Ride References in Dead Men Tell No Tales

About a week ago, my family and I went to see the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales.  What struck me as interesting is that upon first viewing, there may not seem to be any references back to the original ride (which is now 50 years old).  But to me, I found a few, and all in chronological order.

First and foremost, the title itself. “Dead men tell no tales” has been associated with pirates since the publication of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stephenson as a way of saying that the dead carried their secrets to the grave.  But it really took off thanks to the ride with the haunting line provided by Paul Frees:

The second one to show up is thanks to Sir Paul McCartney’s cameo in the film as Uncle Jack.  He makes a joke with Jack about “A skeleton walks into a bar, orders a beer, and a mop” prompting another prisoner to burst out laughing.  Until the end of the credits, the joke alluded me until it clicked.

It appears as if the former Beatles member was referring to the gag of the skeletons drinking rum in the crew’s quarters in the non-Florida versions.  But of course, if you’ve seen the original, you know that Barbossa did a more chilling and effective version before Elizabeth.

The third is when Jack is almost forced to marry a repulsive widow in a Christian ceremony.  As for what I believe this is a reference to:

Favorite pirate in the entire ride, right here, although I wish he would show up in the films.  And of course all the other pirates aren’t interested in this stout-hearted and corn-fed woman, because…

WE WANT THE RED ‘EAD! WE WANT THE RED ‘EAD!

*gunshot*

OK, back to the post.

Finally the last one is laced with spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the film yet, stop here, go watch it and come back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final reference is in Salazar’s flashback to when he was tricked into sailing into the Devil’s Triangle by a young cabinboy who reminded him of a sparrow; obviously Young Jack Sparrow.  What happened was that the crew made him captain after the previous one died from a serious shrapnel wound from one of Salazar’s cannons.  But this is where things get interesting, the name of the shop: The Wicked Wench

Strike yer colours, ye bloomin’ cockroachers!

Thank you for the demonstration, Blackbeard.  The Wicked Wench was the ship used in the original ride by the pirates.  When the films came out, eventually leading to the release of the Young Jack Sparrow books, the writers found a way to reveal that our favorite Black Pearl was once the ship from the ride, one that was supported in At World’s End.  In this case, Cutler Beckett contemplates the fact that the last time he saw the Pearl, it was set ablaze and Jack was branded as a pirate for liberating cargo (ie freeing slaves).  That’s when Jack made his deal with Davy Jones to raise the Wench from the depths, but the fire had permanently stained it black, rechristening it to The Black Pearl.