For prosperity's sake: This article is almost two decades old and no longer reflects . . . anything. We apologize!
Monkey Island: The Alternative View
An article by TheKiller, posted on March 07. 2003.
This article refers to Monkey Island - The Revelation.
If you ever remember school when you were 6-8 you may remember your teacher telling you NEVER to end a story with 'and then I woke up and it was all a dream'. It is one of the worst ways to end a story and I very much doubt that the current theory floating around is true. Why? Well...
When Ron Gilbert first made 1 + 2 he designed them to be part of a trilogy and so when the third game never happened directly by his hand it was out of his control and not his original intention. As I believe someone has already pointed out, what would be the fun if it was 'Monkey Island 3 - Time to go home' or something similar? It simply wouldn't work.
Now to pick up on a few ingame points (mainly from MI2). At one point in the dialogue the Voodoo lady says 'Big Whoop is not only treasure, but a gateway to another world'. Now, surely, the 'other world' is simply Guybrush being imprisoned as a child thinking he has just woken up from a dream? Maybe LeChuck had already gotten to Big Whoop and had created it to be like it appeared (an Illusion).
But how would that explain the whole 'take my mask off, I'm your brother' scenario. Well, if you remember, the treasure chest had broken open when Guybrush had crashed down into the tunnels and this no doubt released the evil voodoo spells creating the fake illusion and guiding the viewer into a false pretense. This would also account for the 'ticket' to the theme park that magically appears.
At the very end of the game after the first round of credits Elaine goes 'Now I wonder what's keeping Guybrush?' - If it had been a dream (or even a fantasy) surely 'Elaine' wouldn't exist? But, you argue, that could be Guybrush thinking about Elaine in his head while he is wondering around with his parents. Again this is unlikely as if ever you have been dragged away from something you often tend to forget about it very quickly. Especially if you are young.
Another reason for me finding the 'Guybrush is really a little kid with a vivid imagination' scenario difficult to believe is the entire 'voodoo' thing. Imagine this:
- Guybrush (adult) is being chased around tunnels using voodoo dolls, skulls, juju bags and various other assorted items to destroy the evil ghost pirate that is running after him.
- Guybrush tears voodoo dolls leg off causing 'LeChuck's' leg to also rip off causing a large mess and pools of green blood to appear.
- LeChuck tells Guybrush the 'I'm your brother' story before 'revealing his true self'.
- Maintenance man returns Guybrush and Chuckie to the 'real world' before their parents walk them around the rest of a giant theme park where things such as voodoo, pirates and rubber chickens are all fictional (ok maybe not rubber chickens but you get the idea).
- Somewhere, in a process we don't see, Guybrush turns into a little boy, LeChuck turns from being an undead, rotting pirate into a big brother, the maintenance tunnels lead into the theme park and Guybrush's parents turn up not only breathing but walking as well. But it's all in his imagination you say? How does this account for Chuckie lying on the floor with only one leg when the maintenance man walks in? Maybe what we are seeing here is the 'gateway' to 'another world' that is Big Whoop. I very much doubt we are seeing half of Guybrush's imagination and half of the 'real' world.
Now, surely, if Guybrush was really a little boy he would 'remember' the fact that he has lost himself in his imagination and wouldn't be quite so shocked on his 'return to reality'. But, once again you argue, how does this account for him saying to his 'father' 'no sir' when he meets him once more? Well, if in a situation like that, I can imagination that the majority of us would act like that considering our apparent large change in size.
What about the 'Big Whoop Theme Park' looking so much like Booty Island scenario? Perhaps LeChuck modeled Big Whoop to look so much like it or maybe Big Whoop changes itself to confuse its victims into believing a false reality.
Other points:
- The apparent 'maintenance tunnels' which appear very similar (if not exactly the same) as the ones on Dinky Island (or, as you argue, in Guybrush's imagination) still would contain the same rooms when the maintenance man arrives. So what about the room with the 'skeletons' in it? Do they come back to life to create Guybrush's parents? Oh wait, they can't because Guybrush is really a little kid who lives in normality where such things don't occur. The skeletons were only in Guybrush's mind you say? He used part of one to make the voodoo doll which he still has when LeChuck reveals himself.
