The Laughingstock is the pirate ship for the eponymous Laughingstock Crew. Whenever Percy is required to scout an area to complete a task, he bellows, "You have... to go... INSIDE".
Appearance
He is a wooden pirate ship, described with big eyes and a smiling mouth that seems to swallow the sea as he sings.
The Laughingstock is represented in two forms. For far-away shots, a wooden/plastic model ship is used. For close-up shots of his face a foam puppet ship was built, which is noted to have two askew eyes and a flopping jaw. To open and close the mouth, a fishing line was attached to the flap, which was highly visible to the viewers.
Personality
He is perpetually jolly and serves as Janice's "substitute parent", although he constantly pushes Janice beyond her limits. He tends to instruct the crew towards certain goals, but generally focuses these instructions on Percy.
Notable Episodes
- In the pilot episode "Welcome to Our Happy Ship", the Laughingstock appears before Janice when she first lands in the Candle Cove ocean. As she is pulled onto the ship, they are attacked by the Rubber Fishes. The Laughingstock encourages Janice to overcome her fears and fight back. She uses one of the Laughingstock's cannons to sink the Rubber Fishes' boat.
- In "Percy Plays Piano", the Laughingstock explains to the crew that the Rubber Fishes are trying to steal from another pirate ship, and it is up to them to stop the villains. As they fight, the Laughingstock notices that Percy is reluctant to go onto the Rubber Fishes' ship to join the battle. He urges Percy with his catchphrase, ""You have... to go... INSIDE".
- In "Getting Under My Skin", the Laughingstock again tells the crew that the Rubber Fishes are attempting to steal from another pirate ship. Before they embark, the crew sees a green flash on the horizon, leading them to believe that the Skin-Taker has returned to Candle Cove. The crew decides to follow the green flash to a dark cave, of which Percy is too afraid to enter. The Laughingstock tells Percy, "You have... to go... INSIDE".
- In "The Battle of Little Bedford", the crew returns to the Laughingstock after an unsuccessful battle against the Skin-Taker. He informs them that the Skin-Taker has retreated to his island of Little Bedford, and they must travel there to defeat him. When they arrive at the island, Percy is afraid to go in. Once again, the Laughingstock insists, ""You have... to go... INSIDE".
- In the commonly aired version of "Ship Crash", the Laughingstock is chased by the Rubber Fishes crew, who begins firing their cannons at them. The Laughingstock is hit on the side, causing him to tilt and crash into a nearby rock. In the original version of "Ship Crash", Percy accidentally sleep-steers the Laughingstock into a large jagged rock after hearing sleep-inducing singing.
- In "The New Ship", the Laughingstock is slowly rebuilt by the crew.
- Although the script for "The Treasure is Lost" is missing, it is known that there was a part of this episode that involved the Laughingstock getting stuck in a tree. In order to get him out, the crew use a balloon and fly him up.
- In "A Hole in the Ship", the Laughingstock is left with a hole in his side after a confrontation with the Rubber Fishes, and he is forced to land on a deserted island. The crew meet a stranded carpenter who agrees to help repair their ship, but they have to fight the Rubber Fishes in order to get his stolen tools back. When Percy protests that it is too dangerous, the Laughingstock responds louder than usual, ""You have... to go... INSIDE".
- Although the script for "High Waters" is missing, it is believed that the plot revolved around the Laughingstock sinking due to a large scar cut into his hull following a collision with jagged rocks. The crew frantically attempts to save their ship.
- In "The Clip Show", the Laughingstock announces that Janice has officially spent one year in Candle Cove, and asks the crew about their favourite memories. After everyone recounts their memories, the Laughingstock remarks that his favourite memory has just been made today and hopes there will be another memory next year just like this.
- In "Lost at Sea", the Laughingstock is caught in the middle of a large storm, with the waves rising and falling drastically. As the rest of the crew secure the ship, Janice is suddenly overcome with negative emotions and jumps off the ship. Although Percy noticed that she is missing, he is reluctant to jump in after her. The Laughingstock remarks, ""You have... to go... INSIDE".
- In the SEBTAW episode "Mrs. Skin-Taker", the Laughingstock is destroyed after Horace Horrible invents a weather machine and makes the ship crash. He is then replaced by a similar warship, named Manrow. However, this episode is revealed to be all a part of a dream, and therefore the Laughingstock was never really destroyed.
- In the "Screaming Episode", the Laughingstock is seen screaming and flailing around violently along with the other puppets. After this episode the Laughingstock's foam puppet was badly damaged. The strings that operated him had snapped, and his foam jaw was on the floor in a pile of sawdust.
Trivia
- His voice sounds like Ed Wynn, as Emerson Grimes envisioned the Laughingstock sounding like this in a dream.
- Although he appears to be a normal pirate ship, he has a guardian spirit inside of him, making him alive. As a result, he lives and talks.
- He talks only twice in every episode: the first is a summary of the goal for their adventure, and the second is his catchphrase.
- The fact that the Laughingstock contains a spirit allowing him to live and talk was inspired by an urban legend Tom Thrives heard when he was in middle school involving a possessed Ford Model T that tried to kill its owner.
Gallery
See also: The Laughingstock/Gallery