Tales of the Black Freighter

Tales of the Black Freighter is a short animated film spun off from the Watchmen universe, adapting the comic-within-a-comic that appears in the graphic novel. A sailor is the only member of his crew to survive an attack by the notorious Black Freighter, the ship that destroyed his vessel, and he washes up alone on a beach. Determined to get back to his home city and warn its people that the freighter is coming, he builds a raft from the bodies of his dead shipmates and sets out across the sea. His journey becomes a grim test of endurance, and his obsession with saving those he left behind comes at a terrible cost.

The film runs 26 minutes and was released in March 2009, directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio and Mike Smith from a screenplay by Zack Snyder and Alex Tse. For Smith it followed 1001 Nights in his directing credits, while for DelPurgatorio it came before Marshmallow. Gerard Butler voices the Mariner, with Jared Harris, Cam Clarke, Siobhan Flynn, Salli Saffioti and Lori Tritel in supporting roles. It was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Entertainment, Paramount and Reel FX Creative Studios.

Audience response has been solid but not unanimous. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 across roughly 7,500 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.6 out of 10 from a much smaller base of 228 votes. The gap reflects a modest viewership that is broadly positive on the whole.