- When Guybrush hits his head and has the dream with his parents turning into skeletons and dancing what might that be? A dream in a dream? What did little Guybrush do? Walk into the side of the dodgems whilst dreaming about being a pirate?
- Elaine How many of you can honestly say at the age of 7 or 8 you would think of yourself as full grown adult and then dream about talking to a member of the opposite sex in such a way Guybrush did in MI1 (on the pier) and MI2 (in Elaine's bedroom)? I have either been missing out when I was young or this is no dream/fantasy.
- I know this point is old but the 'Chuckie's eyes go evil looking' scenario at the end of MI2 is hardly normal. Oh, but wait, Guybrush is a normal kid, with normal parents and a bully for an older brother. The rest is self explanatory.
- Monkey Island 1 So, Little Guybrush fantasizes about all that, then fantasizes about his break up with Elaine and then dreams up an entirely new adventure all in one 'real' day but the fantasy takes several years. Something is wrong there.
To conclude then:
I know that there will be many who will condemn this article for being poorly researched or improperly written and so forth but I will take it all with dignity so feel free to leave your comments. Before I finally conclude I would also like to make very clear that this article is NOT IN ANY WAY having a go at the article which supports the opposite view (even if some of the language may suggest it is) but is simply offering a different view.
I believe that Guybrush Threepwood at the end of Monkey Island 2 is a victim of Big Whoop which enters him into another world (which LeChuck also enters, perhaps not voluntarily) which is actually a completely false reality that draws Guybrush into believing he is simply visiting a theme park with his parents. The similarities between Booty Island and the theme park are simply there in order to make the false reality seem more believable. A realistic third game could also be created with this scenario rather than if it was really 'all just a dream'.
Hope you enjoyed reading. Feel free to leave comments.
Comment from Bob the Builder
Comment from Bob the Builder
Having played through MI2 again, and looking at the first 2 games, I believe that Guybrush is a small child who's imagination has got the better of him. In the interview about SoMI, Ron says: "This isn't a historically accurate game. In fact, you'll see when you play that there are a lot of anachronisms, like the vending machine at Stan's used ship yard. They're there to add humor to the game of course, but they also have a secret, deeper relevance to the story -- but I'm keeping that secret for the sequel." (http://www.scummbar.com/resources/articles/index.php?newssniffer=readarticle&article=1033)
The "deeper relevance" in question can only be that these anachronisms (e.g. from SoMI, when you ask the pirates while swordfighting why they talk funny, and they tell you thats the way they talked back then, "play along Guybrush") are in fact the evidence that the whole thing is part of a theme park.
People seem to be focussing a lot on the clip of Elaine while the credits are rolling. If we go with the "its a child's imagination" theory, this could simply be Guybrush's way of trying to escape from reality back to his fantasy: "ah, this is all a trick, its REALLY just a curse!" Indeed, if Ron WAS going to write a third game, this, (and the flashing eyes of Chuckie) could be a way of continuing the game - Guybrush re-enters his fantasy world (with these pieces of 'evidence' to reinforce his belief in it) and continues his adventures.
Unfortunately, it seems highly unlikely that the 'real' Monkey Island 3 will ever come out (or for that matter, ANY new Monkey Island), and so we shall sit here speculating (since Ron has cunningly realised that silence on his part is the best way to keep the interest alive).
Comment from Mr Cheese
Guybrush is a kid: Afterwards, he goes back into his imaginary world saying "I finally escaped the carnival of the damned" because he dislikes the real world, as many kids do. He is annoyed that his brother interrupted him just as he was getting the treasure, and he continues his adventure.
Guybrush is an adult: LeChuck had cursed him into the carnival of the dammned, but he escaped from it against the odds. LeChuck tells him that Big Whoop was the gates of hell, and what Guybrush hates the most is the authorities (that's why he's a pirate) and so he becomes a little kid.
