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The world of Monkey Island is the fictional world and characters depicted in the Monkey Island series of adventure games. The games are set on various fictional islands in the Caribbean Sea during the Golden Age of Piracy.
The games have a wide cast of characters and locations, many of which reappear throughout the series. Each entry in the series revolves around three main characters: Guybrush Threepwood (the protagonist); Elaine Marley (the primary foil); and LeChuck (the primary antagonist).
Geography
Monkey Island
Monkey Island is the island from which the series takes its name. It is not part of the Tri-Island area, and there is originally a need for a spell in order to reach the area. The south end of the island is mainly covered by jungle, at the west end there is a volcano, at the east end lies the famous Giant Monkey Head and located at the north end of the island is the cannibal village. Dinky Island is a small tropical island inhabited by Herman Toothrot in Monkey Island 2, and believed to be the hiding-place of the legendary treasure of Big Whoop. The Curse of Monkey Island establishes 'Big Whoop' as the name of the Carnival of the Damned on Monkey Island, placing Dinky Island as a small atoll off the coast of Monkey Island, connected to the later by a series of tunnels. However, Escape from Monkey Island also depicts Dinky Island as a small island off the north-west coast of Lucre Island.[1]
Tri-Island Area
The Tri-Island Area consists of "Mêlée", "Booty", and "Plunder Island", all of which are all ruled by Governor Elaine Marley in place of her long lost grandfather, Horatio Torquemada Marley. The remaining islands are considered part of the greater Tri-Island Area, but are not governed by Elaine (i.e. "Phatt Island" has its own governor, "Scabb Island" lacks a form of government, etc.). "Spittle" and "Pinchpenny Island" are the only known islands within the Tri-Island Area not to be visited in-game.
- Blood Island is a former recreational island featuring the Goodsoup Family Resort, known as the "finest hotel in the Caribbean." Blood Island also has a lighthouse, which plays a part in the tragic tale of the Lost Welshman, a grave-yard featuring the Goodsoup family crypt, and Mount Acidophilus, an active volcano. The island is now very desolate due to the Cannibals of Monkey Island constantly trying to appease the Sherman the Volcano God, which causes the resort to lose business due their famous barbecue built over a continuous stream of lava being unavailable.
- Booty Island celebrates Mardi Gras all-year-round. The governor's mansion is located on a secluded island on the Northwest part of Booty. There are a number of businesses on the island: Stan's Previously Owned Coffins, an Antique store, and a costume shop. Local activities include a pirate "spitting contest" and attending the governor's Mardi Gras ball. There is also a strange treehouse located at the Eastern end of the island, while the southern end is lined with steep cliffs.
- Hook Island is a tiny island just off the northeastern shore of Mêlée, on which Meathook has a house.
- Jambalaya Island is supposedly the location of the pieces of a powerful Voodoo talisman called The Ultimate Insult, though pirates inhabiting the island have been driven off by tourists. Jambalaya's town holds: Planet Threepwood, a restaurant that tributes Guybrush, though they never recognize him; Starbuccaneer's; a micro-groggery which also has a mechanical manatee ride; and the largest artificial plank-dive in the world.
- Knuttin Atoll is a small atoll off the coast of Jambalaya Island. It is a dark and decaying place where pirates are afraid to amass in groups of three or more for fear that Admiral Ricardo, the paranoid overseer of Knuttin, might suspect a conspiracy and fire a cannonball at them. Knuttin also houses a school founded by Ozzie Mandrill to train pirates into productive members of society.
- Lucre Island is home to the Second Bank of Lucre and smaller businesses such as a Bait Shoppe, a Cane Shop, and a Prosthesis shop. Ozzie Mandrill owns a mansion on the island, and it is also home to the villain Pegnose Pete.
