Rejoice, all ye fans of swashbuckling, dark comedy and undead scallawags. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (the one truly great Pirates of the Caribbean movie) has landed on the shores of Netflix for instant streaming.
If I'm not mistaken, this actually marks a return of the film to Netflix, following a lengthy absence that began when the Netflix/Stars agreement ended. This new appearance falls under the terms of the more recent Netflix/Disney arrangement.
One way or the other, it's great to see this film available once again. Even if you feel a bit burned out by all the sequels, over-exposure and classic ride makeovers, Black Pearl remains a fresh, imaginative and (thanks to outstanding performances by all four leads) tremendously likable film.
Showing posts with label Pirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pirates. Show all posts
November 15, 2013
September 2, 2013
Disney Infinity: A Park Fan's Review
Disney Infinity will delight you, inspire you, challenge you and cheerfully empty your wallet. Its methods for coaxing you to buy more and more of its world could be considered ruthless, except for one important factor: Like a Disney park, it gives you more than your money's worth.
In that respect, you could easily think of Infinity, the company's toys-come-to-life-in-a-video-game juggernaut, as Disney Parks: The Home Edition. If you laid it out in theme park terms, the experience would look something like this:
The game is stuffed with elements geared specifically toward park fans, from actual park music and vintage sound effects to an impressive Matterhorn complete with a working bobsled rail slide. Epcot fans will love the inclusion of Spaceship Earth, plus the game's introductory sequence that casts you in the role of One Little Spark of inspiration.
The clever design sends you into a vast, anything-goes "toybox" world where you can combine themes and characters in any way you wish, selecting from hundreds and hundreds of parts to build your own games with your own rules--anything from racetracks and shootouts to pinball machines, obstacle courses and soccer fields. You don't have many parts available at the start, however. To get them, you have to venture from the toybox "hub" into the Playset worlds, which are large, scripted film-specific adventures (Infinity's version of E-Ticket attractions).
In that respect, you could easily think of Infinity, the company's toys-come-to-life-in-a-video-game juggernaut, as Disney Parks: The Home Edition. If you laid it out in theme park terms, the experience would look something like this:
The game is stuffed with elements geared specifically toward park fans, from actual park music and vintage sound effects to an impressive Matterhorn complete with a working bobsled rail slide. Epcot fans will love the inclusion of Spaceship Earth, plus the game's introductory sequence that casts you in the role of One Little Spark of inspiration.
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Mrs. Incredible parks her Tron Recognizer in Tulgey Wood. |
August 14, 2013
Park Quote Wednesday
June 22, 2013
The Gullywhumper Keelboat and Fink's Place
There she is, the best-named watercraft in the history of humankind, Mike Fink's notorious Gullywhumper from Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. The days of braving Disneyland's Rivers of America aboard spunky keelboats are long past, but it's great to see this tribute to the disreputable vessel that inspired the old ride.
She's moored, of course, at the "estate" of Mike Fink himself. Fink's your one-stop frontier markeplace for furs, gunpowder and antlers. And he won't try to cheat you, no sirree!
This was once the famous "burning settler's cabin" that startled many a youngster riding the Mark Twain Riverboat beyond the protection of Fort Wilderness. There are good and bad ways to remove a controversial and costly show element, and I can't think of a better solution than the one seen here: Replace it with a classic Disney scalawag and his trusty boat!
She's moored, of course, at the "estate" of Mike Fink himself. Fink's your one-stop frontier markeplace for furs, gunpowder and antlers. And he won't try to cheat you, no sirree!
This was once the famous "burning settler's cabin" that startled many a youngster riding the Mark Twain Riverboat beyond the protection of Fort Wilderness. There are good and bad ways to remove a controversial and costly show element, and I can't think of a better solution than the one seen here: Replace it with a classic Disney scalawag and his trusty boat!
May 10, 2013
Netflix Adds Five Disney Children's Series
I wish I had more exciting Netflix news for animation fans this month, but the streaming service has added no classic Disney films in the last several weeks. For younger viewers, however, four popular Disney pre-school shows and an action series for older children are arriving this month.
The two most recent shows on that short list are the fist to arrive--In fact, they're available now. Jake and the Never Land Pirates, the At-Least-It's-Not-As-Bad-As-Little-Einsteins preschool show and Tron Uprising, an action series for older children, are ready for viewing.
Later this month, the service will add the cheerful Handy Manny, the Someone-Please-Tell-Disney-That-Adult-James-Bond-References-Do-Not-Make-Appropriate-Preschool-Show-Episode-Titles awfulness of Special Agent Oso and the classic claymation Jo Jo's Circus.
Again, I wish I had more exciting news to report for older Disney fans, but I'm willing to cut Netflix some slack, for their current Disney selection has a decent number of great classics.
I wonder, though: Does anyone at Netflix realize how many subscribers they'd instantly gain if they added shows like Ducktales and Talespin to the roster?
The two most recent shows on that short list are the fist to arrive--In fact, they're available now. Jake and the Never Land Pirates, the At-Least-It's-Not-As-Bad-As-Little-Einsteins preschool show and Tron Uprising, an action series for older children, are ready for viewing.
Later this month, the service will add the cheerful Handy Manny, the Someone-Please-Tell-Disney-That-Adult-James-Bond-References-Do-Not-Make-Appropriate-Preschool-Show-Episode-Titles awfulness of Special Agent Oso and the classic claymation Jo Jo's Circus.