Comment from Hobo
As for the whole removing Lechuck's face thing, don't forget the overwhelming amount of Voodoo in these games.
And remember when elaine is standing by the hole at the end, and says she hopes LeChuck hasn't put a SPELL on Guybrush or anything...
Besides, the only person in the whole world who knows how this really works is Ron, and he doesn't make the games anymore.
Comment from Gon Rilbert
To me it always seemed completely clear that Ron is a story-architect. It is a bad thing for a schoolboy to end his stories with "and it was all a dream", but Ron may do so, because he knows what he is doing. But it seems he overestimated the maturity of his audience.
Many of you want to know, wheter it is "the truth" that Guybrush is a little kid in MI2. No, he is not. He is a "Brush" an animated set of pixels that you were playing in a computer game. Don't you get the joke?
This is what Rons ending means:
Game Over! See you next time!
Comment from LeChuck_98909
It could have been different if Ron had have carried on but he didnt and new developers took over and made it a great series by adding two more.
Although I do agree that MI1 and MI2 are completely different from CMI and EFMI!
No one has really understood the ending and the only person that will ever understand it is Ron so try and find out if your desperate!
Also Big Whoop could have put a spell on Guybrush making him think that he was a kid, i highly doubt it teleported him to another dimension, but it could have and thats something that Ron knows so try and find out from him!
Comment from Barber Dominique
i couldnt read EVERY comment..but as much as my eyes could tolerate i did!
But just in a few lines, i truly think that the end of MI2 shows THE Secret of MI, just the imagination of a little kid, but not just a common kid, its Ron guys...its himself living a tale, he's the one who feels weird when he discovers its just a theme park he's in.
I think he finished the saga, showing himself getting out of his nice dream "Monkey Island", that tale he created in his mind when he visited the "pirates ride" or smthing like that..(i dont remember that well)...
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
(maybe this was already said by someone out there...just tell me)
Comment from Nickelode
I don't understand your arguments:
"CMI & EMI are NOT Monkey Island - you are SO STUPID!"
"CMI & EMI ARE Monkey Island and YOU are so stupid!"
Wow - what a discussion! Only because you have a view of the Monkey Island thing you can't insult people with other views and forbid their oppinions...
Monkey Island was meant to be fun - not to fight about its real story... I think you can all agree with that?
[To Darth Shatner]
"It's supposed to be a parody with liitle anachronistic bits thrown in for humorous effects."
-We ALL know that. But isn't it funny that many of these things would fit into a theme park?
"What sense would that make... portal to another world/resulting in little more than Bobby Ewings shower scene from "Dallas""
-You just told us that it's not about reality and that there are some strange things to make it funny and... strange... And now both of you ask 'what sense would that make'...
(Btw: you really watch dallas?? =))
And the last thing: Why are Chuckies eyes such a big indication and not other things that would fit into the theme-park-theory?
I don't say my view is the one to rule them all (*g*), but many of you do. Just say what you think but let everybody else his/her own view =)
Peace! =)
alex
Comment from Darth Shatner
- Irrelevent. Gilbert may have started the ball rolling, but the Mokey Island series is owned by LEC, not him. Thus if LEC, the owner of the MI series, says that CMI and EMI are games in the Monkey Island series, then like it or not, they are true MI games. You can whine to the contrary all you want, but this fact is set in stone. LEC owns MI. Not Ron. Not me. Not you.
- Just because Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster haven't written an issue of Superman for decades doesnt mean each issue since isnt a story about Superman. Peter David's run on the Incredible Hulk was for my money the best run on the Hulk ever, but he didn't CREATE the Hulk. He didn't create the new Supergirl, or the heroes in Young Justice, yet they are fun reads. So don't tell me a MI game can't be enjoyable simply because Ron isn't there.
"So all your arguments pro-ing the theory that it WAS actually a spell put on Guybrush by LeChuck need to be ignored."
- No, people who are incapable of dealing with reality need to be ignored.
