10 Easter Eggs You Missed In The Pirates Of The Caribbean Movies

Since the first movie, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has cleverly incorporated many Disney Easter Eggs into the narrative. Most of these are references to the original Pirates of the Caribbean ride — which predates the movie adaptation by several decades — which are used in the movies in surprisingly organic ways. However, there are some other references to other Disney and non-Disney properties alike, as well as obscure hints to different parts of the story.

These Easter Eggs make Pirates of the Caribbean that much cleverer, elevating the storytelling with some meta humor. Another challenge Margot Robbie’s Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff faces is how to continue the tradition of fun nods to the ride, when the things that the movie can reference are running out. Regardless of whether the franchise sees more success with this spinoff or Pirates of the Caribbean 6, people will expect more Disney Easter Eggs, even if many of them go unnoticed for some time.

10 The Dog With The Keys

From Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride

Near the end of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, guests see several pirates in a jail cell. Using a bone, they are attempting to lure in a scruffy dog who is holding the keys to the cell. Curse of the Black Pearl perfectly recreates this scene with a similar dog standing guard in the jail of Port Royal. The dog is first shown after Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has been arrested and is confined to his own cell, while another group of criminals are trying to get the dog to come to them.

Jack ironically says: “You can keep doing that forever, the dog is *never* going to move.” Indeed, the dog from the ride remains stationary forever. However, after the others are luckily freed when canon fire destroys the wall of the prison, Jack tries to summon the dog as well — and gets a lot further than anyone else. The dog with the keys becomes a recurring comedic beat throughout the movies, which doesn’t always make sense, but is funny and casual enough to be enjoyable.

9 Tia Dalma’s Bayou Residence

From Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride

Tia Dalma’s (Naomie Harris) shack, located within a swamp as seen in Dead Man’s Chest, is remarkably similar to the initial setting of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and clearly intended to allude to it. At the beginning of the ride, passengers sail through a tranquil bayou setting dotted with fireflies and featuring a similar shack; however, rather than Tia Dalma, an old man playing a banjo sits on the porch. Given Pirates of the Caribbean’s location in New Orleans Square, one of the best Disneyland “lands,” the bayou is implied to be somewhere in Louisiana.

The bayou scenery is partially visible to guests as they wait in line for the ride and board their boats. The swamp also wraps around the seating area of the Blue Bayou restaurant, located within the Pirates of the Caribbean building but accessible from a different entrance. The interior of Tia Dalma’s house is original to the movie, but contains many of its own hints and Easter Eggs — such as the locket that matches the one Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) possesses, or shots of Captain Barbossa’s (Geoffrey Rush) boots and hat hinting at his return.

8 Parrot Says “Dead Men Tell No Tales”

From Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride

After the bayou, the passengers are plunged into total darkness, until they see the talking skull above an archway, which leads into the ride’s first drop. The skull reminds them that “dead men tell no tales,” a theme of the ride and the movies where undead and resurrected pirates run amok. “Dead men tell no tales” is the most famous phrase from the ride, on par only with the lyrics of its soundtrack “A Pirate’s Life for Me,” which is sung by various characters throughout the movies.

The fifth installment went for the less subtle reference, with its subtitle being Dead Men Tell No Tales, as well as Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) forcibly dropping the line. However, the quote appears in Curse of the Black Pearl as well. As the main characters arrive in the bay surrounding Isla de Meurta, Cotton’s (David Bailie) parrot morbidly calls out “dead men tell no tales.” This actually works much better as a haunting reminder of the things that threaten the main cast.

7 Gibbs Sings “Dead Man’s Chest”

From Treasure Island

Cutting away from the opening scene of Will Turner (Orlando Blood) and Elizabeth Swann’s (Keira Knightley) arrests, viewers are reintroduced to the Black Pearl while the first mate Mr. Gibbs (Kevin McNally) walks across the deck, singing another tune about the dead and drinking rum. The song he sings, beginning “Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest […],” is originally from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. These lyrics became the title of the second movie, referring to the chest containing the heart of Davy Jones.

This reference to one of the earliest pirate adventure stories is fitting in this context. Additionally, Pirates of the Caribbean plays with some other literary references throughout the movies. For example, On Stranger Tides takes its title from Tim Powers’ 1987 novel of the same name, also about pirates who find themselves in the middle of a supernatural adventure. The Fountain of Youth plays a major role in this book, loosely inspiring the plot of On Stranger Tides.

6 Hand-Shaped Cloud Over Port Royal

Foreshadowing The Black Pearl’s Attack On Port Royal

A few of the biggest plot holes in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies regard the specifics of how the Aztec curse works. However, there is no denying that the effect of the Black Pearl descending upon Port Royal is macabre, capturing the best parts of the ride’s tone. It is even better when people notice the bit of meta-foreshadowing in Curse of the Black Pearl: As Jack pulls Elizabeth out of the water after she has fainted off the top of the battlements, a massive cloud in the shape of a hand can be seen behind them.

The meaning is clear, of Barbossa and his crew reaching out for the island now that Elizabeth’s medallion has come into contact with the water and called them there. It also mirrors Barbossa’s hand reaching out to Elizabeth later and turning into a rotted skeleton when covered in moonlight. Moments like these bring the effect of Pirates of the Caribbean being a classic ghost story to the next level.

