The Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland and Disney World is a fun time: Jack Sparrow is there, planning another one of his escapades amongst scenes that are half new and half a collection of greatest hits from the movies. One of these original scenes, the “Wench Auction” will no longer be a part of the ride, Disney Parks announced today. Instead, it will be replaced with something way less uncomfortable and, hopefully, more entertaining.
The moment a Hollywood franchise jumps the shark is kind of a mixed blessing. Take the Pirates of the Caribbean films, for example. While the latest entry in the franchise — Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales — has received a good going-over by the critics, more than a few have taken this as an opportunity to revisit the success of the original film. On paper, absolutely nothing about Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl should’ve worked, and yet, here we are, 14 years and three-point-five billion dollars later, still remembering how it took us all by surprise.
Is Johnny Depp somehow Johnny Depp-proof? With the early receipts for the latest installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise now promising another blockbuster in the bag, it would appear that the actor’s somehow invulnerable to his own noxious public profile. Though the revelation that he had physically abused longtime partner Amber Heard came to light last year, it apparently hasn’t diminished his earning potential, and frustrating as that may be, it means we’re in for a whole lot more Depp. And if producer Jerry Bruckheimer has anything to say about, more Jack Sparrow in specific.