By Leanne & Andrew Little (http://www.disneymouselink.com/), Adrienne Vincent (http://www.mouseplanet.com/)
(Moving Pictures Icons issue, June/July 2006)
Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean was already a major undertaking for Walt Disney when, after creating Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and It's A Small World for the 1964 World's Fair in New York, the decision was made to rework Pirates to take advantage of Lincoln's animatronics and Small World's boat ride, prompting a new building to be created outside the berm of the Park for the first time in Disneyland history, And the ride is remembered as one of the last attractions Walt worked on before his death from lung cancer in 1966. Opening on March 18, 1967, it featured 55 animatronic animals and 64 "humans." The beginning of the ride is calm, a romantic cruise through a quiet moonlit bayou. But after two small drops, the scenery changes abruptly, the music becomes livelier and you enter the world of pillaging pirates! For almost 40 years, Pirates of the Caribbean has been able to maintain its charm. There have been changes. In 1999, responding to complaints, the women began chasing men (with baked goods) instead of the other way around. Ironically, even though this change was predicated on the growing sensitivity to the abuse of women, the auction of women in the scenes of plundering pandemonium was left untouched.
Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) had several visual ties to the ride. Disneyland visitors quickly recognize the scenes of the dog holding the keys to the jail cell as well as the treasure trove in the caves toward the end of the movie; many scenes from the pillaging of Port Royal are also attributable to the ride. Fans of the ride should immediately recognize not only the characters but also the environment. The film possesses that quality of light peculiar to the Disneyland ride: warm and golden alternating with flashes of halogen lightning. Even the caves of Isla de Muerta have that not-quite-real sparkle and texture that comes from plaster and mica. To watch this movie is to see the classic ride come to life, and future generations of tourists may not know which came first. Due to the overwhelming success of Black Pearl, the ride is being reworked before a late June re-opening (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's premiere is July 7!). Notably, Captains Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa join the cast of the Disneyland attraction (current talk is that Depp's Sparrow will be inserted into three scenes). Unlike the first movie, which based a few scenes on the attraction, the new movie has thrilled Disney Imagineers by creating a whole new theme. One significant change is the renaming of a ship in the ride's battle scene from Wicked Wench to... the Black Pearl, and the sound system is also being updated - to incorporate music from the movie. It has also been rumored that the ride's warning, "Dead men tell no tales," belongs to prominent Dead Man's Chest character Davy Jones. Longtime Disneyland fans are concerned by the major modifications, many upset that change is being forced by the film. Their concern is familiar: that the modifications being made are a marketing ploy and won't benefit the park experience. But remember: Walt Disney felt Disneyland would never be finished... "as long as there is imagination left in the world." -MPM
Published with companion articles:
"Johnny Depp - Looking Up to Johnny"
"Satire on the Plank - Hollywood's Pirate Parodies" | 
