Matilda is way too curious. As she tries to take a look inside the pirates’ ship, she sets it loosep, and the Black Hole goes all the way down the street… until it crashes into the school! To make matters worse, Grandpa is still inside, and he is furious. He starts bombing the town with his cannons, and makes it impossible for anyone, even Jim, to come close! For Mrs. Bevan, it’s the last straw. This time, she is going to have the pirates evicted from town! Jim gathers Matilda, Max and Alexia to board the ship and stop the old man before he has everything destroyed; but it’s not going to be easy, facing an enraged Grandpa with a bunch of mismatched freshwater pirates!
Jim and his family seem to have fallen victim to a curse, and decide to go back to sea. If not, they are in danger of being turned into “landlubbers” just like their house, which is magically cleaned and nicely decorated in their absence. Matilda doesn’t believe in this so-called curse and sets out with a “scared-but-not-admitting-it” Jim to expose the fraud… For there is a Mrs. Bevan, well intent on making the pirates leave. And Matilda will stop her!
Matilda and Jim discover an old parchment stating that because one of Brent’s ancestors saved the life of Jim’s great-great-great-grandfather, the Jolley-Rogers can never refuse anything to a Winner and this applies for all eternity! This is a gift for Brent, who seizes the document and tries to make Jim his slave. Poor Jim is caught between two rocks: his honour demands that he respects the obligation, but Brent also asks things from him that are dishonourable, like ditching his friends, fixing a regatta, etc. Matilda, Alexia and Max team up to help their friend out of Brent’s hook without staining Jim’s honour…
Jim sets sail with the VPMs (for “Valiant ‘Prentice Mariners”), Ted Winner’s little sailors But he is quickly disillusioned: Ted bosses everyone around! This has nothing to do with sailing like pirates do! For her part, Matilda is kept at home, bored stiff… How she wishes she could join Jim on the sea! Until she learns of an approaching storm. She has to warn Jim! But first, she has to escape. Jim tries to escape the VPMs, too, but gets stuck with Ted’s silly assignments. And then the storm is there. Will everyone come through safe and sound?
During an assignment on ancestry, Jim discovers that he is not descended from the infamous Rackham Red Blood, but from Francis Flunky, an expert on etiquette. Devastated as he is by the awful news, Jim refuses to become a usurper. He determines to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious forebear by turning into a model boy: he becomes the most insipid little boy, taking lessons from Mrs. Bevan on good manners. However, when Grandpa makes Matilda his prisoner, Jim is forced to react… and he’ll find out that you can’t board a ship by asking nicely and being polite!
Matilda has to apologize to Grandpa for stepping once again on the Black Hole. She offers him an inkwell and a nice quill to write his memoirs. Alas! Squawk sees the quill and thinks Grandpa is cheating on him with another chick! A huge quarrel happens and the jealous bird leaves the ship in a huff. Grandpa is devastated, and while Jim is all for telling the truth right away like it’s no big deal, Matilda would rather fix things AND keep her involvement secret. And they have to hurry, because Squawk unleashes his fury on Dull-on-Sea! Matilda will have to come clean, as it’s up to Jim and her to stop the ongoing madness…
Jim has found buried booty… again! Matilda, Max and Alexia are impressed, but also kind of envious. They too would like to find a treasure, like real pirates! “All-righty!” It’s decided, Jim is going to make them pass their “maiden treasure hunt”, and gets a map from Grandpa: the map to Captain Barbarossa’s famous booty! Matilda and the gang set on their task with glee, with Jim to give them a hand… to advise… to correct their stance when they hold a shovel… and to generally tell them… these landlubbers are not doing it the right way! Well, that was not exactly the plan! Max, Alexia and Matilda will have to fight, so that the treasure hunt becomes their treasure hunt!
To everyone’s surprise, Brent is elected as class rep and makes school a living hell for the children. In Miss Green’s absence, he turns into a real tyrant, promotes the twins, gives unfair punishments, and has everyone go through their worst PE class. While Matilda thinks there is not much that can be done (that’s democracy after all), Jim is ready to overthrow the dictatorship! After all, pirates obey their captain… Only if it’s a good captain!! And when Jim finds out that Brent has cheated and the elections were fixed, there is no more doubt to have. He is going to teach those landlubbers what to do when the authorities are a joke. A mutiny!
The Jolley-Rogers, who seemed to finally be doing so well among the landlubbers, are suddenly talking gibberish! Matilda does not understand Jim anymore! Is that a case of Pirate Black Fever? Mrs. Bevan certainly thinks so, and spreads the rumour of an epidemic. For her part, Matilda finds out it’s only the « Pirate Private Parley Day »: the Jolley-Rogers are celebrating their roots, by talking only with «Arrrrr!» It’s quite funny and easy to learn. But by now, the town is in a state of emergency: because of Bevan’s rumours, panic has seized everyone, and soon the inhabitants, who fear they’ll be contaminated by the Black Fever, gather with pitchforks to expel the pirates. How are Matilda and Jim going to save the situation, calm everyone and not sell pirate traditions short?