"Unless you like to think MI3 and 4 WERE actually 'true' Monkey Island games."
- I don't think, I KNOW. And even if I didnt think so, LEC does. No law requires you to *LIKE* CMI/EMI, but facts are facts. Whether of not they are GOOD games is something that can actually be debated. But they ARE Monkey Island games and thus are part of continuity.
CMI/EMI *ARE* Monkey Island. Deal with it.
"Then IF mi1 and mi2 wasn't a fantasy of young Guybrush walking through an amusement park, then what's with all the little references to it being a real amusement park? (the vending machine, tshirts, e-ticket, etc)"
- Dude. I think Ill let you in on a little known secret. MONKEY ISLAND IS NOT ABOUT REALITY. It's escapist fantasy that was never meant to be a realistic depiction of life in the late 1600s. It's supposed to be a parody with liitle anachronistic bits thrown in for humorous effect. Look at ALaddin. The Genie does a metric buttload of jokes referring to 20th Century stuff and people. Does that mean the whole freakin' movie, it's three OAV sequels and Telvision show was an 8 year old Aladdin DREAMING?
"The treasure OF big whoop as buried by four pirates (yadadada) and that treasure is what you dug up on Dinky Island at the big X. That very treasure WAS what was in the chest that you hold in the start and end of the game. Eventually you tumble down to the maintance corridors of the amusement park and there you'll find the crush chest with an E-Ticket in it! So there."
- Once more: Irrelevent. Chucky's glowing eyes is a fairly big indication that the "Reality" is not what it seems. There have been all sorts of fictional works where someone concocts an elaborate scheme to screw with someone's mind. Watch "Videodrome" sometime.
So THERE.
"What sense would that make it the treasure of big whoop would be some kind of portal to another world/dimension (ala Carnival of the Damned)"
- More sense than two whole games resulting in little more than Bobby Ewings shower scene from "Dallas"
"DO NOT COME WITH ARGUMENTS BASED ON MI3 & 4!!!! THEY HAVE SO MANY PLOTHOLES ANYWAY"
- I won't. But only because you've proven incapable of handling it.
Comment from Erdan
It's the rambling about the end of MI2 that keeps the legend alive.
Comment from Nickelode
When I read Ron's interview I somehow had the feeling that he IS actually doing something with MI3a... Maybe he is developing a storyline, maybe more... Maybe I'm just hallucinating =)
Another point... Why is Ron now developing childrens' games? I mean, Guybrush was an adult!... Wasn't he?
And the last thing: Have you ever read "Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder? It's really interesting! And it tells you a lot about reality, 'imagination' and the world created by it.
I have read all the comments here and my opinion is that maybe MI1 was thought to be alone. But then, while developing MI2, Ron got the idea of Guybrush dreaming the whole story in a theme park and for this reason Guybrush came back to reality at the end of MI2. CMI wasn't done by Ron, so new developers had new ideas and changed the plot back to 'Guybrush is an adult'.
Maybe Ron thought of something like Guybrush - having always been punished by his school 'friends' - now beeing able to compete with them by using his pirate-experience (could be funny using MI1 and MI2 quotes in the real world) and then going back to his pirate-world for new adventures... Or maybe there should have been just an interlude in the real world (without the 'Guybrush becomes a hero' part =))...
This is just my opinion. And I think all the thoughts of MI fans are interesting - whether I share them or not! It's just like Funky Monkey posted: It's the fans' imagination forced by the lack of information that makes the whole thing even more exciting than it already was - far beyond the off-switch of your computer.
alex
Comment from Erdan
Comment from Desh-Board
Comment from stuart
There is only one thing Ron Gilbert could have done if he had written the third game, had Guybrush escape back to his world, where he is "Guybrush Threep, a mighty pirate".
The idea that Guybrush is in fact just a child, makes the whole series pointless.
