Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life For Me

It’s time for the last in my Disney ride series.

One of the first rides in Disneyland, Pirates of the Caribbean was a staple in all subsequent parks. Naturally, it was chosen to be turned into a movie. I remember articles before this movie came out. They commented that pirate movies do not do well. After “The Country Bears,” expectations were low. But boy, were we shocked!

There be rough waters and SPOILERS ahead!

The Movie

The movie opens at sea, with a young girl singing the song from the ride, “Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me.” This is Elizabeth Swann, who is sailing with her father, the future Governor (Jonathan Pryce), along with James Norrington. They spot a young boy floating amongst debris in the waters and he is taken aboard. He only gives his name—Will Turner—before passing out. Elizabeth spies a piece of gold around Will’s neck and the little klepto takes it.

Years later and Elizabeth has blossomed into Keira Knightley. Norrington is in love with her, but she is in love with Will, who has grown into Orlando Bloom. He has been apprenticed with the blacksmith and is therefore considered an unsuitable match for the governor’s daughter. Of course, I think Daddy Swann is a bit oblivious to the two’s feelings, but Norrington isn’t. Anyway, they go to a ceremony for Norrington as a stranger arrives in town.

He’s drunk, he’s odd, he’s Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). And he’s been recognized as a pirate. But while Lt. Dumb and Lt. Dumber argue what to do, Jack notices a figure falling into the water. It’s Elizabeth, who has fainted due to a combination of the Jamaican heat and lack of oxygen caused by her corset. He dives in and saves her, cutting open her corset rather than giving her mouth to mouth. The Governor is grateful and lets Jack go, despite knowing he’s a pirate. He finds Will and fights him in the smithy. Jack ends up arrested anyway.

That night, Port Royal is raided by pirates, under command of Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). Jack recognizes their ship as his own, the Black Pearl, but is still trapped in jail. Elizabeth, though, is captured and taken aboard the Pearl. Daddy Swann and Norrington fret about while Will does something to rescue his True Love—he frees Jack, who had recognized his name. The two go to Tortuga, where Jack has a run in with a few spurned lovers. He manages to get himself a ship and a crew, as Will learns that Jack is a pirate…and so was his late father. Will’s in denial, but pushes it aside to rescue Elizabeth.

Elizabeth discovers that the pirates aren’t your average pirates. They’re cursed. They cannot die and in the moonlight, they turn into skeletons. Apparently, they stole cursed gold. They need to return all the gold, along with some of their blood, to lift the curse. Elizabeth has that last piece of gold. And the wits not to give her real name. She gives Will’s. But they need Will’s blood as the piece of gold was given to him by his father, part of the cursed crew. He was against them stealing the gold and got tossed overboard. They take her to the cavern where they learn her blood isn’t what they want. Will rescues her and learns the truth—Elizabeth’s gold coin was his. She says that  she took it because she couldn’t bear it if he was a pirate, but we all know that was to cover her klepto ways.

Barbossa catches up with Jack’s ship. He captures Will and strands Elizabeth and Jack on a deserted island. Where there’s rum. And so, they get stinking drunk. And have a sing-along. As you do. In the morning though, Elizabeth sets it all on fire. Jack thinks she’s nuts, but the girl knows what she’s doing. Norrington rides to their aid. He is all set to leave Will to the pirates, but Elizabeth agrees to become his wife. She asks that, as a wedding present, Norrington rescues Will. But first, the Black Pearl’s undead crew attacks the ship. Elizabeth sneaks off to rescue Jack, but fails to rally his crew to her cause. She goes to rescue Will and Jack, helping to finally destroy the curse. As the pirates realize they are no longer undead, they surrender.

At Port Royale, there’s going to be a hanging! Jack’s head is in the noose as a LONG list of crimes are read. Will confesses his love for Elizabeth to her, though I’m sure she couldn’t get past the giant feather he was sporting. He then rescues Jack, with Elizabeth’s help. Norrington pursues Jack, who is then protected by Will and Elizabeth. Daddy Swann orders all the guns to be lowered because they could hit his baby girl. After Jack trips over the side of the fort, Norrington surrenders in his pursuit of Elizabeth and Daddy Swann…kinda…gives his approval. As Will and Elizabeth share their first kiss, Jack climbs aboard the Black Pearl.

There were two more sequels, but then this synopsis would take forever. So, I’m going to stick to the first movie.

The Ride

This is one of the boat rides in Disney. The outside is designed as a combination pirate ship/Spanish fort. You walk in and down a long hallway, split in two to load two boats. There are cannons in some places as well as a prison cell with two skeletons playing chess inside. According to Susan Veness in her book The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World, the board is positioned in such a way that causes a stalemate. Chess masters are welcomed to study it if they don’t believe me.

Once you board the boat, you are sent through a rather spooky cave while a voice declares: “Dead men tell no tales!” You pass various skeletons until you come to a drop. It is three feet deep (a friend once asked a cast member). There, you encounter a pirate ship firing upon a fort. Inside the fort, the pirates try to force the mayor to hand them the key to the treasury. As the ride continues, the pirates terrorize the town. They auction off women, chase citizens through the town, and get really drunk. They also set the town on fire while singing and eventually looting the treasury. After that scene, the unloading dock is next. From there, it is a ride up a moving sidewalk to the gift shop. It is Disney, after all.

This was the ride prior to the movie. This was when you could sprint down the queue and startle a cast member. Then the movie opened. And everyone wanted to go on the ride. And they all had the same question when they got off: “Where’s Captain Jack?”

So, Disney added Captain Jack. They also added Davey Jones in the cavern scene. Barbossa now captains the ship that tries to bombard the fort. They are looking for Jack, who hides around the ride. He is then spotted at the end, in the treasury.

These changes followed the bomb that was the “Journey into Imagination” retool. So Disney fans, most who abhor changes merely for the fact that they are changes, were apprehensive. But nearly agreed (begrudgingly) that the changes were for the better and that the Disney Imagineers did a good job incorporating the old with the new.

Comparison

It’s hard to compare the two. One is a rather calm ride and the other is a thrilling cinematic experience. Yet both entertain.

Pirates of the Caribbean thrives on references. The dog with the keys that never budges. The man asleep with pigs. The lady of the night dressed in red. The song!

And that was just the first movie.

The dog becomes a running gag, appearing in the other two films. And there are more references—including actually audio from the ride during the third movie.

The first film strikes a good mixture between action, thriller, fantasy, romance and comedy. Captain Jack Sparrow immediately became a movie character to remember and Johnny Depp deserved that Oscar nom. The effects in this movie were amazing—I dare anyone to say they weren’t awestruck when they saw the skeleton crew marching underwater. The chemistry between Depp, Knightley and Bloom really drove the story along.

Final Analysis

This movie revived the pirate genre. It also ratcheted up Johnny Depp’s star power while proving Disney could do more than animated movies for kids.

I must admit, I do think the first movie is far superior to the sequels thus far. While entertaining, I found “Dead Men’s Chest” and “At World’s End” were bogged down with plot and forgot the magic formula from “The Curse of the Black Pearl.” It does look like that “On Stranger Tides” seems to recapture the original magic.

And for the record, I always thought that Elizabeth would’ve gone with Norrington in the end.