavian languages. The group includes Danes, Norwegians and Swedes, and additionally the descendants of Scandinavian settlers such as the Icelandic...
nautical lore by the same name
Kraken
Kraken are legendary sea monsters of giant proportions said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland.In modern German, Krake means octopus but can also refer to the legendary Kraken...
. Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
also became the first studio to produce this mythological creature using CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. The Kraken makes a final small, though symbolic, appearance in the third film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
In the films, the Kraken is a sea creature of monstrous proportions that is controlled by Davy Jones
Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
, supernatural ruler of the ocean realms. When commanded, it destroys anything Davy Jones desires. The Kraken is used often by Jones to destroy ships that threaten him. One of the Kraken's most powerful weapons is fear, which can be used to keep a foe at bay, eliminating the threat altogether.
Film production
There are different pronunciations of Kraken. Kevin McNallyKevin McNally
Kevin McNally is an English actor who has worked in theatre and radio extensively as well as in film and television.-Life and career:...
(Mr. Gibbs) pronounced it , so that pronunciation was adopted on set.
The Kraken was difficult to animate as it had no real-life reference, until animation director Hal Hickel instructed the crew to watch King Kong vs. Godzilla
King Kong vs. Godzilla
is a 1962 Japanese science fiction kaiju film produced by Toho Studios. Directed by Ishirō Honda with visual effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, the film starred Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, and Mie Hama. It was the third installment in the Japanese series of films featuring the monster Godzilla...
which had a real octopus crawling over miniatures. During the filming of the attacks, Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
(Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Swann is a major character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. She appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and its two sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End...
) divulged that "the Kraken, at the moment, is just Gore [Verbinski] running around, going, 'I'm a tentacle. I'm a tentacle. Be afraid.'" Gore Verbinski
Gore Verbinski
Gregor "Gore" Verbinski is an American film director, writer and musician. He is best known for directing the films The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Rango.-Early life:...
worked with Industrial Light & Magic to create the scenes for the film involving the Kraken. When filming the attack on the Edinburgh Trader, they used the ship as a set in shallow waters. Many more sailors
Sailors
Sailors is the plural form of Sailor, or mariner.Sailors may also refer to:*Sailors , a 1964 Swedish film*Ken Sailors , American basketball playerSports teams*Erie Sailors, baseball teams in Pennsylvania, USA...
were digitally added on board the ship, and others were digitally replaced for complex shots. When the time came to film the Edinburgh Trader being broken in half, two massive pipes were filled with 30,000 pounds of cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
for a total of 60,000 pounds and crushed down onto the set. To prepare for this event, most metal and the masts were removed, because the metal would prevent the ship from satisfyingly breaking in half while the masts would prevent better camera close-ups. Furthermore, the interior middle of the ship was lined with cables of explosives to blast the wood apart in the air. After the shot, other men were filmed on another blue tilting set and digitally added on deck. John Knoll
John Knoll
John Knoll is a visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic . One of the original creators of Adobe Photoshop , he is recently best known for his work as Visual Effects Supervisor on the Star Wars prequels and the 1997 special editions of the original trilogy...
, Visual Effects Supervisor, confessed that it was extremely complex to add the Kraken's tentacles between all the environmental effects of water and wood debris.
When the time came to film Jack Sparrow in front of the Kraken's maw, Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
's stand-in, Scott Sener, was used to experiment with what worked best with the slime at their disposal (which would represent the phlegm
Phlegm
Phlegm is a liquid secreted by the mucous membranes of mammalians. Its definition is limited to the mucus produced by the respiratory system, excluding that from the nasal passages, and particularly that which is expelled by coughing . Phlegm is in essence a water-based gel consisting of...
of the Kraken). The slime was spattered about him with jets of air. For the actual filming, Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
was spattered with the slime and acted his part without any representation for the Kraken. It was afterward digitally added along with sound, tentacles, and other visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
.
Background
Nothing is revealed in the films about the Kraken's origins. What is known is that after Davy JonesDavy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
cut out his heart, and became the feared and mutated sea ruler, he presumably found the Kraken and came to command it. Since that time, the Kraken was used by Jones to destroy ships that blocked his path or those that carried potential crew members for his supernatural ship, the Flying Dutchman. In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
, it is summoned by the men of the Flying Dutchman turning a capstan
Capstan (nautical)
A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.- History :...
that drops a large, wooden mechanism into the water creating something similar to a depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
, reverberating across the water supposedly for miles.
It is also known that this Kraken was the last of its kind.
Dead Man's Chest
The Kraken first appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
, brought to life using the most advanced computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
(CGI) from Industrial Light & Magic. Davy Jones
Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
, who seeks Jack Sparrow's soul to recoup a debt, dispatches Bootstrap Bill Turner to deliver Sparrow the Black Spot
Black Spot (Treasure Island)
The Black Spot is a literary device invented by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island. In the book, pirates are presented with a "black spot" to officially pronounce a verdict of guilt or judgment. It consists of a circular piece of paper or card, with one side blackened while the...
and announce that Jones' "terrible leviathan
Leviathan
Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...