Comment from Funky Monkey
The idea that its all a kids fantasy is very interseting. ive not seen it posted anywhere else, so ill point out that in MI1, in a swordfight an opponent tells you "Pirates SPOKE like that BACK THEN" (Note the past tense), he then says "play along Guybrush". And im pretty sure when you look at the barrier in Melee at the end if MI2, it says, "closed for renovations". Not that this changes much, I just though id point it out. The only actual proof that Guybrush is adult and dreaming/hallucinating/enchanted, is "Chuckie"'s eyes turning red at the end of MI2. Apart from this there is no proof that what is happening is real or not.
Comment from Ralgath[queztone]
Then IF mi1 and mi2 wasn't a fantasy of young Guybrush walking through an amusement park, then what's with all the little references to it being a real amusement park? (the vending machine, tshirts, e-ticket, etc)
The treasure OF big whoop as buried by four pirates (yadadada) and that treasure is what you dug up on Dinky Island at the big X. That very treasure WAS what was in the chest that you hold in the start and end of the game. Eventually you tumble down to the maintance corridors of the amusement park and there you'll find the crush chest with an E-Ticket in it! So there. What sense would that make it the treasure of big whoop would be some kind of portal to another world/dimension (ala Carnival of the Damned)
DO NOT COME WITH ARGUMENTS BASED ON MI3 & 4!!!! THEY HAVE SO MANY PLOTHOLES ANYWAY (ht marley, jojo, etc etc)!
Comment from stuart
Comment from iamthewookie
Comment from joemoz
I believe that Ron Gilbert has talked about about 'The Secret' saying it's pretty simple and obvious really. Maybe it's something slightly sickly like "a child's imagination can never be killed" - which would be one way of explaining Elaine showing up in the end credits. One way or another, I think her appearence is the key.
It's hard to conceive of a MI game being set in 'the real world' in its entirity, but maybe that's what Ron intended. At least for the start, before you get back into Guybrush's imagination. Maybe we'll never know, but I hope we do. If I were a rich man, I'd buy the rights and give them to Ron! hehe, sad isn't it this many years on, but I've never enjoyed any game like the first two Monkey Island games.
Comment from Wally182
Comment from Slim_Shufty
THATS when the dream started and so everything after that is just a dream, except for elaine standing over the hole.
Comment from Gez
"STOP WRITING TRASH!!!"
Indeed. Guess you should follow your own advice, your comment was not particularly insightful, useful, nor even pleasant.
Comment from Jojo Sr
Comment from Gez
I just wanted to add a little comment:
Big Whoop is supposed to be the gateway to another dimension. LeChuck wants to have a voodoo doll that can send Guybrush into another dimension. There's a trend here.
But LeChuck's doll don't work, and Guybrush is merely sent to another screen... However, what if the voodoo doll LeChuck has was not unfonctionnal ? What if the dimension of torment is a closed maintenance tunnel, where Guybrush will be chased forever by "a" LeChuck ? Guybrush begins to break the curse by making his own voodoo doll to stop the demon LeChuck tormeting him, so the curse evolve to this infantilizing state.
On the other hand, the "dreaming boy" theory is somewhat backed by the tons of anachronisms Guybrush sees throughout his journeys: automatic grog machines, ID cards (and bartenders refusing to give alcohol to minors), etc. The Fetuccini Brothers Circus or the disguises found in Booty's party, Indy's whip in the shop, and so on; are as much examples of things that could be in a late XXth century boy's subconscious.
Given the humorous nature of the whole serie, they could as well be just jokes.
Comment from superqult
"I would love to do another "adult" adventure game. My dream is to buy the rights to Monkey Island and do the true Monkey Island 3. I'd call it "Monkey Island 3a: The Secret Reveled or your Money Back"."
