Like its predecessor, "Davy Crockett: Kinf of the Wild Frontier", this movie is actually a compilation of episodes of Disney's very popular "Davy Crockett" series on television. The show was so popular that folks filled theaters to see what already was on TV a year or so before! However, the timing of this episode is strange, in that Davy's death occurs in the prior movie!! I think in hindsight, Disney wishes they'd released "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" first!

The two episodes of the TV show that preceded it all are about Davy and his friend, Russell, on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in 1810. The initial portion of the movie is about Davy's bet with Mike Fink about who could get their river boat to New Orleans first. Then, with the help of Fink, they take on river pirates and have some adventures.

The first film was by far the best and most realistic. This second one is more comical...especially since the murderous pirates never get around to killing any of Crockett's and Fink's crew...and vice-versa. Odd murderous pirates, I know. Also odd is that Crockett's death at the Alamo (in the first film) happened in 1836....and this film is set in 1810...yet Crockett and Russell both look exactly the same age in both movies! Kind of sloppy...but still enjoyable. Overall, not a great film by any estimation but a reasonably well made and likable one.