Mrs. Bevan makes a new rule to banish any ostentatious sign of piracy. Jim’s wooden cutlass and jolly-roger are confiscated. He can count on Matilda to fight back, but Bevan is on fire: she extends her rule to every child in town! No more noises, no more playing in the streets, no more rude manners, as those are all deemed “signs of piracy”! Jim and Matilda end up in her “reform boot camp” …Ok fine, you know what? The kids are actually going to help Bevan. They pretend she has changed them and patrol the streets with whistles: no more gathering! No more shouting! Curfews! Adults fall under the rule too! Bevan is ecstatic, it’s like a dream come true! Until Jim and Matilda turn their whistles against her. No more Bingo!! Now that should put an end to that state of emergency!
Pirate code, landlubber law: in one, you take what you need, and it’s yours. In the other… it’s a little more complicated. The Jolley-Rogers find this out as all their belongings are seized, to pay for Jim and Matilda’s last blunder: destroying Ted Winner’s prize ship. The pirate family is left with no roof on their heads! And no, they really can’t just board their former house to reclaim property. So the Jolley-Rogers set up camp at Matilda’s. To make matters worse, the house and ship end up in the hands of… Ted, himself! It’s now “the Winners next-door”!! Matilda can’t stand going to school with Brent, and Jim suddenly feels he very much misses his old bed. It is his, by right!! They are going to need a really good idea to get rid of the newcomers…
Miss Green gives the kids an assignment: they’ll spend the day with an adult to discover their job. Matilda, of course, jumps at the chance to work with Grandpa, while Jim is excited to be with the bobby. “Police work must be thrilling, right? Like an adventure!” But Grandpa is not pleased at all to have an intern (and no you won’t set foot on the ship, young lady!), and Jim soon finds out that the bobby has… very quiet days. While Matilda tries to overcome every traps Grandpa sets for her, Jim tries to find every occasion to make his missions exciting. It all ends up with Matilda trying to “borrow” an old pirate relic from the museum, and Jim having to apprehend her in the name of the law. How are the kids going to get out of that one, while not ruining their finale presentation to Miss G.?
Matilda is dejected. She is going to miss the sea trip because Jim has caught some illness. And the way the pirates treat illness is… let’s say it’s “colourful”. Ground cod viscera, fermented jellyfish… and when nothing works, all that is left is to replace one’s leg with a wooden leg! Matilda quickly steps in: how about Jim sees a doctor before it comes to that? “A DOCTOR??” The Jolley-Rogers are horrified: no pirates has ever let one of those charlatans treat them! How is Matilda going to convince Jim that vitamins are so much better (and simpler) than having you leg cut?
Matilda accidentally sends a cannonball in Mrs. Bevan’s garden and scrapes the poor Peterkins. Bevan gets mad at the kids and accuses them of having disfigured her beloved garden gnome. The kids try to calm her down and hypnotise her, not meaning to… and Bevan begins to act as she was an actual pirate! Her behaviour first makes the kids laugh… until she kidnaps Max and Alexia, and boards Grandpa’s ship! She is such a great pirate that Nugget joins her crew! Jim and Matilda must get her back to normal and save their friends!
Matilda is upset: all the books about piracy have mysteriously disappeared from the town and this time, it’s not Bevan’s fault! Pirate stories then disappear from television! Matilda can’t even find books at her neighbours, for pirates have an oral tradition. She is delighted: that’s it! She’ll write down the Jolley-Rogers’ stories… but it’s an impossible task! Dull-on-Sea becomes so dull that people start watching the Jolley-Rogers’ daily-life as if it were a reality show! Creepy… This situation can’t last! Matilda and Jim must bring back the stories about pirates! And isn’t Ted Winner looking extremely pleased at the situation?
Jim and his family are commanded by the Brethren of the Coast to offer a booty for the Pirate Communal Fund, or else… they won’t be pirates anymore! Jim, Nugget and Matilda decide to take care of it. Only, the booty has to be in accordance to the Piracy Code, and it is not that simple… It’s a real dilemma for Matilda, who tampers with Jim’s plunders so the villagers are willing and happy to be robbed… That won’t do! Jim wants to keep his pirate’s soul, and Matilda doesn’t want to hurt any landlubber! If both can’t reach an agreement, it might be the end of their friendship!
