The arrival of a captain

The Geoffrey Rush quote at the start of the article wasn’t a random inclusion. It signifies the importance of the film franchise on the attraction. While the movies wouldn’t exist without Pirates of the Caribbean, the ride, Captain Jack Sparrow still had a profound impact on Disney theme parks.

Disney was somewhat caught off-guard by the success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Their first two attempts at film adaptations of park attractions, The Haunted Mansion and The Country Bears, were a modest performer and a total bomb. The Pirates franchise became such a stunning blockbuster that it once held the title of biggest opening weekend ever, the most illustrious of all box office records.

Given the popularity of the film franchise, park officials felt the onus to give Jack Sparrow a presence on the Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride. He didn’t come alone, either. Davy Jones and Hector Barbossa were added during the same update back in 2006. Barbossa, in particular, is crucial to the updated version of the ride.

Image: DisneyOriginally, the pirate storyline was a bit nebulous. The buccaneers attacked the town for three simple reasons: loot, lust, and liquor. The post-movie change saw Barbossa pummeling the town with artillery to force Captain Jack out of hiding. 

Barbossa appeared on the ship in basic pirate garb during the initial update. Disney later changed his outfit to the privateer uniform you see today. Sparrow appears in the barrel, replacing the cat who previously replaced the frightened woman.

Jack also hides between some women in huge dresses. And his final appearance is the end sequence where our favorite nefarious pirate has pilfered the entire treasure room. This section of the ride is “new” in that it wasn’t a treasure room previously but rather a pirate hangout.

The presence of Davy Jones was audio at first. His voice narrated the post-treasure sequence. Then, Disney added a shimmering projection of the sailor’s devil at the start of the attraction. It employed many of the same elements, only the tentacle face of Davy Jones appears, too.

The latest outrage

Image: DisneyIn 2018, Disney again took steps to negate the misogyny on Pirates of the Caribbean. Despite their previous two alterations, one memorable exception still existed. The auction scene on the ride, while a crowd-pleaser for decades, embodied everything awful about pirate culture.

Disney chose to modernize the legendary pirate scene by taking out the slave trading aspect. Pirates no longer bid on women. Instead, they’re interested in valuable items like clocks. Yes, clocks are the new women at Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s kind of a weird change, but it’s undoubtedly a necessary and wise one.

Image: DisneyMore importantly, the latest plussing gave Disney a chance to upgrade a character. It’s no secret that the Pirates franchise has grown stale. Disney recently announced that Captain Jack Sparrow won’t be a part of the next film. It will focus on a new character instead. And that person is the Redhead, one of the most recognizable AAs from the attraction.

Since Disney knew that it intended to rebuild the movie franchise around her, park officials decided to elevate her ride presence. She goes from being property auctioned off in the signature scene to running the show as the auctioneer! It's precisely the sort of female empowerment that Disney attractions should have, and it segues nicely to the upcoming movie release wherein the Redhead is the star. That's some lovely synergy right there, Disney!

Then again, smart improvements and excellent decisions have been a staple of Pirates of the Caribbean almost since the beginning. That museum wouldn’t have stood the test of time, though.