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5 Elizabeth Writes “Tortuga” In Disney’s Signature Font

From Various Disney Properties

Elizabeth goes through a lot of trouble to catch up with Will and Jack in Dead Man’s Chest. After escaping prison, she stows away on a merchant vessel, prompting speculation about a widowed ghost when the crew finds her abandoned wedding dress. She then tricks them into going to Tortuga by playing into their superstitions. If that weren’t enough, she somehow manages to write out “Tortuga” with oil in Disney’s classic font.

This font is a major part of Disney’s branding, used for everything from the logo shown at the beginning of every movie to the Disney Channel icons to the opening graphics for Disney+. As unlikely as it seems, the Tortuga written in flames demonstrates the same style of writing, with some big loops and curves in the lettering. Elizabeth’s ghost story charade and flaming sign turn out to be another way to play into the series’ biggest motifs, and do get her to Tortuga, where she meets up with Jack.

4 Barbossa Yells “It Be Too Late To Alter Course Now!”

From Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride

The maelstrom battle between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman in At World’s End is one of the best final battles in any Disney movie, with an amazing amount of spectacle. An absolute highlight of the sequence is Barbossa’s performance, reveling in the danger as he steers the ship and fights off members of Jones’ crew. At one point, when the Black Pearl is well and truly swept up into the maelstrom and is firing on the Flying Dutchman, Barbossa calls out, “It be too late to alter course now mateys,” before laughing maniacally.

This is another line from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, also said by the talking skull to passengers before they drop into the main ride. Of course, there is no standard way to get off the ride at this point, and guests are locked into the rest of the experience. On the other hand, Barbossa’s statement is more expressive of how all the main characters have decided to give it their all in the final battle — and how a pirate’s life in general encapsulates a lot of danger from which there is no turning back.

3 Will Slashes A Sail To Slow His Fall

From Douglas Fairbanks’ The Black Pirate

The first major action sequence featuring the Kraken in Dead Man’s Chest is when Davy Jones orders it to attack the merchant vessel where Will has taken refuge (after Elizabeth abandoned the same vessel in Tortuga). The ship and crew are completely overwhelmed, with the Kraken destroying major parts of the mast and rigging. Will climbs up to get a better view of the Flying Dutchman before the attack begins, so when the mast is broken, he is sent into a free fall. He then uses the knife he has on him to cut through a sail and slow his fall.

This move is actually a famous stunt from Douglas Fairbanks’ 1929 movie The Black Pirate, where he does the same thing. Jack also copies some of Fairbanks’ tricks from the same seen in At World’s End, when he uses canons and sails to propel himself on board both the Endeavor and the Flying Dutchman. This is another pirate media reference that imbues Pirates of the Caribbean with a sense of cinematic relevance and the aesthetics of a classic swashbuckling adventure.

2 Hidden Mickey Mouse Images

Allusions To Disney’s Signature Character

Hidden Mickeys are a longstanding tradition of the Walt Disney company, with nods to the character who started it all appearing throughout the studio’s repertoire. Mickey Mouse imagery appears several times throughout Pirates of the Caribbean. The first instance is in Curse of the Black Pearl: Business Insider highlights a moment where the moon seems to bear the shape of a Mickey Mouse head and ears. Other outlets point out times when the clouds or smoke seem to take this shape in the same scene.

Meanwhile, during the Davy Jones’ Locker scene in At World’s End, one of the additional Jack Sparrows has some tattoos on his back that seem to be hidden Mickeys. The one on his right shoulder has a similar shape but may also just be a sea turtle, referencing another one of the series’ running gags, while the design on his left shoulder appears to be a Mickey Mouse. Finally, the charts leading to the Locker and the Fountain of Youth feature a Mickey, in the bottom right-hand corner, just where the map breaks off after Jack steals part of it.

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1 Skeleton Pirate Drinking Wine

From Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride

One of the best nods to the ride happens during the sequence where Elizabeth discovers the truth about the undead curse in Curse of the Black Pearl. Right after Barbossa tells her, “You best start believing in ghost stories,” he opens a bottle of wine and drinks from it, with the stream of wine visible through his skeleton rib cage. Elizabeth watches this in horror, while those familiar with the Disneyland ride are probably laughing out loud at the reference.

The skeleton pirate drinking wine is another famous image from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, seen shortly after the first drop. For the first few turns, the ride is dominated by animatronic skeleton pirates, before getting to the exploits of the pirates who are still alive. This amazing Easter Egg and more make the Pirates of the Caribbean movies delightful to watch in more ways than one.

Pirates of the Caribbean

A series of fantasy swashbuckler films produced by Disney, featuring the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow. Known for its supernatural elements, high-seas action, and iconic characters, the franchise has become a cultural phenomenon and was loosely based on the Disney theme park ride of the same name.

Created by

Gore Verbinski , Jerry Bruckheimer

Cast

Johnny Depp , Orlando Bloom , Keira Knightley , Geoffrey Rush , Sam Claflin , Astrid Bergès-Frisbey , Brenton Thwaites , Kaya Scodelario

Summary

A series of fantasy swashbuckler films produced by Disney, featuring the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow. Known for its supernatural elements, high-seas action, and iconic characters, the franchise has become a cultural phenomenon and was loosely based on the Disney theme park ride of the same name.

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Source: Business Insider