Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Ahh, the Caribbean! Famous for its beautiful beaches, wonderful weather, and its amazing vacationing spots that many a tourist flock to every year. However, behind all that crystal clear water and sparklingly bright sand, there is a dark side to the Caribbean that few knew of; well, that is until Walt Disney came along. That's right, this 'ere post is about the vicious, deadly, drunk, and sometimes comical world of pirates as seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean rides at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. (The better of the two is the latter, but nothing beats the original, except the Wiz)

Of course, since the ride was so successful and so well known, Walt Disney Pictures decided to make a movie spin-off based on the ride; ignoring fan protest of course. While the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) seemed to stray off the path that the Great Walt Disney set with the rides, it was a fun, enjoyable "ride" for the entire family none-the-less. Seeing this, and the many "deblumes" the first movie raked in, Walt Disney Pictures decided to make a sequel. In fact, they decided to make two sequels and film them back to back.

In the first sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), captain of the Black Pearl, returns yet again for another "family ride" that everyone can enjoy (everyone except the Mimes of course, I asked them and they never told me their response). And, to everyone’s not surprise, Jack finds himself in debt and in trouble. It seems that in order to captain the Black Pearl, Jack made a deal with the devil of the ocean, Davey Jones himself. Not only is Jack in trouble, but the Almost Weds do too. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) have found themselves arrested and face the gallows for assisting a pirate; Jack Sparrow.

To free themselves from this new predicament, the East India Trading Company forces Will to find Jack, and reclaim a "magical item" from Jack. However, Jack needs it to find the Dead Man's Chest, which is not only the title for the film, but is also the resting place for Davey Jones' still beating heart. Apparently, his love gave him so much pain, that he carved out his heart in order to live without his heartbrokenness. If Jack is to find the heart, he will be able to control not only Davey Jones (thus obviously ending his debt), but the entire ocean, seeing as Davey Jones has an arsenal of "Demons". If Will is able to get hold of the heart, he will be able to kill Davey Jones (he still needs a heart) and release his father, under command of the formidable demon, from the grip of a 100 year sentence. If Norrington (Jack Davenport), the "bad guy" from the first film claims the heart, he will be able to reclaim his life as a Commodore; respected, rich, and snotty.

Confusing, no? Seeing that they had two films to make, Disney decided to fill Dead Man's Chest will lots of confusing, pointless, funny, action filled, and weird side quests (not to mention the heart of Davey Jones). Although I found the film to be very entertaining, just like the ride, my one criticism had to do with the plot. (Let me get this off my chest before I have to carve it out and place it in a treasure chest) The adventurous, mysterious, and not corny-nous feeling of the film was caused by the simple fact that the "proper" non-pirate citizens did not believe in magic, witchcraft, curses, or even of Walt Disney's cryogenically frozen body (which is true, of course). The pirates, on the other hand, did. They would set sail to various islands in order to claim eternal life, or would chase superstitions around believing they would work. (Thus the famous line "You best start believing in ghost stories".) However, in this film, the "civilized folk" seem to "magically" know of all the hocus pocus in the world. Now, excluding Will and Elizabeth, the Governor, and some other minor characters, I believe it would be safe to assume that (even in today's age and world) a man of high importance in one of the world's top trading companies would believe in "ghost stories". Yes, the entire movie's plot spawns off the fact that the "wild goose chase" is brought by the evil Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), but it only makes the film more cheesy to think that, oh say, the President of the United States believes in witchcraft and would spend millons of our nation's money searching for the Fountain of Youth (I know it sounds ridiculous, but I bet it will happen any day now).

As if planning a rebuttal, Disney has added those wonderful clues in Dead Man's Chest to possibly answer my question and hint about the next film (affectionately named: Pirates of the Caribbean 3). Lord Beckett, it seems, has had numerous encounters with Jack Sparrow before, both leaving a mark on each other. Jack's trademark pirate "P" on his arm was left by Beckett. And Jack, well, it's not known what he did to Beckett. Perhaps Jack opened Beckett's eyes to the world of mysticism. Or maybe he just gave him a scar. Either way, Jack has influenced Beckett greatly, giving reason for his bitterness.

