Monday, July 10, 2006

Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest



We went to see Captain Jack Sparrow in his much-anticipated sequel on Saturday. Overall? I'd give it 4 stars out of five. Maybe even 3 and 3/4 (if such a thing existed). I've seen reviews of this movie all over the board which I find interesting. Some love it, others think it starts too slow, others think it's not nearly as good as the first. Let me just say that I liked it. Didn't love it - but then again, neither did I love the first Pirates movie until I saw it again. I'm like that with some movies - I need to see it twice before I really can make up my mind.

I'm not going to review the movie because let's face it - you can go somewhere else and find a review. No, I want to talk about something different - something that has gotten a bit under my skin about the loveable Captain Jack (Johnny Depp was excellent once again - let's hope that this time he's nominated for an Academy Award and wins!).

In this instance, however, it is not Captain Jack that has run into my foul mood - but rather those marketing this movie. This movie is darker than the first. It's scarier. In fact, there are a few scenes that made me flinch. And it is certainly not for kids under the age of 13. True, the movie does have a PG-13 rating and rightly so.

Now here's my gripe. My six-year-old daughter loved the first movie. LOVED it. She couldn't wait to see the second one. And why not? The marketing campaign has saturated her generation with stuff. Into Barnes & Noble, there' s a whole shelf dedicated to the movie in the children's section - and no, this isn't the area where the 13-year-old's usually go! Sticker books for a thirteen-year-old? I don't think so! Yet there they are and of course, my daughter talked my hubby into buying her one. :-) In fact, I even bought her a t-shirt with Captain Jack Sparrow on it for her birthday. Yup, it was in her size and even in smaller sizes. Again, not the sizes of a thirteen-year-old!

There's toys, there's posters, there's Captain Jack's face on Lunchables and other food packages. Even McDonald's has Pirates of the Carribbean toys in their happy meals.

I think Rene blogged about this once, so I know I'm not alone, but c'mon - this is ridiculous. Why make a film that you are marketing to children that they can't even watch? And here's the thing - they could have made this a PG movie VERY easily. They could have made a lot of the scenes much less intense and dark and yes, downright scary if they so chose. But they didn't. Why? Adults would have enjoyed it either way as evidenced by the box-office smashes of so many children's films - Madagascar, Over the Hedge, etc., etc.

Pirates grossed $55.5 million on its opening day. That's a record. And those earnings are only for ticket sales. What about the millions they're making on everything else? Books, toys, etc.? It boggles the mind.

In the end, I guess that's what it's about. But I sincerely wish that Hollywood would wake up and start paying attention to things other than the bottom line.

In Other News...

Nope, the thieves have not been caught, the truck has not been found, and hubby had to go to the store and replace all his stuff - mostly clothes. He is, however, the happy recipient of a new vehicle - a 2001 Dodge Durango. It's the nicest vehicle we've ever owned and he's quite ecstatic with his purchase. And I'm hoping that we find the Explorer and that it's just been abandoned along a roadside somewhere, still in good shape. 'Cuz then, I get to drive it. ;-)

7 comments:

  1. Glad things worked out with the car even if it hasn't been found yet. And hey, who doesn't like getting new clothes??

    I'm off to see Pirates this Wednesday but I know what you mean about marketing. It's like the money men in Hollyweird see nothing but dollar signs and couldn't care less about anything else.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9:14 AM

    Good point about the marketing, Melissa. I wish they had a little more integrity, too. But, money seems to rule the world of Hollywood (and then some).
    In any case, here's hoping the Explorer gets found (I hear it's better on gas than the Durangos...)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:58 AM

    Thanks for the vibe on the movie. I couldn't make sense of the mixed reviews.

    I hope the SUV turns up. That's awful. Such a violation of your lives. Sorry. :(

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:04 PM

    I totally agree with you Melissa. I blogged about it yesterday. I find a lot of Disney's movies are this way. Too many of them are very dark and scary for kids considering they are marketed to kids, like you said. For a long time we didn't take our kids to Disney movies for that reason, other than the earlier ones. Those ones seemed to be fine, the ones made by Walt Disney himself.

    Hope you get your vehicle back. I can't imagine how that would feel. What an inconvenience.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree! I haven't let my kids see Pirates 1 yet. They are so scared, even of Scooby Doo. So I'm coddling them until they are older. I get annoyed with marketing--however I'm all for the T-shirt!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hmmm, I was planning on taking the kids to see it this week. I did blog about that, didn't I? Here's the link:
    Now I'm going to have to think about it. I really did want to see it because I'm such a fan of Keira Knightley (yeah, right).

    ReplyDelete
  7. sorry, I messed up the link. Oh well, it was in May '05 if anyone is interested.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you!

What a Difference a Day (or Two) Made...

Dinah Washington sings a wonderful tune called "What a Difference a Day Made." While the lyrics are romantic in nature, it perfect...