The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

From a movie with a famous ride to a movie based on a famous ride, we have Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

The Movie:

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 summer blockbuster directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.  It was the first movie rated PG-13 to be released under the Walt Disney banner instead of  a subsidiary studio.  Given the recent failures of pirate-themed movies and the fact the movie was based on an amusement park ride, expectations were low for the movie.  In fact, during production, it was debated whether the project would be for a theatrical movie or a direct-to-video one.  However, Pirates of the Caribbean surprised everyone, becoming a critically acclaimed movie and a box office hit.  The movie garnered five Oscar nominations (Makeup, Sound, Sound Editing, Visual Effects, and Actor for Johnny Depp).

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is based on the ride from the Disney Parks.  The movie opens with young Elizabeth Swann sailing to Port Royal with her father, the new governor, when the ship comes upon a wreck, with a young boy as the only survivor.  That boy is Will Turner, and he is wearing a medallion of pirate treasure.  Eight years later, Elizabeth is attending the promotion ceremony of Commodore Norrington, where he intends to propose marriage to her.  Due to her tight corset, Elizabeth faints and falls into the water.  Captain Jack Sparrow, the legendary pirate, has just arrived in port, and he saves Elizabeth.  Jack then escapes, but after a confrontation with Will, now a blacksmith, he is captured.  That evening Port Royal is attacked by the mysterious Black Pearl, under the command of Captain Barbossa.  Elizabeth is taken captive, and Will recruits Jack to help track her down.

I'll be honest, I was a bit disappointed when I first saw this movie.  I didn't get to see it in theaters during the summer, but I finally caught it at home six months later.  Given all the hype surrounding the movie, it was a bit of a letdown.  I have though enjoyed it more on subsequent viewings.  That said, it's not necessarily a great movie, but it is a fun one.  The effects are nice, and there are some good action scenes, especially with some of the sword fights.  However, the humor and the acting are the things that really sell the movie.  Johnny Depp steals every scene he is in, and Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightly all turn in fine performances.

The score to the movie is credited to Klaus Badelt, but much of the composition was actually done by Hans Zimmer, who produced the soundtrack.  (Zimmer was working on The Last Samurai at the time and had agreed not to write any other soundtracks, so he couldn't put his name on it.)  Because of the tight production schedule, seven other composers also did work on the soundtrack.  The main theme has become rather iconic, though it bears a strong similarity to Zimmer's Gladiator soundtrack.  The theme features heavily throughout the soundtrack, and every time it pops up it is rather rousing.  But otherwise, the soundtrack is fairly standard.  The movie also features several characters singing at various times "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" by George Bruns and Xavier Atencio from the theme park ride.

Presence in the Parks:

Well, this one seems kind of obvious.  The Pirates of the Caribbean first opened in Disneyland in 1967, and was one of the last rides Walt Disney worked on himself.  The Disneyland version is located in New Orleans Square, and as such the ride begins in a Louisiana bayou.

Pirates of the Caribbean, Disneyland, July 1988

The Magic Kingdom version of Pirates opened in 1973 and is located in Adventureland.  There the theme building is modeled after a Spanish fort.

Pirates of the Caribbean, Magic Kingdom, May 2015

Subsequently, versions of the ride were opened in Tokyo, Paris, and Shanghai.

Various changes have been made to the rides over the years, some of which were inspired by the movie, including adding Jack Sparrow animatronics to some scenes.  One of the more controversial changes was the recent change of the auction scene, with the famous "red head" becoming a pirate herself.

Outside the ride itself, the movie version of Pirates has found it's way to other parts of the park.  Jack Sparrow is sometimes a meetable character near the ride.  Clips of Pirates of the Caribbean are also part of the Happily Ever After fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom, and they were also part of the old projection show.  Notably this is the only live-action movie to be featured among the Disney and Pixar films in the shows.  Meanwhile at Disneyland, Pirates replaced Peter Pan in Fantasmic! during the 2017 update.  A former reference could be found in Hollywood Studios, where a clip from Pirates was used in the final montage of The Great Movie Ride.