- Mêlée Island is the capital island of the Tri-Island Area and the home of Elaine Marley. Mêlée is largely covered by a thick forest of pine trees and it is sparsely populated. Apart from Mêlée Town, the island features a used ship lot run by Stan, a small traveling circus, a swordfighting school run by Captain Smirk, and the Swordmaster's house. Mêlée town itself is home to the SCUMM Bar, which is later replaced by the tourist-friendly place Lua Bar. The town also houses a general store, a church, a jail, a voodoo shop run by the Voodoo Lady, and the governor's mansion.
- Phatt Island is run as a fascist dictatorship by Governor L. Phatt, a morbidly obese man, who lives in a mansion on the south side of the island. The island's law enforcement consists of a single large, muscular guard armed with a sword, a pistol, and a large helmet which obscures his eyes, and his dog Walt, the jail-keeper. Phatt Island has the Tri-Island Area's only library, which is located in Phatt City, a coastal town on the northern part of the island. There is a waterfall containing a secret passage to a smaller island to the west of Phatt, where the drunkard Rum Rogers Jr lives in a cottage.
- Pinchpenny Island is located roughly halfway between Lucre Island and Phatt Island.
- Plunder Island is one of the primary islands of the Tri-Island Area, under the rule of governor Elaine Marley. It has a seaside fortress in the island's port, Puerto Pollo, on the south-eastern side of the island. The town's barbershop, Barbery Coast has its own barbershop trio currently consisting of Haggis McMutton, Cutthroat Bill, and Edward Van Helgen. The town also has a Shakespearian theatre, the shady young businessman Kenny Falmouth, and Blondebeard's Chicken Shoppe. The islands also houses Voodoo 'n' Things, the Voodoo Lady's latest establishment, the Brimstone Beach Club and Smorgy, a members beach reserved for retired, rich pirates, a large field where the caber toss is held, and Danjer Cove, a small bay where some local pirates have dropped anchor.
- Scabb Island is inhabited by an anarchistic yet peaceful community of pirates. It was first settled as a quarantine island for skin diseases. It later became a haven for pirates because of its distinctive lack of authority figures.[2] The island is terrorized by Largo LaGrande, who bullies the other pirates for their money and prevents any ships from leaving the island. Scabb is always covered in darkness. The capital town of Scabb is Woodtick, located on the island's north coast. Much of Woodtick is formed from ships which have been wrecked on the rocks. The island also holds "Steamin' Weeinie", a hot dog shack owned by Rapp Scallion, the "International House of Mojo", run by the Voodoo Lady, a graveyard, and the houseboat Captain Dread.
- Skull Island is a small island off the coast of Blood Island. It is home to the infamous smuggler known as King Andre. It is only reachable via a small dinghy operated by the ghostly "Flying Welshman". It is one of the smallest islands, and even though numerous characters believe it to be shaped like a skull, it actually resembles a duck.
- Spittle Island is located slightly to the south-east of Jambalaya Island.
Gulf of Melange
The Gulf of Melange is the primary island archipelago found in Tales of Monkey Island. It is the first group of islands—besides Monkey Island and Dinky Island—outside the Tri-Island Area to be featured in-game.
- Boulder Beach is an island that features only a small rocky beach area.
- Brillig Island features only a small beach area, with some coconuts.
- Flotsam Island is named after the island's unique winds, which cause various sailors and debris to become marooned there. Flotsam features a small local town in its southwest portion, and the rest of the island is covered in a jungle that contains ancient ruins dedicated to the wind gods. Besides the strong winds preventing anyone from leaving the island, the waters surrounding the island are filled with razor-sharp coral that tear nearby ships. By Tales of Monkey Island the voodoo lady has relocated her shack to Flotsam.
- The Isle of Ewe features only a small beach area.
- The Jerkbait Islands contain: Roe Island; Spinner Cay; and Spoon Isle. Spinner Cay is the epicenter of the Vaycalian race of mer-folk within the Gulf of Melange. The Vaycalians are the original inhabitants of Flotsam when a small section of their population left the water to worship wind gods; they are also aware of the location of "La Esponja Grande". Roe Island is a small beach island and primary home of Coronado de Cava during his search for "La Esponja Grande". Spoon Isle is similar to Flotsam Island and mostly consists of jungle and Vaycalian ruins.
