Following the Pirates

Holidaying in the Caribbean, I realized several times while taking in the view of the sea, that at the very spot that I was standing, a pirate might have been standing - leaning on a stump, looking through a telescope, chewing tobacco with broken teeth, guzzling rum, blood on his hands and gold on his mind. And whose face do you think I saw? Johnny Depp’s, or Jack Sparrow’s, complete with his semi-elegant, weird gesticulations. After being in love with Disney’s series, ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean,’ for so long, it was a dream come true to be standing in the sea around which the story of these movies was woven.

Disney has spewed four movies so far, which began on the basis of a Disney theme park ride of the same name. All the movies have been so successful, that anyone involved in the making is now rich as a pirate! This entire adventure began in 2003 when ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,’ was made. The characters include:

Jack Sparrow, a renowned pirate. We love him for his drunken swagger, slurred speech, flailing hands and numerous eccentricities. The former master of The Black Pearl, he was marooned on an island after a mutiny by Barbossa, his first mate. 

Elizabeth Swann, the Governor’s daughter, in love with Will Turner and interested in pirates. In the course of the movie, she transforms from a damsel in distress into a tough skinned pirate.

Will Turner, unaware of his true identity as a son of a pirate called Bootstrap. He is in love with Elizabeth and in her pursuit becomes a noble pirate.

Captain Barbossa, the present owner of the Pearl, along with his crew is cursed by Aztec gold. He kidnaps Elizabeth mistaking her to be Bootstrap’s child, whose blood he needs in order for the curse to be lifted.

The action begins when Will persuades Jack, to help him rescue Elizabeth. Jack agrees when he finds out that Will is Bootstrap’s son and can be used to get back the Pearl. And a string of adventures, betrayals, loyalties ensue. 

Ragetti and Pintel have us in splits as they dress up as women as a distraction. And who can forget Ragetti’s wooden eye running off in all directions but he gets it back somehow, every time. 

 

The second movie came along in 2006 with the name, ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.’ In the end of the first movie, Jack Sparrow is seen singing ‘A pirate’s life for me,’ compass in hand. Now the story takes on from the disruption of Will and Elizabeth’s wedding, as both of them are arrested by Cutler Beckett, the sarcastic East India Trading Company agent, for abetting Sparrow’s escape. Will is sent to retrieve Jack’s magic compass. Everyone is after Davy Jones’ heart which is kept in the dead man’s chest on the Isla Cruces. It however, ends up with Beckett. In the end, Jack goes down fighting the sea beast, Kraken, while the surviving crew members of the Pearl plan to bring him back under the leadership of the resurrected Captain Barbossa.

I felt the funniest scene is when Jack having found out that failing to pay his debt to Davy Jones, the sea beast, Kraken will be set on him, panics and goes into hiding. Will finds him on an island, being worshipped by cannibals and about to be eaten by them. Their escape from the island is hilarious, as they run through a spherical bone cage. You can still see these bone cages as one of the attractions in Disney’s Hollywood studios.

Disney gave us their third movie in this series in 2007 named, ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.’ With Davy Jones’ heart in his hands, Cutler Beckett sets about eliminating all pirates. To stop Beckett, the late Jack Sparrow is needed to convene with the Brethren Court in order to rouse the Goddess Calypso. Will, Elizabeth and Barbossa set out to rescue Jack from Davy Jones’ locker. The movie ends with Will becoming the new captain of the Flying Dutchman and Jack setting out on a new adventure.

A new character, Sao Feng, pirate lord of the South China sea, played by Chow Yun-Fat, adds to the adventure. One of the funniest scenes is Jack amusing himself stuck in Davy Jones’ locker. 

The latest and fourth movie, ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,’ came out in 2011. Enter Angelica (Penelope Cruz), a former lover of Jack’s, whom he now meets while starting on his quest for the Fountain of Youth. Angelica and her father too are in search for the Fountain. And appointed by the British Navy, Captain Barbossa isn’t behind, after having lost a leg and the Pearl.

A fifth movie is in the wings and we will wait with baited breadth shan’t we? The way I waited on the sands of the Caribbean, salt on my lips, wind in my hair. I scanned the beach for someone who would greet me with a, “Welcome to the Caribbean, love.” I scanned the seas for a black ship, with black sails and a burnt hull, Jack Sparrow’s beloved, ‘The Black Pearl.’ I longed to say ‘Parley’ to a rough and tough pirate as he informed me, “I’m captain Jack sparrow, savvy?”