Well, despite the fact the last issue of Disney magazine stated that the upcoming "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie would be appropiate for "anyone old enough to go on the ride at the park," that was apparently a LIE .
Instead, director Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney INTENTIONALLY decided to develop a PG-13-rated movie, the FIRST after the studio's decades-long run of entertainment safe for audiences of all ages.
In fact, the movie is so scary that the head of Disney Production, Nina Jacobson isn't going to let her 5 year old son see it. "I think it's too intense and scary," she said.
That's what the Motion Picture Assn. of America thought too, when it put a PG-13 stamp on the movie this week for its "violence."
In my humble opinion, Disney is making a HUGE mistake here. The phenomenally successful "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" movies, for example, were rated PG. Disney/Pixar Animation Studios' G-rated "Finding Nemo" is the most popular movie in the country. "Pirates' COULD have followed this path, but NOoooooo....
...and Disney is already making excuses for the PG-13 label.
The Chairman of Disney Studios, Dick Cook, has said the rating on "Pirates" is "comparable" to the height restrictions and health warnings that accompany the company's supposedlty "scarier" theme park rides in Anaheim and Florida, such as Space Mountain, Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones. He even claimed that if Disney's 1954 science fiction adventure "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" had been made today, it probably would have been rated PG-13 because of "a giant squid attacking a submarine."
Cook and production head Jacobson claim they had "hoped" that "Pirates" would be a PG movie. But apparently Bruckheimer had other ideas. He was determined to cast a lead not known for family films, and selected Johnny Depp, who has appeared in less than family fare such as "Sleepy Hollow."
Bruckheimer said Depp was an "edgy" actor who would "kind of counter the Disney 'Country Bears' soft quality and tell an audience that an adult and teenager can go see this and have a good time with it."
Depp apparently decided the model for a pirate was... a drunken, drug using rock star. Depp took his character beyond what even Bruckheimer had envisioned. He modeled himself after Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, a personal friend.
"I was reading about the 18th century pirates and thought they were kind of like rock stars. So, when I thought, 'Who is the greatest rock 'n' roll star of all time?' it was Keith," Depp said during a phone interview from France, where he lives (figures).
In the film, Depp's character actually looks a lot like Richards, wearing a red bandana draped around his beaded hair and a thin stripe of black makeup under each eye. He also staggers and swaggers.
Depp shocked Bruckheimer and Disney executives before shooting began when he decided to add yet another touch to his portrayal his character, when he had gold caps placed on all his front teeth.
Despite the PG-13 rating, the 40-year-old Depp said he would feel comfortable taking his 4-year-old daughter to see the movie. "When she was 2 years old, she watched 'The Wizard of Oz' and loved it," Depp said. "At 17, I remember being freaked out about those weird monkeys. She's totally cool with that stuff."
What a intelligent comparison. A family fantasy made in 1939 and a 2003 PG-13 "pirate" movie featuring "rock stars." Impress us some more, Depp, with your thoughtful, insightful analogies.
And apparently, Disney intends to tell the kids to get lost again later this year, On Thanksgiving weekend, Disney will release a movie version of another theme park attraction, "The Haunted Mansion." Studio head Jacobson has already said it could draw a PG-13 rating "because of the scariness factor."
Instead, director Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney INTENTIONALLY decided to develop a PG-13-rated movie, the FIRST after the studio's decades-long run of entertainment safe for audiences of all ages.
In fact, the movie is so scary that the head of Disney Production, Nina Jacobson isn't going to let her 5 year old son see it. "I think it's too intense and scary," she said.
That's what the Motion Picture Assn. of America thought too, when it put a PG-13 stamp on the movie this week for its "violence."
In my humble opinion, Disney is making a HUGE mistake here. The phenomenally successful "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" movies, for example, were rated PG. Disney/Pixar Animation Studios' G-rated "Finding Nemo" is the most popular movie in the country. "Pirates' COULD have followed this path, but NOoooooo....
...and Disney is already making excuses for the PG-13 label.
The Chairman of Disney Studios, Dick Cook, has said the rating on "Pirates" is "comparable" to the height restrictions and health warnings that accompany the company's supposedlty "scarier" theme park rides in Anaheim and Florida, such as Space Mountain, Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones. He even claimed that if Disney's 1954 science fiction adventure "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" had been made today, it probably would have been rated PG-13 because of "a giant squid attacking a submarine."
Cook and production head Jacobson claim they had "hoped" that "Pirates" would be a PG movie. But apparently Bruckheimer had other ideas. He was determined to cast a lead not known for family films, and selected Johnny Depp, who has appeared in less than family fare such as "Sleepy Hollow."
Bruckheimer said Depp was an "edgy" actor who would "kind of counter the Disney 'Country Bears' soft quality and tell an audience that an adult and teenager can go see this and have a good time with it."
Depp apparently decided the model for a pirate was... a drunken, drug using rock star. Depp took his character beyond what even Bruckheimer had envisioned. He modeled himself after Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, a personal friend.
"I was reading about the 18th century pirates and thought they were kind of like rock stars. So, when I thought, 'Who is the greatest rock 'n' roll star of all time?' it was Keith," Depp said during a phone interview from France, where he lives (figures).
In the film, Depp's character actually looks a lot like Richards, wearing a red bandana draped around his beaded hair and a thin stripe of black makeup under each eye. He also staggers and swaggers.
Depp shocked Bruckheimer and Disney executives before shooting began when he decided to add yet another touch to his portrayal his character, when he had gold caps placed on all his front teeth.
Despite the PG-13 rating, the 40-year-old Depp said he would feel comfortable taking his 4-year-old daughter to see the movie. "When she was 2 years old, she watched 'The Wizard of Oz' and loved it," Depp said. "At 17, I remember being freaked out about those weird monkeys. She's totally cool with that stuff."
What a intelligent comparison. A family fantasy made in 1939 and a 2003 PG-13 "pirate" movie featuring "rock stars." Impress us some more, Depp, with your thoughtful, insightful analogies.
And apparently, Disney intends to tell the kids to get lost again later this year, On Thanksgiving weekend, Disney will release a movie version of another theme park attraction, "The Haunted Mansion." Studio head Jacobson has already said it could draw a PG-13 rating "because of the scariness factor."
.
