DISNEYLAND'S "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN"

Like so many others I'm a huge fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. I won't include many photos of the ride. In photography the ride appears to be a series of static department store window displays and it really is much more than that. The sounds and smells, the tactile sensations of boat and wind and temperature, and the feeling brought on by artfully contrasting 3D enclosures are so important to the experience that photos are inadequate to describe what's going on.

The ride breaks down into several parts: I) the Blue Bayou swamp, 2) the extended trip through the pirate cave,  3) the battle between the pirate ship and the Spanish fortress, 4) the sack of Port Royal, and 5) an extended trip under the wharfs of the burning city.

The highlights of the ride for me are the two "extended" mood pieces involving the cave and the wharf. On paper they probably seem like unnecessary digressions and I wouldn't be surprised if some of Disney's people argued for a more consistent, more story driven approach. Walt was right, though. The best rides are about mood and subtext.

I imagine the roller coaster-like trip through the cave was a necessity brought on by the need to move the boats to a large building outside the park. What impresses me is that Walt made a virtue of necessity by making the details of the trip so interesting.

Somebody must have researched what real caves were like. These aren't just slap-dash contrivances on chicken wire frames, these are atmospheric recreations of real caves which were not made for the convenience of man.

There's a poignancy to it, a feeling that the world is staggeringly beautiful and full of menace at the same time. For me the periodic displays of skeletons and pirate loot are just icing on the cake.

The battle between ship and fortress is reminiscent of Conrad's moody description of a sea to shore battle in "Heart of Darkness." Ships sometimes had bigger guns than did the shore forts of the day but few ships would risk a direct shootout with a fortress unless the fight was a diversion for a land attack. We can imagine that in this case it was.

The looting of the city comes off as tragic. It's disturbing to think that civilization is so vulnerable to the depredations of barbarians.

Disney wisely lightened up the situation with humor but the final slow and moody trip under the embers (above) of a burning wharf reveals Walt's true feelings about the situation...that the destruction of the city was a horrifying disaster.

All this talk about pirates makes me think of my favorite pirate (above), Captain Kidd.

Kidd started out with the intention of killing pirates and making a fortune off the bounties. With the aid of wealthy backers (which might have included the King), he built a new type of fighting ship (below) designed solely for the purpose of hunting pirates.

It (above) had an abbreviated keel for chasing pirates in the shallows, and oars for when the wind failed. It was long and narrow with extra guns and extra sails so it could outrun and outfight almost any ship that tried to escape. Not only that but Kidd personally chose the crew who consisted of the most honest and skilled sailors he could find. It seemed like a project that couldn't possibly fail.

But fail it did. Unfortunately for Kidd his proud crew mooned what they considered the inferior British Navy as they sailed out of port and the Navy retaliated by seizing them. Kidd was forced to replace the crew with thugs and criminals that he recruited in the New World.

It didn't take the thugs (above) long to realize that a ship designed for hunting pirates would make the ultimate pirate ship. They threatened to mutiny unless Kidd turned pirate himself. He reluctantly did, all the while attempting to smuggle notes to the British asking for help. When the English finally caught him they didn't buy any of his excuses and hanged and gibbeted him on a London dock.

If you're interested in reading fiction about pirates I can recommend two books. One (above) is by Rafael Sabatini, a true disciple of Alexander Dumas. The story in the book is fairly close to the one in the Errol Flynn movie, but it's worth reading even if you know everything that's going to happen.

The other book is the one by Tim Powers. My guess is that Powers was heavily influenced by the Pirate ride in Disneyland and his voodoo-laced book heavily influenced the Pirate movie, which came later. Accounts on the net differ. All I know for sure is that Disney bought the rights to the book and based the fourth Pirates movie on it.

A commenter recommends a novel called "The Black Corsair," but my library doesn't have an English translation.

A nice poster, eh? I wonder if you can still buy it.