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.

DISNEY HAUNTED MANSION PAINTINGS

Most of these pictures are from The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Disneyworld. The yellowish portrait near the end is from a Ghostbusters movie.  

I'm partial to portraits of misers so I'll start with that.

The picture morphs into one showing a greedy relative who did away with the miser to get his money.

Here's a couple who might be decribed as mean and cheap. You'd expect that they'd be friends of the miser but that's not likely. True misers have deep disdain for those who are merely cheap.

Let us not forget the rides many interesting mini-portraits. That skull character on the left is beautifully designed.

Back to the large portraits; here's (above) Jack the Ripper.

And here's (above) Rasputin and his famous penetrating stare. Disney's good at making morphing pictures.

Here's (above) The Cat Lady....

....and here's the lady cat.

Above, Count Dracula.

Here's the morphing Medusa.

Who the heck are these kids (above)?

I know this guy.

 Here's a concept drawing that may never have been fully painted.

I notice that the Mansion contains no "mystery" paintings, i.e. pictures that contain a hidden picture or message. Can you see the hidden picture in this (above) one?

I'll end with this (above) over-the-fireplace portrait from the Ghostbusters movie. It  inspired me to consider leaving a creepy portrait of myself behind when it's my turn to kick the bucket.

It should be underlit and spooky. If I become the family patriarch my relatives would expect no less.

I'll include lots of esoteric symbols and a hint of a hidden fortune in the house. If I have greedy successors then they'll obsess over the supposed meaning of the thing.

DISNEY HAUNTED MANSION BUSTS

Above, from Disneyworld's Haunted Mansion, the evil twins Wellington and Forsythia.

Who are these characters? It's not hard to imagine a whole film built around them.

From the same Haunted Mansion garden, it's (above) a bust of Uncle Jacob, a murderous miser.

Yikes! Is that Thurl Ravenscroft (above, foreground), the voice of Tony the Tiger?

Above, the Evil Coachman.

Evil coachman can be found in any era.

Here's some inverse statuary from Tokyo Disneyland.

Uh oh, I'm all sculptured out. How 'bout a couple of framed pictures from the mansion hall?

The park should sell posters of this ghost ship.

One final picture. I want to end this on an uplifting note.

MY LATEST TRIP TO DISNEYLAND: 2/15

No, the devil isn't symbolic. I didn't do any mischief at Disneyland. I just like the way the red sculpture looks against the Disneyland map. It's a figure from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Fantasyland.

The day actually began placidly at a friend's house where we all assembled for the trip. You won't see those friends here because they never allow me to take their pictures. They think I add double chins.

At the park we started with a double decker bus trip down Main Street. From up here you get a good view of the rooftops.

I never noticed it before but lots of them are Post Modern simplifications of traditional tops. Here's (above) a classic French roof. Er...you don't suppose that Post Modern styling actually began in the 50s with these Disneyland shops do you? Naw, it couldn't be...

...but if it is, you heard it first here on Theory Corner!

Here's (above) a French roof railing adapted to a Midwestern American top. Am I imagining it or is there also a Canadian North Coast Indian influence on that roof?

For comparison here's (above) a North Coast roof decoration from elsewhere in the park.

And here's (above) a modification of what looks like...believe it or not...a Chinese roof. Wow! What an interesting mixture of styles!

Fantasyland roofs appear to be a combination of French and Central European styles. Elsewhere in the world beautiful rooftops are wasted on high buildings where you'd need an airplane to see them. Disneyland wisely brings them down, close to the ground.

Here's a German/Swiss roof topped by a weather vane of the crocodile from "Peter Pan."

Here's (above) a detail from the Snow White ride. The Baroque twisted pillars remind me of the castle in the film, "Horror of Dracula."

Wow! You could do a whole book on the wrought iron (above) at Disneyland.

This (above) is a view from the Small World ride. Most of my SW pictures were too blurred to show here. The camera just couldn't make the low light adjustments fast enough on a moving boat. This is the only photo that came out okay.

I'm guessing that this white drape might be cheesecloth dipped in liquid plaster. I used to make Halloween decorations that way.

I love the way the park (above) is designed to reveal different layers of reality wherever you look.

The designers somehow managed to make crowds interesting. It's a people watcher's dream.

This display (above) makes me want to try colored lights on my own shelves at home.

Nice, easy-to-do detailing on that pillar (above).

This type of open-front shop (above) isn't unique to Disneyland but it's nice to be reminded of how effective it is. It invites you in. The multiple proscenium dotted with bright lights is a real grabber at night. This store dominates this part of Main Street, even though it's only an arcade for showing penny hand-cranked films.

I'm tempted to speculate that if they were selling something there they'd clean up, but most places I've seen with fronts like this don't do serious selling inside. That happens in adjacent stores. I guess you have to give something away cheap to create an atmosphere of fun.

No trip to Disneyland is complete without a trip to the pirate store. I don't have to worry about being tempted to buy pirate hats...nothing ever fits my big head.

***************