the whole interview is at: http://www.mixnmojo.com/php/site/resource.php?feature=/interviews/rongilbert/rongilbert
Comment from crazypumpkin
His response? That it was much simpler than people think...and that people expecting something profound were probably in for a dissapointment. Remember that when you generate these monkey island theories, k? ;)
Comment from Katarn
Comment from doodlbugg
*what i think happened is that what Guybrush by the tree with his parents and LeChuck may have been a dream or reality. However, when LeChuck is chasing him through the tunnels is reality. Up until you get to the point where Guybrush rips off LeChuck's leg. He may have seen that Guybrush was getting close to discovering the truth about Big Whoop after Guybrush beats him up, and then make him dream/fantasize about being at the carnival. For how he escapes it could have been that LeChucks's mojo wasn't strong enough to make Guybrush to become completely lost in his fantasy world of the carnival, and that he remembered who he actually was and escaped. Thereby he would be of normal size, and also as a side effect or safe guard of LeChuck's cause Guybrush to forget a things, also including the voo-doo lady.
*The argument against this of course is that it could be giving LeChuck *way* to much credit to have thought of all this, and then know what to. But LeChuck could of had a minion to do all his dirty work.
*Another theory is that it could go along with the first one up until Guybrush's 2nd dream. LeChuck could have thrown him into another alternate dimension/reality, but not Big Whoop, and also like the first one would have kept some of his memory of the reality where he was a pirate. The down fall of this one too is that it could or could not be giving LeChuck too much credit.
I have no life as you have probably already guessed(see me when I talk about Lord of the Rings). Now my brain is hurting. Oh well, I'll survive.
Comment from weezbrush
Comment from Squinky
Comment from Oracle
Regardless of which theory is correct, Guybrush still managed to escape from the theme park as shown by the next two Monkey Island games.
If the original idea is right, how did he manage to escape from his parents and Chuckie to get back into his dream world, and if he did, it does make the game seem a bit pointless if its all a dream (and of course there's still the little bit about Chuckie's glowing eyes?)
And if the second theory is correct, how did our hero manage to escape from Big Whoop. In the third game, LeChuck describes how he beat Captain Marley to Big Whoop. He says that Marley arrived only to see the young, living LeChuck enter the Monkey Head (where, if I remember correctly, forgive me if I'm wrong, the treasure was supposed to lie) and emerge as the demonically evil ghost pirate. So how did Guybrush get out ALIVE?
Personally, I feel that the entire thing was orchestrated by LeChuck in order to make Guybrush suffer (we know that LeChuck has the power to turn him into a child, as he did it in Monkey Island 3).
Let me explain, Guybrush always wanted to be a pirate, and he finally managed to do it in the first game. So he would pretty peeved to be turned into a child and lose his piraty lifestyle and Elaine.
And by turning himself into Guybrush's seemingly innocent older brother, LeChuck could torture him for as long as he wanted, as shown by the glowing eyes bit.
Forgive me if I've babbled, but I thought I might as well voice my opinion. All we can hope for is that one day, Ron Gilbert and all the rest of the Monket Island team will tell us what the heck they were thinking of when they thought up this ending!
Comment from ToGetSedated
My opinion is that lechuck got to big whoop and cursed it with voodoo, making it into a tickit and that the only way to come back to reality(ADULT GUYBRUSH)is to find the way out in big whoop theme park(it would be disguised as something, maybe not even at big whoop theme park, maybe in his childhood car or home?)I think the childhood has to be imaginary and adult is real because why would elaine say "Why is guybrush taking so long?" AFTER you are a child?
Comment from Uncle Peter
oh and there was a point i read somewhere that guybrush couldnt have been 21 proving that he was a kid because he never got to drink any alcohol, well he got to drink rum rogers grog that knocks him out.
Comment from Erdan
Of course, Ron never said anything about the real ending, and that could be because he did plan to use the Dream thing, but it is so unpopular, that he wouldn't want to admit it. Maybe he's still thinking about a different, more popular ending.
Comment from Penultimate Lifeform
Comment from Hellbeard
btw, anyone ever seen that Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when she finds out that her whole life was a dream and that she lives in a Mental institute! That was a very thought provoking episode!