Again, I wish I had more exciting news to report for older Disney fans, but I'm willing to cut Netflix some slack, for their current Disney selection has a decent number of great classics.
I wonder, though: Does anyone at Netflix realize how many subscribers they'd instantly gain if they added shows like Ducktales and Talespin to the roster?
April 23, 2013
The Cursed Treasure and the Lost Story Point
"No fear have ye of evil curses, says you. Properly warned ye be, says I. Who knows when that evil curse will strike the greedy beholders of this bewitched treasure!"
It's hard to believe, but there's a whole new generation of Disneyland fans who have never heard those classic lines on Pirates of the Caribbean!
Consider this messed-up scenario: Ride inspires movie. Movie focuses on the ride's cursed treasure plot point. Ride is altered to incorporate the movie, but the plot point that inspired the movie in the first place is completely removed from the ride!
It's hard to believe, but there's a whole new generation of Disneyland fans who have never heard those classic lines on Pirates of the Caribbean!
Consider this messed-up scenario: Ride inspires movie. Movie focuses on the ride's cursed treasure plot point. Ride is altered to incorporate the movie, but the plot point that inspired the movie in the first place is completely removed from the ride!
February 11, 2013
Tom Sawyer Would Have Loved Pirate's Lair
In Mark Twain's classic book, Tom Sawyer loved nothing quite so much as a ghastly, bloody, violent pirate tale. He would have adored Disneyland's Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. Look at the photos above and below, which show a couple of the island activities: turn a capstan or man a pump and skeletons are revealed -- now, that's interactive fun a kid can love.
I have great memories of good times romping around the original version of Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island as a child. As I got older, I enjoyed getting a lemonade at Fort Wilderness and settling onto a rocky outcropping behind the fort to just relax and watch the Mark Twain pass by. It was a great place...
And it still is. When this much care and attention to detail goes into a makeover, how could I complain? Plus, the spooky new show scenes inside Dead Man's Grotto are worth the trip to the island. I have to admit, if my younger self had a choice between old Tom Sawyer Island and the Pirate's Lair version...I would've picked the pirates in a Davy Jones heartbeat.
I have great memories of good times romping around the original version of Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island as a child. As I got older, I enjoyed getting a lemonade at Fort Wilderness and settling onto a rocky outcropping behind the fort to just relax and watch the Mark Twain pass by. It was a great place...
And it still is. When this much care and attention to detail goes into a makeover, how could I complain? Plus, the spooky new show scenes inside Dead Man's Grotto are worth the trip to the island. I have to admit, if my younger self had a choice between old Tom Sawyer Island and the Pirate's Lair version...I would've picked the pirates in a Davy Jones heartbeat.
January 24, 2013
More Park Music on iTunes: Pirates, Mansion & Wishes
I don't know which person to thank at Disney for being smart enough to flip the switch, open the vault, turn the valve or whatever happened...but three more great park albums have recently become available on iTunes and Amazon MP3: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion and Wishes.
If you haven't picked these albums up yet, now's a great time. They each cost $7.99. What you get for that money varies greatly between the three soundtracks. Here's a run-down:
If you haven't picked these albums up yet, now's a great time. They each cost $7.99. What you get for that money varies greatly between the three soundtracks. Here's a run-down:
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November 27, 2012
Strange Things 5: More Great Offbeat Disney Tunes
Welcome back to Strange Things, an ongoing search for offbeat, unusual Disney tunes. The rules: the tracks should be obscure, rarely played, or performed in unexpected ways -- and available on iTunes or Amazon MP3. Today we've got Groucho Marx, pirates and more!
Let's start off with one of the best overlooked Disney songs ever, and a seasonal gem:
Track: ONCE UPON A WINTERTIME
Album: Christine Davis & Family - Love Came Down.
I was surprised to find that this wonderful holiday song from Melody Time (the sequence with the young lovers, the horse-drawn sleigh and the cracking river ice) is only represented by a single recording on iTunes. Fortunately, it's a good one.
I'm not a big fan of electronic effects in ballads, but it works very well here. Mark Davis's relaxed vocals keep the song's folksy charm intact throughout this modern interpretation of a classic. Well done.
Next up: one of my all-time favorite finds on iTunes:
Let's start off with one of the best overlooked Disney songs ever, and a seasonal gem:
Track: ONCE UPON A WINTERTIME
Album: Christine Davis & Family - Love Came Down.
I was surprised to find that this wonderful holiday song from Melody Time (the sequence with the young lovers, the horse-drawn sleigh and the cracking river ice) is only represented by a single recording on iTunes. Fortunately, it's a good one.
I'm not a big fan of electronic effects in ballads, but it works very well here. Mark Davis's relaxed vocals keep the song's folksy charm intact throughout this modern interpretation of a classic. Well done.
Next up: one of my all-time favorite finds on iTunes:
September 24, 2012
After Hours: Pirates of the Caribbean
The simple, quiet fun of seeing Disneyland after closing, if only for a wonderful few minutes, makes staying past midnight worthwhile despite aching feet and heavy eyelids.
The entry to Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean is secretive and understated to begin with; after closing it's absolutely poker-faced. A first-timer could mistake the place for a shop or restaurant. Who would guess these simple doors lead to a moonlit bayou and the most epic-length theme park ride on Earth?
I think a lot of life-long Disney fans get hooked during quiet moments like this.
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