Matilda is completely obsessed by her school marks and isn’t spending enough time with Jim because of it. The boy tries to show her that you learn just as much at “corsair college” as you do at school: not only is it fun, they also teach you essential things, like looking for treasure or surviving in the wild! Matilda duly calms down in the revision department and her school marks improve accordingly. Now, everyone in the class wants to attend “corsair college”, just like her, and all the pupils start bunking off school! But the landlubbers’ obsession for good marks soon creeps up on them again, fired notably by an untameable urge to compete…
Jim, Matilda and their friends can’t stand Mrs. Bevan’s rules any longer. But the kids discover that she is hiding a shameful secret… Jim doesn’t think twice: he uses it against her, and threatens to expose her, unless… she leaves them in peace. And it works! It works so well that Mrs. Bevan wants to leave Dull-on-Sea forever! Uh-oh, that wasn’t the plan. Especially as, without Bevan, Jim feels a bit lame… There’s not much point being a pirate without an enemy! The children realize they have gone too far with the blackmail… They must find Bevan and bring her back! Even if that means they have to put up with her rules again…
Dull-on-Sea is ready to greet the tourists who’ll fuel it during the holiday season. Jim has no idea what a tourist is, but sure is excited to find out! Only… no one is coming?! This year, the neighbour town of Blues-Beach has a new ride that attracts everyone! It’s a hard one on Dull-on-Sea. “But wait!” Matilda says. “Isn’t there a way to bring the tourists back, with a better attraction? Like, for example, a pirate attraction?” Jim readies a great show and is so keen on getting the tourists back (he wants to plunder them) that he enlists Bevan’s help. She does know a thing or two about tourists, but she is turning the pirates into a toned-down puppet show! Matilda must turn the tables!
Jim accidentally saves Mrs. Bevan from being run over. And the news soon spreads through the whole city! From now on, Jim is considered a real hero, while Matilda, who did nothing, is treated as the worst coward ever. After several attempts to reverse the trend, nothing has changed: Matilda is condemned to community service, while Jim, followed by his fans, is going to get a medal! Oh hell no! A pirate can’t be loved: a pirate has to be hated and feared! Jim runs away to a deserted island. It’s an opportunity for Matilda to restore her reputation as she “saves” him. Still, they must find a way for Jim to his bad reputation back!
When Nugget wants to become Captain of the shack, Jim disagrees: HE is the captain! Besides, she is too young! Furious, Nugget decides to build her own crew, the one condition: this is war! With collateral damages… : Matilda’s life becomes hell as she is caught in the feud between brother and sister. Nugget eventually recruits Brent and the twins… to better ruin Jim and his crew’s lives! It is a success, and Matilda decides to let Jim down… If the pirates can’t learn to apologise and to forgive, she doesn’t want any part in their vengeance! Unfortunately for Nugget, Brent betrays her to get his paws on the shack. This can’t stand: Matilda must get Jim and Nugget to make up, by force if she has to!
Matilda would so love to try fencing with Jim’s cutlass, Roast-Spit. But he flat out refuses: Roast-Spit is a family heirloom and he can’t be separated from it! And that’s when Brent steals it from him… Brent becomes the new “pirate” in town, while Jim loses all confidence and is unable to do anything. He becomes a real coward, and Brent is adopted by Grandpa, who decides to raise him a pirate! Matilda has to help him find his courage again, and prove him that the sword doesn’t make the pirate… While at the same time, proving to everyone her own worth: even if she’s a landlubber, she can fence for herself!
As Jim and Nugget have their sardines for snack, Mrs. Bevan shows up and waves a town-hall decree: sardines consumption is strictly forbidden from now on! It smells too bad! The pirates and Matilda then open “The Underground Sardine”, a restaurant specialized in pirate food! One by one, the villagers of Dull-on-Sea comes to the restaurant to taste pirate cooking, and to have fun! Mrs. Bevan and the Winners attempt to discover why the entire city stinks of sardine… Jim and Matilda will have to be smarter to keep eating pirate food!
Jim gets a black spot, aka, there’s a price on his head – the worst threat a pirate could possibly get! Jim becomes completely paranoid, arming himself to the back teeth and retreating to the cave on the beach. Matilda thinks it’s all just a big joke, until she too receives a black spot and is the victim of a mystery attack, along with Jim. It must be one of Bevan’s tricks – payback for all the mischief they’ve got up to at her expense! So, either they must be over-nice to her, to get themselves forgiven, or, they’re going to have to… kidnap her! But, then again, what if the whole thing were just one big misunderstanding…?!
Quand Mathilde parle aux Bâbord-Tribord des droits des animaux, les pirates éclatent de rire. Chez eux, les animaux sont traités comme des membres d’équipage, à la dure. Mais le prêche de Mathilde n’est pas tombé dans l’oreille d’un sourd.