Comment from Iamthebest1
Comment from Crazymatt
Comment from whiteprophet
but, if you want the REAL ending, here it is.
the entire monkey island thing (1 + 2) is a game. it is one big theme park, where you can play as either the good guy, or the bad guy. guybrush plays the good guy and chucky plays the evil lechuck. but, in number 2, they get caught mucking around on a ride, so they have to stop.
evidence? okay, remember an old interview with ron where he said something along the lines of " i like the pirate ride, and i always wanted to get out and walk around the pirate world place thing ", so thats what i think.
if you run through the game with the whole "its a ride" thing, it all works out.
Comment from aGuyWithout_aBrush
make sense? IT DOES TO ME!
you gotta have an ending,and the deadline is near,so it 4 AM and somone saying
"lets make it all a dream"
-"huh? yhea,Ok!"
-"cool"
-"great"
-"theme park"
-"yhea"
-"wanna a bear?"
and so on....
BUT,in case i'm wrong,and this whole thing is planed out,then dont forget that MI2 is a story that guybrush tells elain (up until he falls) then the dream of his parent is sort of a"dream within a story of adream"?!
and about the thing with the years from MI1 and MI2,it may be that guybrush returned to the park a few years later and tells elain what he's been up to
and what about the bully from MI2 (forgot the name,dont shot me)? this could be a bully kid that runs thrugh the park and annoys everyone...
Comment from MrManager
Comment from lowman
you gotta remember, the treasure has been called "Big Whoop"... now let's all have a think back to when we last said "big whoop"
Ron Gilbert knew what he was doing, and much as I enjoy the later MI games, LEC didn't know what Ron Gilbert was doing...
if you ask me, the most we need to know about the ending of MI2 and - indeed - Big Whoop is that it's called "Big Whoop"
Comment from Ralgath[queztone]
Whenever Gilbert will tell us and if we would understand it and be able to relate to the game's 'happenings' then why would it not be possible to guess it?
Remi: I've done some searching myself too and it seems e-tickets have multiple functions depending on the park. Check:
SPECIAL RIDES:
http://themeparks.about.com/library/eticket/bleticketmain.htm?PM=ss15_themeparks
FAST PASS/HOTEL ARRANGEMENT
http://www.freep.com/features/travel/briefs5_20020505.htm
Hohoho, but wait, this page knows what they're talking about:
E-TICKET HISTORY
http://www.themedattraction.com/fastpass.htm
"Use a ride coupon system. A practice commonly used by fairs and carnivals, Disney also once utilized ride tickets. This is where the term "E-Ticket," now only a name reserved for their most expensive attractions, first came about. Instead of today
Comment from Cap'nCrew
Capn'Crew: mitch_meincaster@hotmail.com
Comment from MrManager
Comment from Ralgath[queztone]
Thanks for the quick reply. I'm glad people are still interested in theorizing after all this while.
Well..watch Star Wars sometime. I wouldn't want to spoil anything of the movies. They're great! :)
The E-Ticket, I didn't know this until I read it somewhere. E-Ticket is something I think Disneyland has and it allows you to be in a theme-park after closing time. Something like that. Try searching for 'e ticket theme park' at google.com.
Cya round,
Ralgath
Comment from TheKiller
The article you see here was never actually intended to be an article. It was originally going to be a longer comment to the first article but I soon realised that it was going to be quote long and so decided to make it a full article. This is why it isn't fully paragraphed and subtitled.
At the end of the day I don't doubt that the original article is probably true. This article is simply designed to offer the other side of the argument of which many people would much prefer to believe. If it really is all part of his imagination I do think it is an anti climax and some what disappointing.
With regards to some of the points you have made:
1) The Star Wars theory I don't fully understand as I have never properly watched Star Wars (yes, its true) and so someone would have to explain that.
2) I am not sure what an 'E-Ticket' is as I am not American (I am guessing this is some American theme park thing?) and so I couldn't reference that in the
article.
Overall the article is summing up views and points made by others against the original article. It can't really combat the other article because that article opens up many avenues that cannot be argued against.