- The Rock of Gelato is a small island rock with a sandy beach.
Common elements
- Big Whoop is supposedly the greatest of pirate treasures. LeChuck explains that Big Whoop is a gateway to Hell located on Monkey Island, which is what turned him into a ghost. Big Whoop is also the name of the Carnival of the Damned.
- The Giant Monkey Head is a famous landmark of Monkey Island, worshiped by the Cannibals. It is the gateway to the Caverns of Meat, which originally lead to LeChuck's hideout. It is also rigged as the "Roller coaster of Death", which transforms people into undead skeletons by dropping them into pools of lava. It is revealed that the Giant Monkey Head is in fact the control room of a giant Monkey Robot, powered by a combination of steam and pedaling monkeys and fueled with the power of the Ultimate Insult.
- Grog is mentioned multiple times as a pirate's choice of drink. The Monkey Island version of grog is acidic enough to dissolve a pewter mug and solid metal bars, and is also sold in bottles through vending machines. It is said to be "a secret mixture that contains one or more of the following: Kerosene, Propylene Glycol, Artificial Sweeteners, Battery Acid, Rum, Acetone, Battery Acid, red dye #2, Scumm, Axle grease and/or pepperoni".
- Piece of eight is the common coin used in Monkey Island series and it was a real coin used in the 18th century. However, the graphical representation show golden coins while the piece of eight coin was made of silver. Because of this, in the Spanish translation, they translated it as the Doubloon, who was used in the same century too but it was made of gold (with a higher value).
- Insult Swordfighting consists of a series of call and response exchanges, in which an insult must be countered with a witty retort. One example of an exchange--referenced in almost all games in the series--is "You fight like a dairy farmer!" to which the correct response would be "How appropriate, you fight like a cow!" The insults need to rhyme in The Curse of Monkey Island, and Escape from Monkey Island features Insult Arm-Wrestling. Monkey Kombat is a similar game mechanic found in Escape from Monkey Island, operating akin to Rock, Paper, Scissors, where combatants move from one battle stance to another in order to beat each other, and each battle stance beats two other, and is beaten by two others. Pirate Face-off, found in Tales of Monkey Island, is another fighting mini-game variation in which contestants need to scare each other with a combination of facial expressions.
- La Esponja Grande is a mystical voodoo artifact capable of absorbing large amounts of evil magic. Its acquisition is the main focus of Tales of Monkey Island as Guybrush attempts to cure the "Pox of LeChuck".
- The Ultimate Insult is a voodoo talisman that can dissolve the egos of even the mightiest pirates, turning them into cowards. The talisman flings insults spoken in the monkey language, which are so vile that they are capable of breaking the very soul of the victim. Its acquisition is the main focus of Escape from Monkey Island.
- The Rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle is a famous inventory item was first featured in The Secret of Monkey Island. It was used as a means of transport between Mêlée Island and Hook Island, which were connected by a cable. This item was later turned into a running gag in the games' fan community.
Characters
Primary characters
Guybrush Threepwood
Guybrush Threepwood is the protagonist of all five games. On a quest to become a pirate, he encounters the love of his life, Elaine Marley, and repeatedly fends off the evil LeChuck.
Elaine Marley
Elaine Marley is the heroine and primary foil of the series as the object of Guybrush and LeChuck's affection.
LeChuck
LeChuck is the main villain of the series, an undead pirate who takes on different forms throughout the series. He is intent on marrying Elaine.
Secondary characters
Herman Toothrot
Herman Toothrot is an old, ragged castaway who was shipwrecked on Monkey Island, where he has lived for over 20 years, losing a little bit of memory and sanity in the meantime. He is voiced by Wally Wingert in both Escape from Monkey Island and The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. Guybrush Threepwood first meets Herman in the The Secret of Monkey Island. According to Herman, his ship sank long ago after finding the mysterious Monkey Island. Herman trained a group of monkeys to sail a ship, since he couldn't sail one all by himself and didn't want to spend weeks alone with a crew of monkeys; he sent this simian crew for help, but they never returned. He has since whiled away the years arguing with Monkey Island's resident tribe of cannibals, particularly over who borrowed what from whom, and surprisingly, build his own ship.
