POTC movie post from another site

[d-r]

Have you ever done something that you feel like you shouldn't, but you just can't help yourself? That is what I'm about to do by cutting and pasting a post on the box office mojo sites Box Office Derby forum (where people predict box office). I don't know how to put a link directly to it, but it is so intriguing, and amazing to me I really want to share it with you all - but please know I'm not doing it to be smart or ugly or make fun of anyone. It just blows my mind. Anyway, there was a thread there about the legs of the POTC movie, and someone posted that POTC was a re-make of a Disney film and then someone said it wasn't. The first person then posted:

Sorry, I just spent some time poking around the internet, and here's where my error came from:

I stayed and watched the ending credits of the movie when I saw it over the weekend, and in the credits they specifically said at the end "This film is based upon Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean'" and I thought that meant it was a remake of an earlier Disney film. The truth is that the film is based upon an amusement park attraction called "Pirates of the caribbean" found at the orignial Disneyland Park in California. That attraction was one of the first "animatronic" attractions with the fully animated moving and talking manequines (I think the other ones are "The Tiki Room" and "The Hall of the Presidents"). This animatronic thing that is called "Pirates of the Caribbean" has evidently been at Disneyland for over thrity years now. The scene in the film where they went to the "Pirate Island" where the "den of scum and villany" was endlessly carousing was modeled after the attraction. Rememebr the lady with the super-huge boobs who was pouring a cask of rum in a long stream downward into the mouth of a lounging pirate who was lying on the ground? Well, THAT is right out of the animatronic attraction too. As is the actual look of some of the pirates--like the two comic-relief pirates, (remember the one with the glass eye and his buddy?) those two characters are actual animatronic manequines at the Disney attraction also. I am also told that all those animatronic manequines have been sputtering THE EXACT SAME LINES (like "shiver me timbers" and "avast ye mateys!" and other cliche pirate nonsense) for over thirty years now, and that they pulled some of this pre-recorded animatonic dialogue from the tape recordings of the attraction and incorporated it into the script.

I've never been to California, so I have no idea what I am missing here. If anyone has been to the attarction, please let us know!

Anyway, THIS is where my misunderstanding came from: it's because I misunderstood what they meant at the end with that line in the credits.

and then followed up-

Now that I'm done posting the above post abot the Disneyland attraction, this whole mystery about where the hell this movie's legs are coming from is starting to make sense to me now . . . .


That animatronic walk-through at Disneyland has been visited by tens of millions of people in the past thirty years. So I suspect there is a hidden audience here: everyone who ever went to see that attraction is curious enough to want to see it. And WOM on the movie has been decent enough to encourage even those I-don't-have-time-for-movies sort of holdout people who otherwise couldn't be bothered. And thirty years worth of visitors means many different age brackets, including lots of now-elderly folks who went there on their honeymoons as well as now-young-adult folks or even lost of thirty-somethings who went there as kids. And then there's folks who were there just a year or two ago. And then everyone else in between. This is literally tens of milions of people here who have been to that attraction ANd . . . other than people who live within fifty miles of Disneyland itself, going to Disneyland is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience, maybe twice-in-a-lifetime if you're lucky. So hopefuly the vast majority of those tens of millions of people have FOND memories of having gone on that walk-through.

Soooooooooooooo . . . .

Toss in Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom and some truly awesome CGI of the skeletal pirates--and THAT is where the legs are coming from.

Mystery solved! I can sleep tonight now!



And one more comment . . . I noticed they were keeping this movie very "clean" as far as NO spurting blood, NO profanity, and NO sexual innuendo. Smart move as far as apeasing those now-fifty-something folks who went to Disneyland on their honeymoons thirty years ago.

Oh! . . and uh . . . Bruckheimer is a genius for sussing out this audience! (I'm merely a quasi-genus for figuring out the riddle behind the audience.)

I asked if she was being serious, and if so, was she now curious about seeing the attraction and she replied-

I was serious. I never knew. I'm an east-coaster, never been to the West, and I don't watch TV much. So no I never knew.