" is stalking him. When a Turkish sailor retrieves Sparrow's lost hat from the sea, he unwittingly calls the Kraken. A large green mass silently rushes toward the fishing boat; moments later, the monster violently yanks it underwater in mere seconds. Then the Kraken attacks another ship and Will Turner
Will Turner
William "Will" Turner, Jr. is a central character in the first three titles of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. He is played by Orlando Bloom . Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal...
boards the wreckage that's left, after Jack Sparrow deceives him into believing it is the Flying Dutchman; the surviving crew members have been left psychologically traumatized by the Kraken's attack.
Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
later summons the Kraken to destroy the Edinburgh Trader, a merchant ship that rescues Will Turner
Will Turner
William "Will" Turner, Jr. is a central character in the first three titles of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. He is played by Orlando Bloom . Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal...
. The Kraken smashes the vessel in half with two of its massive tentacles, killing nearly all the crew. While he is momentarily submerged underwater, Will briefly glimpses the gargantuan monster.
When the Flying Dutchman falls behind the Black Pearl
Black Pearl
The Black Pearl, originally Wicked Wench, is a fictional ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. In the screenplay, the Black Pearl is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. The ship was originally named Wicked Wench before she was ordered burned and sunk by Lord Beckett...
during a chase, Jones calls upon the Kraken to finish it off. The Kraken glides its tentacles up the Pearl's hull. Based upon his previous experience aboard the Edinburgh Trader, Will quickly devises a strategic defense and orders the crew to fire the deck guns into the monster's tentacles, severely wounding them and forcing the Kraken to momentarily retreat, but returns and smashes the cannons before attacking the rest of the ship. Will
Will Turner
William "Will" Turner, Jr. is a central character in the first three titles of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. He is played by Orlando Bloom . Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal...
then has kegs of gun powder, rum, and other combustibles loaded into a cargo net and hoisted aloft. When the Kraken returns, Sparrow shoots the barrels, blasting the monster's tentacles in the resulting explosion: the wounded Kraken again withdraws.
Sparrow, knowing the Kraken, now angrier than ever, will attack again, then orders the crew to abandon ship. Realizing that the Kraken is only hunting Sparrow, Elizabeth uses trickery to chain him to the mast, then escapes with the crew. The Kraken makes its final assault just after Sparrow frees himself, with Sparrow's sword pointing at it after his hat is vomited from it's mouth; he says, "Hello, Beastie," after which the Kraken drags Sparrow and the Black Pearl
Black Pearl
The Black Pearl, originally Wicked Wench, is a fictional ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. In the screenplay, the Black Pearl is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. The ship was originally named Wicked Wench before she was ordered burned and sunk by Lord Beckett...
to Davy Jones' Locker
Davy Jones' Locker
Davy Jones's Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea: the state of death among drowned sailors. It is used as an euphemism for death at sea ....
.
At World's End
The Kraken is briefly seen in the film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End; but it has been killed by Davy Jones under Lord Beckett's command. Beckett feared that Jones, being a loose cannon, might command the Kraken to attack the East India Trading Company armada. Jones, threatened with having his heart shot by the soldiers, did as commanded. The action profoundly affected him, however, as seen in his facial expression when Beckett reminds him about the killing. Jones even plays a sad tune on his pipe organPipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
for his dead pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
, and also for his lost love, Calypso. It is never revealed how Jones killed the Kraken, although the finding of a dead pirate with a black-spot on his hand, would suggest that the Kraken was lured onto the beach of an island, and, bereft of water, drowned in air.
After Jack Sparrow is rescued from Davy Jones' Locker, he proclaims his desire to become "Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate". When Sparrow and Captain Barbossa
Hector Barbossa
Hector Barbossa is a fictional character and pirate in the Disney film series Pirates of the Caribbean. Barbossa was first introduced in the series as the main antagonist of the first film, and pirate captain of the Black Pearl after committing mutiny against the ship's former captain, Jack...
go ashore for fresh water, they find the Kraken's carcass washed up on the island's beach, a notable sadness
Sadness
Sadness is emotional pain associated with, or characterized by feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, helplessness, sorrow, and rage. When sad, people often become outspoken, less energetic, and emotional...
in its dead eyes. Observing Jack's reaction as he surveys the dead monster, Barbossa tells him that being the last of anything means that eventually there will be none left at all. Jack finally realizes the enormity of Lord Beckett
Cutler Beckett
Lord Cutler Beckett is a fictional character portrayed by Tom Hollander in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He appears as a main antagonist in Dead Man's Chest and in At World's End...
's threat to exterminate all pirates, and he agrees to attend the Brethren Court on Shipwreck Island with Barbossa.