I simply want to live in the hope that the Secret of Monkey Island is not that Guybrush is really a little kid in a theme park :)
TheKiller,
Article Writer
Comment from Ralgath[queztone]
- "When Ron Gilbert first made 1 + 2 he designed them to be part of a trilogy"
> I don't know about this. Nor am I sure about it. Even if it would be a trilogy that would still be possible within the lines of my theory. The third episode could be the explainatory episode or something.
- "At one point in the dialogue the Voodoo lady says 'Big Whoop is not only treasure, but a gateway to another world'."
> Actually I believe its always been referred to as "the treasure OF Big Whoop. And the treasure OF Big Whoop is as I've written the E-ticket (found in the treasure chest) which grants Guybrush to stay in the park after closing time (much like E-tickets do IRL).
- "But how would that explain the whole 'take my mask off, I'm your brother' scenario."
> This is clearly a mockery/parody on Star Wars (Luke & Vader @ end of ROTJ) and as I've written Chuckie was simply convincing Guybrush to go back to their parents whilst they were fighting.
Your points of argument against my theory:
- "Guybrush (adult) is being chased around tunnels using voodoo dolls, skulls, juju bags and various other assorted items to destroy the evil ghost pirate that is running after him."
> I think this is very possible. It's a piratey themepark, of course there's voodoo stands and scenes etc.
- "Guybrush tears voodoo dolls leg off causing 'LeChuck's' leg to also rip off causing a large mess and pools of green blood to appear."
> His own made voodoo doll (which doesnt really work of course but in his imagination it does) is real, he made it with the voodoo stand's help.
- "LeChuck tells Guybrush the 'I'm your brother' story before 'revealing his true self'."
> They're fighting and Guybrush is being so aggressive that Chuckie reminds him of that he's the big brother and Guybrush is to listen to him. Something along those lines anyway.
- "Maintenance man returns Guybrush and Chuckie to the 'real world' before their parents walk them around the rest of a giant theme park where things such as voodoo, pirates and rubber chickens are all fictional (ok maybe not rubber chickens but you get the idea)."
> I don't get this argument?
- "Somewhere, in a process we don't see, Guybrush turns into a little boy"
> We don't need to. The game starts at the moment that Guybrush imagination is at the point where he realises he would love to be a pirate.
- "I very much doubt we are seeing half of Guybrush's imagination and half of the 'real' world."
> I clearly do not.
- "Now, surely, if Guybrush was really a little boy he would 'remember' the fact that he has lost himself in his imagination and wouldn't be quite so shocked on his 'return to reality'."
> He LOVES his imagination. He loves 'being' a pirate in his imagination. So of course he doesn't want to leave his imagination or the park itself even.
- "maybe Big Whoop changes itself to confuse its victims into believing a false reality."
> Nonsense. It's a 100% clear issue that supports my theory for another 100%. I never was good at math.
- "The skeletons were only in Guybrush's mind you say?"
> No. As you saw there are several storage areas and I'm sure there would be 'fake' skeletons displayed in a pirate themepark. These skeleton items that were in the little 'staff room' were simply lying around.
- "A dream in a dream?"
> No, he was in his imagination and was climbing this tree thing or whatever. He fell in the real world (and of course then also in the fantasy) and he got knocked out for a moment. Because he was so actively thinking about pirates etc his dream related to that a lot. It was a real dream, not IN his imagination. A dream is 'imagination'. After the dream he directly went back into his imagination again.
- "How many of you can honestly say at the age of 7 or 8 you would think of..."
> I think a lot of us fell in love with our kindergarden teachers. :p Elaine was maybe just an attentend at the park. As someone pointed out; looking after Guybrush making sure he didn't get into trouble too much.
- "..but the fantasy takes several years."
> In fantasies/imaginations time is completely irrelevant. (Mind you that the timespan you are ACTUALLY dreaming whilst sleeping only takes about two minutes, while your dream contents can be much more than that)
- "poorly researched or improperly written"
> It could perhaps use a little more paragraph-titleing and overall structure. Plus splitting arguments for YOUR theory and arguments AGAINST mine.
J.Quest