Another question that Disney decided to drop upon us, the unsuspecting audience, is Davey Jones' lover. Whoever this woman was, it must have been a great and powerful woman to give so much pain to the "devil" of the seas. And now in a completely unrelated topic, I introduce to you Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), a great and powerful woman who is a "witch doctor" of sorts (although calling her Dr. Dalma may upset her). She is the "magic advisor" in this film, and her knowledge of Davey Jones seems to be . . . well known. On top of that, both Tia Dalma and Davey Jones have the same shaped heart locket, which of course is surely coincidentally. And, for all you non-believers, as further proof of the identity of Tia Dalma I turn your attention to this music box. The theme music for both Davey Jones and Tia Dalma sound eerie, and erringly familiar. They both sound like the music emanating from the "love lockets" (that, may I remind you, both own). So, either Tia Dalma is the true love of Davey Jones, or she is really good at faking it.

But wait! There's more to this theory. In Tia Dalma's explanation, there is a part where the crew of the Black Pearl starts to debate with Tia Dalma. According to common folklore, Davey Jones lost his heart to the sea; not to a woman! Upon hearing this, Tia Dalma declares that it is the same thing. Now, I can be stretching this a bit, but there are rumors that in the third installment of the Pirates series, the "sea god" is to show up. Now, what I think is that the comparison between the woman lover and the ocean by Tia Dalma ("Same thing"), is true. I believe this to be a clue by Disney to show us that Tia Dalma is non other then the goddess of the sea. This would explain many things, such as where she gets most information, most of her items (like the "item" at the end of the film), and her power.

Not only are there clues in the film for the next sequel, but there are clues in this film that reveal secrets in this film! I'm not going to mention what it is (a surprise ending), but I will give you a "heads up". When the crew enters Tia's shack (the first time, with Jack the monkey) pay particular attention to the monkey (he's going to hang around a certain "something").

And now, enough with clues and let’s move on to themes and symbols. One of the reoccurring themes (in both this film and the previous one) is the idea of piracy, and how "common, civilized folk" refuse to lower themselves to that point. However, it seems the tables have turned in this film, seeing a reversal of morals in both Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann. Even in the beginning of the film, the Black Pearl, representing Jack in this film, seems to be . . . lighter, more friendly then the first film. Under Barbossa's command, it always had storm clouds around it, there were holes in the sheets, it looked very spooky, and there were zombies aboard (well, technically there still are some zombies). But, when Jack is in command, there is a brighter atmosphere, no clouds, and the sheets are patched up. The sheets are a strikingly obvious symbol of Jack's lighter future. Imagine: a giant sheet of black, representing evil, piracy, bad stuff, cholesterol, etc. Of course, having a torn up sheet is a bad idea (especially when sailing) so this sheet of evil is covered with small patches of white goody goodness. It seems the good in Jack can defeat the "evil pirate" in him. (Watch the end of the film, and see how good Jack can be)

Elizabeth, the daughter of the respectable Governor, should be a prime example of good for Jack. Wrong! She, it seems, is joining the dark side just as Jack is switching to the "not dark side". Her attitude is not that of a young lady, but more of a pirate. Stowing aboard other ships, drinking rum, putting guns to people's heads (and swords), threatening, tricking, thieving, running around naked (not shown on screen), among other things that pirates do. (Once again, watch the end of the film to see how "evil" Elizabeth can be) Elizabeth and Jack even confront each other at one point in the film and discuss how each other is going to "switch sides". Sounds like a lot of you are confused. Don't worry, it's a Disney film, there's bound to be a happy ending . . .

So, what will the open seas have in store for us? No one can ever know (except for Tia Dalma), but with careful watch and thinking, we can always guess. Clues are always there, whether intentional or not, for us to find and hypothesize. Not only are there clues, but, as always, there are symbols in film, symbols in the world, and symbols in life. So the next time you see a ship flying no colors, a man with a squid for a beard, or zombie pirate, remember that they could be good (The Endurance is not liable for any accidents or injuries relating to this statement), and remember that the force will be with you, always.