And yes, I'd just LOVE to see the ride now!

I can just see Bruckheimer five years ago sitting at a party with a bunch folks, and someone says "Hey! Anyone here ever been on that Pirates of the Caribbean thing? And then every last person at the party affirmatively says YES! And then everyone starts to reminisce about their favorite parts of the ride . . .and then the gears start turning in Bruckheimer's mind.

Anyway, I thought you all might trip out reading this. Again, don't take this as I'm making fun of anyone, it was just wild to me. Moderators delete this without hurting my feelings if it isn't appropriate.

 

[HauntedMansionFan]

Umm... yeah.... I don't quite know what to say about all that. Except that I'm amused and bewildered....

 

[crusader]

I found this to be very interesting. If I'm understanding this correctly, the poster is asserting that the ride actually drew the majority of the audience. It may have indirectly lured a non-fanatic because of the familiarity with which someone would tend to draw an immediate association. That certainly would help get the picture to catch your eye.

But why wouldn't there be an inherent risk as well - that those spectators who don't share the passion for this attraction would be inclined to immediately dismiss the idea of seeing the movie?

I think people were curious in general and went to check it out. The fact that the movie turned out to be so entertaining sold everyone else who equally wondered about the film. There doesn't seem to be a tremendous amount of discussion regarding the ride element. Most of the acclaim is given to the acting, the effects and the production itself.

 

[betterlatethannever]

I think d-r was pointing out that there really are people out there who know absolutely nothing about Disney. The poster doesn't even seem to know there is a WDW in Florida.

Ed

 

[Banzai]

Life without Disney would be a dull life indead!

 

[airlarry!]

I finally got to see the movie. At the local movieplex, it is still showing on two screens. The theater wasn't full, but it wasn't empty either.

IMO, you just can't compare the two attraction-based movies. Country Bears was for the most part just plain awful and didn't seem to have much in common with the show.

Pirates was just plain fun. My wife and I had a smile on our face the entire time. I kept thinking to myself, if I were to make a movie about this beloved attraction (one of my top two in all of WDW), how would I have done it better? And for the life of me, I couldn't figure it out.

The only criticisms I could think of off the top of me pirate's hat, was that for a Disney label movie, it was a little gory--I'm not trying to be a prude or anything--'cause I like action movies as much as the next guy. But, although this was in no way shape or form the same kind of violence as in Saving Private Ryan, neither was it the cartoon schtick of Jackie Chang. (I'm a huge Jackie fan, too.) There may not have been much blood, but there sure were a lot of dying, screaming, Brits.

And the CGI pirates were amazing in detail, but way, way too terrifying for the Disney brand IMHO. I know that this has been discussed before on the other thread, but for someone like the other poster who has never been to the ride, she may be surprised to find that the attraction is 'thrilling' without being a 'chilling' nightmare, and the just ain't much gory death scenes in the scenes either.

I really was expecting much less of a fun experience. It was a popcorn movie, a fun ride, with humorjokes for adults, and with clever asides for the masses who have ridden POTC. In fact, I kept telling my wife that the movie seemed to explain the attraction a lot better than I have tried to explain it to her. I know it is not exactly the same story, but IT SEEMS like it is.

Johnny Depp was absolutely hilarious and in another world the entire time. Hey, what can you say about Sir Rush that hasn't been said. He was the perfect pirate, and gave an amazing performance.

Oh yeah. One little teensy bit of criticsim. There seemed to be stuff left on the cutting floor, a couple of scenes that happened but didn't seem related to the movie. The whole bit with the pirates' parrot came across as a subtle reminder of the entrance to WDW, but I couldn't help thinking that the writers had more in store for us with the parrot than what we got. There were others like that, I just can't recall them now.

 

[Redcon1]

Redcon1

The whole bit with the pirates' parrot came across as a subtle reminder of the entrance to WDW, but I couldn't help thinking that the writers had more in store for us with the parrot than what we got. There were others like that, I just can't recall them now.

This sounds like DVD deleted scene material to me.