In the second game, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, Herman is now living on Dinky Island, which is connected to Monkey Island through a series of tunnels. After years of meditation, Herman has decided to share his views on philosophy. As Guybrush while on the island, Herman asks Guybrush what the colour of a tree which falls down in a forest would be if no-one was there to hear it. Guybrush can guess a huge variety of colours, none of which are ever the answer; eventually, Guybrush will guess "all colors". His response to Herman's inquiry from what he has learned from the experience is that philosophy is a waste of his time. This pleases Herman greatly, who claims that most students take years to learn what Guybrush has realized from a ten-minute guessing game.
The character had no "live" role in The Curse of Monkey Island, although he is represented by a "Dynamo-Monkilectric" figure in a diorama at LeChuck's Carnival of the Damned. Herman's biggest role in the series was in Escape from Monkey Island. Still suffering from severe amnesia, Herman gradually begins to remember his past with help from Guybrush; once he completely regains his memory, his story is quite different from that expected: he remembers that he is actually Horatio Torquemada Marley, the long-lost grandfather of Elaine Marley. Returning to Mêlée Island, he reunites with his granddaughter, and relieves her from her responsibilities as governor of the Tri-Island Area.
Stan
Stan, full-name Smilin' Stan S. Stanman, is a fast-talking, fast-moving salesman. The voice of Stan was provided by Patrick Pinney in The Curse of Monkey Island and Pat Fraley in Escape from Monkey Island. Pinney reprises the character for The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. Over the course of the series, he has run a number of other businesses, each as dubious as his original career. The appearance of this eternal huckster is fitting: his outfit is vaguely pirate-like, but invariably an obnoxious blend of clashing colors and patterns. He always wears a huge hat that seems to be a cross between a traditional buccaneer's hat and a sombrero. He tries to overwhelm potential customers with a constant flood of patter while his arms wave distractingly. He rarely stops talking and never, ever admits that he has cheated a customer.
Stan's initial appearance was as a shady used boat salesman (satirizing the stereotype of the used car salesman) on Mêlée Island in The Secret of Monkey Island; at the end of the game, the LeChuck delivers a mighty punch to Stan, hurling him into the waters around Mêlée. Stan turns up again in Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge as the proprietor of a used coffin shop on Booty Island—he turned to the coffin business because his customers are unable to come back and complain. In between the first and second games, he also operated "Stan's Previously-owned Restaurant Supplies", and sold an ineffective flame-retardant apron to Rapp Scallion, who burned to death in a flash fire staged by LeChuck. In the course of the second game, Guybrush traps Stan inside one of his own cheap coffins.
Stan ends up in a crypt on Blood Island and manages to survive until Guybrush frees him in The Curse of Monkey Island a year later. Supposedly given "a new lease on life", Stan immediately begins selling life insurance from his new office in the crypt. Over the course of the game, Guybrush questions how Stan could have had business cards made while trapped within a coffin, purchases a policy, fakes his own death and collects a large payout; this convinces Stan to get out of the insurance industry. He resurfaces once again in Escape from Monkey Island: the enterprising Stan has moved on to a condominium timeshare scheme on Jambalaya Island. His only action in the game to give Guybrush a three hour long sales-pitch, so that Guybrush can receive a voucher for a meal at a restaurant on the island.
In Tales of Monkey Island, Stan appears as the prosecuting lawyer as the Pirate Court places Guybrush on trial for various crimes, all of which carry the death penalty. Stan claims to have attended law school between "Escape" and "Tales", and also sets up a stall selling Guybrush Threepwood souvenirs.
His trademark is his checkered jacket whose pattern stays at the same place (in reference to the background) while he moves. Originally this was due to technical limitations but it has been continued in later games and has been a source of in-game jokes as well as a running gag.
