Kraken (Pirates of the Caribbean)

The Kraken's arm rises from the sea in this image from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

The Kraken is a fictional sea monster in Walt Disney Pictures' 2006 film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Template:Spoiler

The Kraken's Physical Form

There is no clear shot of the Kraken, although its tentacles are seen wreaking havoc on ships. Two scenes show its gigantic mouth, which is lined with rows of jagged teeth. Its massive body is only viewed once when Will Turner falls into the water and briefly glimpses it before resurfacing and swimming to safety. It looks like a gargantuan, deformed squid, although its coloration makes it difficult to distinguish its body from the surrounding water. Gibbs describes it as having tentacles that will 'sucker a man's face off,' and it has incredibly foul breath.

In the book Pirates of the Carribean: A Visual Guide, a profile view of the Kraken is seen, with a ship for scale; it is depicted as a whale-like beast, with a ring of tentacles where the head should be and a fishlike tail.

The Kraken was wounded during its first attack on The Black Pearl when the cannons fired into its tentacles. Shortly after, three of its massive arms were damaged by the blast from a net full of exploding rum and gun powder. The Kraken survived, however, and pulled the Black Pearl and Jack Sparrow beneath the waves.

Calling the Kraken

File:Krakenhammer.jpg

The crew of the Flying Dutchman summon the Kraken with the "Kraken Hammer".

The Kraken is summoned by Davy Jones, the ruler of the seas, to destroy vessels. Onboard his ghostly ship The Flying Dutchman is a massive hammer-like wheel called The Kraken Hammer. To call the Kraken, the crew of human/sea creatures rotate it clockwise, lifting the hammer up. When the hammer reaches its highest point, it slams down, blasting shockwaves through the ocean thusforth awaking the Kraken.

"Let no joyful voice be heard! Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake... the Kraken!" - Davy Jones, quote from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

A Kraken Attack

The Kraken stalks anyone marked with the Black Spot which is delivered to victims by the crew of The Flying Dutchman and can only be removed by its captain, Davy Jones.

When attacking, the Kraken stealthily approaches a ship, slithers its tentacles up the hull, and gripping tightly, drags it underwater. If a crew is able to fight back, the Kraken attacks with its tentacles, probing the decks and holds with its sensitive suckers to search for victims. Armed with his previous experience fighting the Kraken while aboard the doomed Edinburgh Trader, Will devises a strategic defense against the monster when it attacks the Black Pearl, wounding it and allowing the crew time to escape before the ship is pulled under.

The beast is so powerful it can easily rip a ship in half in mere seconds. Davy Jones may use these attacks to acquire new crewmen for his ship. As he surveys the survivors of one wrecked ship, he offers them an opportunity to delay their final judgment by joining his crew for one hundred years. He terrifies at least one soul into service aboard the Dutchman. Those who refuse are killed and their bodies dumped overboard.

Attacked Ships

The Kraken is seen destroying three ships throughout the film: the Black Pearl, a fishing boat and the Edinburgh Trader, a merchant vessel.

The Kraken's first attack is the fishing boat. A sailor pulls Jack Sparrow's hat from the water and tries it on, unwittingly calling the Kraken. He and another crewman soon hear rumbling from the ocean depths. A massive jet of water erupts as the Kraken violently pulls the ship under the sea.

File:Pirates04 Pirates2-kb365-23.jpg

The Kraken destroys the Edinburgh Trader.

The Edinburgh Trader, a merchant vessel that rescues Will Turner after he escapes The Flying Dutchman, is the second ship attacked. The Flying Dutchman is in pursuit and Davy Jones commands the crew to summon his leviathan with The Kraken Hammer. As the Kraken attacks the ship, the crew tries to defend themselves, but the ship is quickly destroyed. Will barely escapes and stows back on board the Dutchman. Jones orders the other survivors to be killed.

The final attack is The Black Pearl as it tries to escape Davy Jones. When the Pearl outruns the Dutchman, Jones summons the Kraken. Knowing what is coming, Will commands the crew to load the cannons. As the Kraken's tentacles glide up the Black Pearl's hull, Will gives the order to fire, severely wounding it. Enraged, it smashes its arms into the ship, destroying the cannons during its second assault. Will has kegs of rum and gun powder piled into a cargo net and hoisted aloft. As the Kraken grabs it, Jack Sparrow shoots into the net, causing an explosion that severely maims the monster. While it temporarily retreats, Captain Sparrow gives the order to abandon ship. Elizabeth tricks Jack to stay behind, knowing the beast is only after him. Jack charges into the creature's maw with his sword, and is apparently devoured. From the longboat, the crew watch as the colossal monster destroys the ship and pulls it underwater. Davy Jones declares Jack's debt settled.

The wreckage of another ship is also shown earlier in the film. Will boards it after being deceived by Jack and Gibbs into believing it is the Flying Dutchman. Surrounded by his dead and dying shipmates, a traumatized survivor vainly attempts to perform his duties. Will tells him the ship has run aground, but the sailor turns to him and mutters, "beneath us, foul breath". Will then spots another sailor whose face has been suckered off; only a mass of rumpled skin remains. Will is then captured and taken prisoner aboard the real Flying Dutchman.

Appearance in At Worlds End?

According to an early script draft that was leaked on the Internet, Davy Jones and his ship, The Flying Dutchman return in the final installment of the trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End. As Davy Jones controls the Kraken, it is speculated that it will return as well.In this Script the Kraken is found Dead killed by many Harpons. Template:Endspoilers

Trivia

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is the first film to create a Kraken using modern computer graphics.
The Kraken Hammer has a carved Kraken on the top.
The ship that was used as the Edinburgh Trader was also used for filming the grounded vessel that Jack Sparrow tricks Will Turner into boarding to search for the Dead Man's Chest key.