Redcon1

 

[daannzzz]

In the sequel the Parrot will battle the Monkey.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

LOL
I find that hilarious... has the guy been living under a rock or what? I'm 34yrs old and my first ever trip to Disneyland was about 6yrs ago, our first ever WDW trip was last Christmas... and I knew what POTC was before I'd ever went. I don't know how... I just did. LOL

Oh and btw- the show could have legs on it's own merit... BECAUSE it's not like a normal "Disney" movie. It's the first one my husband has actually said he WANTED to see even though we'd have to go without the kids (he's seen a bazillion Disney movies- but with the kids.... and only because he loves them. LOL)

We saw this last Sat (first time we could get an evening out alone) and both enjoyed it very much. I wasn't sure if *I* would... I knew HE would... just from the commercials I saw and how he was so interested in seeing it because of the commercials- but I enjoyed it very much. I don't think ANYONE could have played it better than Johnny Depp (it was almost like he wasn't acting... was he? LOL) and it wasn't just all piratey stuff (yes I made that word up... LOL) -the little love story in there plus funny parts made it more enjoyable. Definitely not something for the kids to see and I'm so glad I didn't make the mistake of taking them to see it- but we thought it was great. We'll definitely be buying it if/when it comes out in video or DVD.
It gets two big huge thumbs up from us. I kinda wanna see it again without waiting for it to come out on video... but nights out by ourselves are few and far between. LOL So that's not going to happen.

We stayed through the credits also.... so not worth it. MAN I've never seen credits that long before. LOL

 

[Rexfan]

I actually have extremely sheltered kids(5 & 10), but I took them to see it the 2nd time we went. They have both been on the ride countless times, ridden Haunted Mansion, and understand what can be accomplised to look real on a computer. Anyway, they both loved it, begged to see it again, and want us to buy it (no problem ), when it comes out on DVD. I paid for a sitter until we could judge for ourselves, but we had more fun the 2nd time.

 

[TheWho]

Hard to believe this person is sincere, but some people do live under a rock. With all these terror warnings and 24 hr news outlets, sometimes I think living under a rock isn't a bad idea.

Anyway, I just saw the movie last night.

My wife and I loved it. I agree with Larry, If I was asked to make a movie about the ride, this would have been a good choice. Although it pained me not to take my 7 yr old, what can I do? You needed the skeletons and the killing. And because there wasn't much gore, she'll probably watch it sooner that I think. Before I went to see it last night I re read some negative reviews, the one complaint was there was no plot and boring. What pirate movie did they watch? The story was excellent. There was a hook, good vs. evil, a twist, comedy, campy, action ,etc etc etc.

How good was Depp? Wow! Although I had an urge to listen to The Stones on the way home.

One complaint though, the audio for the speaking parts was real low. Probably my theater. I hate that.

Anyway, it was a good time.

 

[Magix]

Originally posted by BibbidyBobbidyBoo
We stayed through the credits also.... so not worth it. MAN I've never seen credits that long before. LOL

I'm guessing you never saw "Titanic"...

 

[Beth]

TheWho - funny reference to the Stones.

My DH had another comparison for Depp's character - totally Dudley Moore!!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Yes, I saw Titanic... but I didn't sit through the credits. Are you saying they were LONGER? Holy crap.... LOL

Depp was awesome. I think he totally made the movie. I don't normally find ONE actor in a movie that makes it- but in this case... for ME... he did.

We won't go back to see it again with the kids- we'll just buy it when it comes out on video and that way if they get scared- we can turn it off or send them out of the room to play in their rooms or something. We have a toddler, 5yr old, and 9yr old. Only the 9yr old probably wouldn't get scared.... the 5yr old would put on a convincing game face before the movie (even after seeing the commercials with skeletons) but then he'd freak out and we'd have to be calming him down. He's done that in one dinosaur movie we watched (can't remember what it was) and just the other day he FREAKED out just from watching Scare Factor when they did the one where the babysitter was pranked by the house being haunted... just a doll sitting in a chair talking and banging upstairs scared him witless. Just not for my kids.... without having the option of turning it off or sending them out of the room when it gets scary.