Voodoo Lady
The Voodoo Lady appears in all five games as Guybrush's guide. The proprietor of the voodoo shop chain International House of Mojo, she is a voodoo priestess. She is voiced by Leilani Jones Wilmore in The Curse of Monkey Island, Escape from Monkey Island and The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, and by Alison Ewing in Tales of Monkey Island. The Voodoo Lady's role in the The Secret of Monkey Island is to provide Guybrush with a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle on Mêlée Island and to predict Guybrush's future, which involves sailing to Monkey Island, entering a giant monkey, and either being helped or eaten by the Monkey Island cannibals. In Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, she opens a voodoo shop in a swamp on Scabb Island. In addition to providing much helpful information, she creates a voodoo doll of Largo LaGrande and gives Guybrush a book on the legend of Big Whoop.
By The Curse of Monkey Island, the Voodoo Lady has moved to Plunder Island, setting up another shop in a ship half-sunk in a swamp. The Voodoo Lady helps explain some of the plot between the second and third games, and tells Guybrush how to lift a curse placed on Elaine by a cursed diamond engagement ring, directing him to Blood Island to do so. In Escape from Monkey Island, she returns to Mêlée Island. She informs Guybrush about the "Ultimate Insult", a powerful and dangerous voodoo talisman, and helps him find its components. The Voodoo Lady emerges again in Tales of Monkey Island, in which she is an informant for a local newspaper on Flotsam Island, using her powers to get stories from the other islands, as Flotsam's winds stop ships from leaving. She tells Guybrush how to cure the voodoo pox that has afflicted his hand. In the penultimate chapter of the ToMI storyline LeChuck exibits a journal, proving that the Voodoo Lady has masterminded every single event in the Caribeean since The Secret of Monkey Island, thus contributing to unleash LeChuck's menace on the world. Voodoo Lady doesn't deny, hinting at deeper motivations beneath her seemingly benevolent actions.
Ancillary characters
- Bob the Ghost Pirate is LeChuck's right hand man in the The Secret of Monkey Island. He warns LeChuck of Guybrush Threepwood's arrival on Mêlée Island and discusses Guybrush's progress with LeChuck throughout the game. Bob's head often comes loose from his body and is often seen bouncing around like a hackysack.
- Carla is the famed Swordmaster of Mêlée Island, living in secret isolation. The Storekeeper of Mêlée Island is known to have a huge crush on Carla and mistakenly leads Guybrush right to her. She joins his crew after he defeats her at insult swordfighting, though she and her crew mates mutiny afterward. They are left stranded on Monkey Island, though she later escapes and rejoins Guybrush in exchange for a government job. She is voiced by Pamela Tyson in Escape From Monkey Island.
- Ignatius Cheese is one of Guybrush's crew in Escape from Monkey Island as well as the owner of the Scumm Bar. He became Guybrush's navigator and went with him to Lucre and Jambalya Island. He was voiced by W. Morgan Sheppard.
- Largo LaGrande is the local bully on Scabb Island, who prevents any ships from leaving. The situation is known as the "Largo Embargo." He is universally loathed, with many island inhabitants playing tricks on him. He is initially one of LeChuck's followers, but after his demise, he goes in search of a living piece of LeChuck in order to restore him. In 2002, the mixnmojo.com fan site released three soundbites along with an announcement of a fifth game, supposedly named Return to Monkey Island. In these, later revealed to be an April Fools' joke, Largo reappeared voiced by Dominic Armato, the voice of Guybrush. The sketches were largely written by Andrew Langley of the site, and were not from any planned game.[3]
- Marquis de Singe is the only practicing physician on Flotsam Island. He is the former court physician to King Louis, who is exiled to Flotsam due to alleged crossbreeding experiments on the Queen's prized pet poodles. His work mostly consists of amputating body parts from unlucky pirate patients that seek his expertise. He seeks actively to research the Pox of LeChuck as a way to discover immortality (due to the undead-related abilities it grants to its victims), especially the variety ravaging Guybrush's hand and body and Elaine. Due to his maddened obsession, Guybrush is forced to kill him in self-defence to prevent him from perfecting his elixir at their expense.
