Captain Pete

Back in the times before Disney Castle stood where it does now, there was a steamboat service run near the future castle's site. Riding up and down the Timeless River, the steamboat was a treasured part of the area, and would dock at the local Wharf with supplies. The shipmaster and captain of the steamboat was the grumpy, yet good-hearted, Pete.

Before he became the evil man that Queen Minnie banished to another dimension, Pete was Mickey's boss.

Journal entries

Kingdom Hearts II

First entry

Steamboat Willie (1928)

Captain of a river steamboat; this is a different Pete than the one we know. He doesn't seem to have any connection with the Heartless. Why, he doesn't even recognize Sora, Donald, and Goofy!

I wonder if he's just trying to trick us.

Second entry

Steamboat Willie (1928)

Captain of a river steamboat. He's Pete, but from the past. A long time ago, King Mickey started out working for Pete on his boat.

Somehow, Pete's managed to get his boat stolen by himself -- that is, by the Pete from the future!

Story

Kingdom Hearts II

When Sora travels back in time to find the reason for the evil surrounding Disney Castle, he is quick to blame Captain Pete, unaware that he is not the Pete they are dealing with. However, when Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy point their fingers at Captain Pete, to answer his question of if they saw any bad guys, the shipmaster is visibly offended, but instead of fighting them, he merely goes off to find his stolen steamboat. But Sora, Donald and Goofy still attack him, and it is only when Captain Pete nurses his injuries and does not summon any Heartless that Sora and company realise that they have made a mistake. Sora promptly apologises to Captain Pete for the misunderstanding and offers to help him recover the steamboat to make amends.

Later on, Sora meets Captain Pete again, this time arguing with his future self over the steamboat. Present Pete, subtly hinting that his past self's incarnation's life is at stake, wins the fight, knocks his past self away and steals the steamboat. Captain Pete aids Sora and company in the battle against Pete, and succeed in defeating him and chasing him off. To show his gratitude, Captain Pete (still completely unaware of Present Pete's true identity) allows Sora, Donald and Goofy to take a ride in the steamboat, since Mickey has not shown up.

Captain Pete appears briefly during the ending credits, where he rides the steamboat up the river as Mickey jumps aboard just in time.

Appearance

Captain Pete strongly resembles the modern-day Pete greatly, but, like all natives of the Timeless River, he has a stylized, monochromatic version of his appearance. He has black fur, very large eyes with pupils set close together. His mouth is white and he has four short whiskers, two on either side of his oval-shaped, black nose. His teeth are very straight and white. While still fairly heavy, Captain Pete appears to be thinner than he is in his other forms. He dresses in grey overalls held up with a single strap over his right shoulder, showing a tail from behind. The strap is secured by a white button and his feet are covered by black fishing boots. His captain's hat is a tall, cylindrical, white hat with a grey symbol shaped like a rounded triangle on its front and a puffy, black additive on its top. The hat's overall appearance resembles one of his steamboat’s smokestacks, with the black additive resembling smoke.

Origin

Although Pete's appearances date back to 1925 in Alice Solves the Puzzle in which he was portrayed as a bear-like prototype creature, it was not until Steamboat Willie in 1928 that he made his first full-fledged feline appearance as Mickey Mouse's archenemy. Coincidentally, Pete's role in Steamboat Willie is relatively minor compared to Mickey and Minnie, appearing only at the beginning to throw Mickey back onto the deck to work, and at the very end when he stops Mickey and Minnie from their mischief and punishes Mickey by ordering him to peel potatoes.

See also

• Pete
• Lion Pete