SEX 'N' SWAGGER YO HO, EVERYONE LOVES A PIRATE'S LIFE.

Byline: Glenn Whipp

Film Writer

They've taken over Legoland and staged a mutiny at a Buena Park dinner theater. (Adios, Wild Bill. Hello, Pirates Dinner Adventure!)

They're on the cover of the new Pottery Barn Kids catalog and their skull-and-crossbones logo grace 241,000 products currently for sale at CafePress.com.

Pirates are everywhere, and it's not just officially licensed offshoots from the three Disney "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, the latest of which opens in theaters Friday. You can't shake a (peg) leg without hitting someone wearing a Jolly Roger hat or T-shirt bearing the inscription "Pirates Get All the Booty." It's a fad, yes, but one that has an awful lot of hearties' timbers shivering.

"No one wants to dress up like a banker," says USC English professor Leo Braudy, author of "From Chivalry to Terrorism: War and the Changing Nature of Masculinity."

A bottle of rum ... and then some

"The pirate is the ultimate outsider," Braudy continues, "living the mythically unconstrained life, drinking rum and chasing lusty wenches. It's your unconstrained self, to the extent that you can still find that inside."

"A lot of grog, a lot of sex 7/8 it's a great daydream," says Bill Nighy, who plays Davy Jones in the "Pirates" movies. "Of course, nobody wants to really live the life of the pirate, but the idea of a pirate might take you out of the cubicle for a while."

Or keep you company inside the cubicle or in the comfort of your home. There are now entire lines of pirate bed linens and bath products, DVD players and television sets, luggage, leather and, of course, skull rings.

Why the proliferation of pirates? Among the guesses:

"It's rock and roll, it's youth," says Gore Verbinski, director of the "Pirates" movies.

"It's Johnny Depp," Disney Imagineer Glenn Kellerman says. "Everyone loves the character he created."

Pirates have female appeal

Kellerman's theory holds some weight if you've seen the mobs of middle-age women surrounding the "cast member" dressed as Jack Sparrow at Disneyland. A source close to the faux-Jack reveals that without the presence of at least two Disney helpers, Capt. Sparrow's costume would be reduced to tatters by the end of the day.

"It's universal," says Jason Surrell, author of "Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies." "Cowboys are limited to the West; pirates were found on all four corners of the globe. Like the open range, there's a romantic appeal to the open sea."

Or for Mark Summers (aka Cap'n Slappy), co-founder of Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept. 19, in case you haven't marked your calendar) and co-author of "Pirattitude: So You Wanna Be a Pirate? Here's How!" (now in its sixth printing), it just comes down to goofy fun.

"Isn't it cooler to, one day a year, answer your phone: 'Johnson and Smith, lawyers. Who can we scuttle for you?' " Summers asks. "Being a pirate gives you permission to play. And that's not a bad thing for adults."

The pervasiveness of pirates will inevitably lead to a collective cry of "arrrrrrrrrrr." But pirates seem well-equipped to survive any backlash.

"Pirates were around before Jack Sparrow, and they'll be around long after Jack Sparrow," Depp told the Daily News. "Being a pirate is a state of mind. You don't need a sword or a bandanna. You don't even need rum to get there. You just need to look at things from outside the norm. Do that and you're a pirate."

Savvy?

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) ARRR!

It's a pirate's life for you!

(2) Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp are back for more action, romantic and otherwise, in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."