The Best Pirate Movies that Don't Star Johnny Depp

My 3-year-old daughter absolutely loves pirates. I'm not sure where she developed her love affair with them, but she insists on having a toy pirate ship and will dress up with the bandanna and eye patch on occasion.

Naturally, people would assume I would let her watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. However, while I personally like them and have them available to watch when she's older, some of the themes are a bit too scary for her.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other pirate movies out there. Most were made prior to 1960 and none, to be honest, will compare to Pirates of the Caribbean. But, as an alternative, they aren't half bad.

Here's my list of the top 5 pirate films that don't have actor Johnny Depp.

Captain Blood (1935) - When I first saw this movie, I started watching it in the middle and didn't understand why they would make a pirate captain (Errol Flynn) so friendly. When I finally saw the beginning, I learned Captain Blood was actually a former doctor who turned pirate after being convicted of treason for saving the life of a friend who was wounded while rebelling against the king. With the plot making a lot more sense, the fighting and love scenes turned out to be a lot better than when I first watched the movie.

Treasure Island (1950) - This makes the list because it's from Disney and, like most Disney movies, is suitable for all ages. There's another re-telling of Robert Louis Stevenson's book, which was made in 1990 and starred Christian Bale as Jim Hawkins and Charlton Heston as Long John Silver, but this version has a much better cast.

Ice Pirates (1984) - This film, which stars Robert Urich, makes the list simply because it differs from your traditional pirate movies. The film takes place in space and the pirates are stealing ice (for the water) rather than gold. And, it's actually better than some of the reviews you might read.