Physical characteristics
The Kraken was designed by the producers of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
, and then was brought to life by technicians at Industrial Light & Magic. Its body resembles a massive, cuttlefish
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
-like cephalopod
Cephalopod
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda . These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the primitive molluscan foot...
. In the book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, Pirates of the Caribbean: A Visual Guide, a profile view of the Kraken is seen, with a ship for scale. The second edition, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, states the Kraken to be as long as ten of that ship. The book also depicts the Kraken as a cephalopod
Cephalopod
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda . These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the primitive molluscan foot...
-like beast, with a ring of tentacles at the base of its head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
and a long, sharp tail
Tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds...
similar to a squid (this could be used to keep it at level with the ship underwater). The fictional monster has also large round eyes with orange irises and black pupils. Interestingly, the eyes seem to show pain, most likely from when Jones had to kill it, although it could also be the Kraken's default expression. The Kraken in this shot does not look as big as the given photo from the visual guide.
Its massive, sucker-lined tentacles are said by Mr. Gibbs to, "suction your face
Face
The face is a central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head, and can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyelashes, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, temple, teeth, skin, and...
clean off". The suction disks are powerful enough to pull down a ship from its underside and have contorted a human's face to the point of leaving it smothered by its own skin in Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
. The Kraken also uses these powerful suckers to silently pull itself along the rocks lying on the oceans' bottom, much as does an octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
. After the Kraken's tentacle
Tentacle
A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
s were severely damaged by cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
and an explosion during the assaults on Black Pearl
Black Pearl
The Black Pearl, originally Wicked Wench, is a fictional ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. In the screenplay, the Black Pearl is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. The ship was originally named Wicked Wench before she was ordered burned and sunk by Lord Beckett...
, it resurfaced with its wounds appearing healed. It is unclear if the Kraken has the ability to instantly regenerate itself or if it was using different tentacles. It is also notable that the Kraken has two forearms significantly larger than the others, like the hunting tentacles possessed by squids and cuttlefish. The beast employs these to crush ships. The weight of the two tentacles can split a ship along its width.
When it revealed its mouth to character Jack Sparrow, it resembled a Sarlacc
Sarlacc
The sarlacc is a fictional creature in George Lucas's science fiction saga Star Wars. It first appeared in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi as a multi-tentacled alien beast whose immense, gaping mouth is lined with several rows of sharp teeth...
; the interior is lined with over six sets of spiked teeth and its breath emits a reeking odor of "a thousand rotting corpses". Jack, however, is not at all daunted by the foul breath claiming it is "Not so bad," and deliberately leaps into the Kraken's jaws, trying to kill it.
Summoning the Kraken
Davy JonesDavy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
, ruler of the seas, summons the Kraken to destroy vessels. On-board his ghostly ship, the Flying Dutchman is a massive capstan with a carved Kraken on the top, the so-called Kraken's Hammer. To call the Kraken, the crew rotate the capstan
Capstan (nautical)
A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.- History :...
clockwise, lifting it to its highest point. It then slams down, blasting shockwaves
Shock wave
A shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, it carries energy and can propagate through a medium or in some cases in the absence of a material medium, through a field such as the electromagnetic field...
through the ocean, thus summoning the Kraken. One shockwave usually does the job unless the Kraken is farther away. The Kraken Hammer is seen again in At Worlds End, still aboard the Dutchman; though broken and unusable, it is still able to rotate, as shown during Sparrow and Jones' duel. The lines chanted by Davy Jones as the Kraken is summoned ("...And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake...The Kraken!") are similar to the lines from the Book of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
: "Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therin. Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning."
The Kraken attacks anyone marked with the Black Spot, which is delivered to its victims by Flying Dutchman crewmen and can only be removed by its captain, Davy Jones
Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
. According to the writers' commentary on the Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
DVD, those marked with the Black Spot are taken by the Kraken to Davy Jones' Locker, where they must experience their worst fears for eternity.
Methods of attack
The Kraken attacks by stealthily approaching a ship, slithering its tentacles up the hull's sides, and gripping tightly, yanking it underwater. If the crew can fight back, the Kraken smashes the hull and masts with its tentacles, probing the decks and holds with its sensitive suckers seeking out its prey. The destruction is catastrophic, and its two forearms are so powerful it can easily rip a ship apart in mere seconds. Davy Jones uses some, but not all, these attacks to acquire new crewmen for the Flying Dutchman. As he surveys one wrecked ship's survivors, he offers them an opportunity to delay their final judgment by joining his crew for 100 years. Those who refuse are killed and thrown over-board. A somewhat notable aspect is that the Kraken displays a degree of intelligence. When it was hurt by the Black Pearl's cannons, it was sure to get rid of them when it attacked them again.Kraken attacks often leave the survivors, if any, psychologically damaged, traumatized or deranged. In one case, a survivor is left without a face, it having been contorted by the suckers. Also, the Kraken appeared to have eaten at least six of the crew-members of the Edinburgh Trader.