- Meathook is bald man, who lost both of his hands, which have been replaced by hooks, and an eye to a "ferocious beast". It is revealed that the beast is actually a parrot. Meathook also has a skull-shaped tattoo on his chest that he can manipulate so it appears to be talking, using his ventriloquist skills. He joins Guybrush's crew, and later takes up wax painting on Hook Isle. Meathook was voiced in Escape From Monkey Island and The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition by Cam Clarke.
- The Men Of Low Moral Fiber are three pirates, who tell long tall tales to Guybrush when pressed for information. Frank is the tallest of the three, and he has a pegleg due to an accident. Fred is a heavy-set, balding pirate who says little and laughs a lot. Fin, who has a goatee and headband, is rather fond of rats.
- The Monkey Island Cannibals, Red Skull, Sharptooth, and Lemonhead, lock Guybrush up for stealing a banana. They later help him defeat the pirates by brewing up ghost-killing root beer. They eventually decide to become vegetarians and move to Blood Island. Lemonhead was voiced in The Curse of Monkey Island by S. Scott Bullock.
- Morgan LeFlay a bounty hunter specializing in pirates. She is hired by Marquis De Singe to capture Guybrush Threepwood in order to retrieve Guybrush's cursed hand. However, her great admiration for Guybrush and his past adventures, along with burgeoning affection, constantly clash with her job. Her affection turning into love, Morgan attempts to redeem herself by recovering Guybrush's lost limb, a task that costs her life and grants her a measure of Guybrush affection.
- Murray is a former member of the LeChuck's skeleton crew until he is blown out of the water by Guybrush. He is separated from his body, so he is left as a skull. He constantly attempts to spread evil and occasionally helps Guybrush. He later becomes a greeter at "Planet Threepwood", in which his arm is also visible on display. Murray later appears trapped in a treasure chest swallowed by a manatee, and is given the body of Coronado De Cava's deceased crewman, Santino, until extenuating circumstances force Guybrush to separate Murray's head once more, sending it to the ocean floor. Murray is voiced by Denny Delk.
- Otis is most often seen locked up in jail, frequently for picking protected flowers, though he constantly protests his innocence and claims to be a "victim of society." People often attempt to help him escape by giving him food with files concealed inside, though he doesn't realize it. He has also been known to suffer from halitosis and claims to despise rats. Otis was voiced by S. Scott Bullock.
- Ozzie Mandrill is a land developer from Sydney, who plans to buy out the entire Caribbean. Due to his deeply-rooted hatred of pirates, he wants to eradicate them entirely and make the area tourist-friendly. He utilizes cryptic insults composed almost entirely of Australian slang to intimate people into signing their deeds over to him. He wishes to find "The Ultimate Insult", so he can transform the pirate population into "productive members of society". He is voiced by Nick Tate.
- Pegnose Pete is one of the secondary villains in Escape from Monkey Island. He is hired by Ozzie Mandrill to steal the Marley family heirlooms and frame Guybrush for the crimes. He was voiced by Tom Kane.
- Reginald Van Winslow is Guybrush's latest crew mate. He is the previous Captain of the Screaming Narwhal and later commandeered by Gruybrush. He arrived on Flotsam after chasing a pirate who made off with his booty. Whilst sailing, he tries his best to look after Guybrush and help out and also along the way catching the Pox of LeChuck. He is voiced by Roger L. Jackson.
- Wally B. Feed is a short, red-haired and meek character, who acts as a sidekick to Guybrush throughout many of the games in the Monkey Island series. He is a cartographer that Guybrush enlists to help assemble a treasure map. He uses a monocle to see, and he is nearly blind without it. He is later brainwashed into becoming a pirate under LeChuck, known as "Bloodnose."
References
External links
- Monkey Island Wiki
- The World of Monkey Island - Islands and their contents
- Complete list of books found in the Phatt City Library, as well as Guybrush Threepwood's comments on them.
- The Legend of Monkey Island - Characters
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