The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise went from being a ridiculed Disney movie to one of the biggest money-spinners in cinema history. When it was announced in the early 2000s that Disney were planning to make a movie based on one of their theme park rides, many were sceptical about the chances of the film being anything other than a flop. However, that all changed when Johnny Depp stepped off his sinking ship and swaggered into theaters as Captain Jack Sparrow, becoming the driving force behind a five-movie multi-billion dollar saga that may not be over yet. But before all of that, there was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, one of the most technically advanced rides of its time and one that even more popular now thanks to the movies. In a recent auction, a piece of Pirates‘ history sold for almost $25,000, and this one did not need Johnny Depp’s face on it to attract buyers.
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Although it is hard to deny that Depp’s appearances as Jack Sparrow elevated the ride’s popularity to new levels, the most recent sales have proven that the ride has a strong appeal to collectors equal to anything from the modern movie adaptation. While Depp’s tricorn hat from The Curse of the Black Pearl recently sold for just over $100,000, Heritage Auctions have followed this with a vintage hand-pulled silkscreened poster for the original ride dating back to 1967. A historical treasure, the advertisement for the ever-popular attraction certainly had many bidders willing to pay a fine fee to get their hands on it, leading to a final hammer price of $24,400. While the old ride was given a facelift in recent years, and received a huge boost from the movies, there are several reasons why this poster is special enough to warrant the price it sold for.
Before the Movies, There Was Just the Ride
The poster is simple enough, depicting a fearsome pirate and colored in shades of orange and red, with the title of the ride and a short tag line of “Sail with the wildest crew that ever sacked the Spanish Main.” It measures an impressive 36 by 54 inches and was used to promote the newly opened ride in Disneyland’s New Orleans Square in March 1967. Designed by Disney Legend Imagineer Collin Campbell, the poster itself has a place in the book, Poster Art of the Disney Parks, the definitive list of Disney posters that have been used in their parks for more than half a century. The ride, when it opened, was incredibly advanced for its time, featuring over 600,000 gallons of water, 53 animatronic animals and 75 audio-animatronic pirates. It was exactly the kind of ride that could only be found in Disneyland, mainly thanks to who had a hand in its creation.
The Pirates of the Caribbean ride was the very last to be envisioned by Walt Disney, who aslo oversaw the development and construction of the attraction. Disney was known for his visionary approach to Disneyland rides, pushing the boundaries of what was possible at the time, ensuring that you saw things at the park you would never see anywhere else. Sadly, Disney never got to see the ride open to the public, as he passed away just three months before the first people set sail. This is yet another reason why anything from around the time of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride’s opening becomes a holy grail item to serious Disney collectors. The age of the item, the history behind it, and the more recent popularity of the movie franchise are three very solid reasons for this poster to have become such a high-priced auction item as it sailed to a new owner.
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