01x04 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

[bunniefuu]

DAN: Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl

is an epic film.

Here, there be monsters.

DAN: Unforgettable characters
on a high-seas adventure...

Heave to and take in sail.
Launch the boats.

DAN: Searching for cursed treasure.

This is Aztec gold.

MALE VOICE: We are not afraid of you!

DAN: The film was inspired
by Disney's famous attraction,

one of the most advanced
and dramatic of its kind.

DIRECTOR: Action!

DAN: To turn this attraction
into a cinematic pirate adventure,

the filmmakers worked to make every detail
authentic and original.

DIRECTOR: Action!

- [GRUNTING]
- DAN: Every prop, costume,

and piece of artwork reflects
how this film became

one of the most successful
movie franchises of all time.

Bloody pirate!

- DAN: And tracking down artifacts...
- [SCREAMS]

DAN: From this film...

is an adventure all its own.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

DAN: In a movie, every detail,
no matter how small,

is designed to tell you something.

I'm Dan Lanigan, and I've spent
my entire life collecting artifacts

from my favorite films.

Now, I'm setting out to learn more

about the props from the Disney movies
that I love...

This thing is so cool.

Because these historic artifacts make
you feel like you're a part of the story.

DAN: In my quest to find iconic props,

I thought I'd start my search
at the place

where much of the film was shot...

[GOAT BLEATING]

DAN: The island of St. Vincent.

St. Vincent is located off the coast
of Venezuela,

in the southernmost waters
of the Caribbean.

And just being here makes you feel
like you've just

stepped into a real pirate adventure.

And I tracked down a captain

who, like so many islanders,
had worked on the film.

That rock there looks
very familiar.

CAPTAIN:

- DAN: Oh, the treasure cave.
- CAPTAIN: Yep.

- DAN: That's so cool.
- CAPTAIN: Oh, yeah.

DAN: All along this coastline
are the remains

of some of the most memorable set pieces
from the film.

Is this where Jack shows up
the first time?

CAPTAIN: - DAN: [LAUGHING]

DAN: Wow. That's amazing.

It looks like a giant pair of pants.

CAPTAIN:

- No way.
- [BOTH LAUGHING]

DAN: Wow. Now, the skeletons
that were hanging there,

were they left from production?

CAPTAIN:

And they are gone now?

[BOTH LAUGH]

- Prop collectors.
- [LAUGHING]

DAN: Wallilabou Bay was the main location
in the movie.

The filmmakers hired many islanders
and, getting to know them,

I learned about what sets
and props remained here.

This bay was filled of boat
from the time of the movie.

DAN: Including this guy,
Francois Toucheaux,

the island's dentist, who played an extra
in the film.

- FRANCOIS: The wharf over here...
- DAN: Right.

FRANCOIS: This is where Jack Sparrow
made his first arrival

- when his boat sunk...
- DAN: Ah!

And he walked straight through.

And you can see
there's some cannons remaining.

DAN: Yeah. It's interesting

that right next to it is obviously one
of the prop cannons that's left over.

This one's made out of fiberglass.

Wonder if I can take this home.

- I don't know.
- [CHUCKLES]

- DAN: Hello.
- JANE: Hi.

- I'm Dan. How you doing?
- Hi, Dan. I'm Jane.

DAN: And local bar owner Jane Russell
was an extra.

JANE: I was in the village
and I had a parasol,

- and I had to walk up and down.
- DAN: That's awesome.

She also ended up with a key piece
from the film.

So, is this a replica from the film?

- JANE: No, it's the real thing.
- DAN: Wow.

JANE: In the part
when Johnny Depp was standing

on his mast and his boat sunk.

- DAN: How did you get this thing?
- JANE: We were given it from Disney.

DAN: Really?

That's amazing.

And why did you put it in concrete?

Well, because I actually heard
somebody talking about...

stealing it.

- Really?
- JANE: Yes.

So, a bunch
of shipboard pirates wanted

- to steal a pirate crow's nest.
- Yep, exactly. Exactly.

DAN: It's crazy to think
that this thing's been

hidden here in plain sight.

And as much as I'd might like to take it
home with me,

I can appreciate that this mast remains
landlocked in Jane's bar,

where fans can enjoy a glass of rum
with a genuine piece of Pirates history.

And not only have some of the props
stuck around...

so did the film's costume designer,
Penny Rose,

who bought a house in St. Vincent
after filming

and was nice enough to arrange to have
some of her original costumes flown down,

courtesy of the Walt Disney Archives.

- So, what do we have in here?
- PENNY: Ooh!

- This is Captain Barbossa.
- Oh! Barbossa!

- Wow!
- PENNY: We wanted to make him

a dark character,
so that's why we chose the charcoal.

And then, he stole better quality things,
so his coat is in silk.

He wore it nearly all the time,
'cause it really gave him some power.

- DAN: Right.
- PENNY: And this is his sash

in a silky fabric.

He's probably a better thief.

- DAN: Yeah. Yeah.
- PENNY: So he, you know,

the Spanish Armada drops a box
in the ocean.

- He sends the boys down...
- DAN: Yeah.

- 'Cause he knows...
- He's successful...

- PENNY: He... he...
- as a pirate.

- He's got an eye for the better kit.
- Of course.

And when Geoffrey arrived
to make the movie,

- I had hats out.
- Right.

And he looked to me and he said,
"No, darling, I don't wear hats."

[CHUCKLES]

I said, "But Geoffrey, you're a pirate,
you'll need a hat."

- The hatless pirate.
- "No, no, no, no, no."

And then I went to the bathroom,

and when I came back
into the fitting room...

- Yeah?
- Geoffrey had this hat on his head.

- DAN: [LAUGHING]
- PENNY: And I said,

"Wow, that looks pretty good."
He said...

- "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"
- [LAUGHS]

- And he never took it off.
- Wow.

Oh, well, I won't be making
that mistake again.

DAN: Penny didn't just create the original
looks for the movie's leading characters.

Come on, soldiers, chin up.

DAN: She oversaw the costuming
of some 900 actors for the film.

PENNY: Did I or did I not tell you
to take all your clothes off?

And there's no need to wear sunglasses
in here, there's no sunshine.

- DAN: And of course...
- PENNY: Okay, next victim.

DAN: The most famous pirate costume
of all time.

PENNY: So, Dan, what do we have here?

Oh, my gosh.

PENNY: This is Captain Jack's iconic,
square-cut, 18th-century frock coat.

DAN: Wow.

- PENNY: Um...
- [LAUGHS]

These buttons all look
so weathered and so oxidized.

- PENNY: Oh, no, we do all that.
- Ah!

PENNY: They've been at sea, you know.
The salt water erodes everything.

- So, um...
- DAN: You think of everything.

- PENNY: Oh, yeah. This is how he wore it.
- DAN: Wow.

- PENNY: Filthy-looking all the time.
- DAN: Filthy, dirty...

PENNY: And Johnny has to take the credit
because he, you know, makes it come alive.

- DAN: Oh, of course, of course.
- PENNY: And he's very intuitive

about what works and what doesn't work.

Oh, now, this is an interesting item.

- This is the famous bandana.
- DAN: Look at that.

Okay, these bandanas are made in India.

- They cost 50 cents each.
- DAN: [CHUCKLES]

And he's very particular
about how he puts it on.

- Really?
- PENNY: But you know, we were kind of

cherry-picking from all kinds
of influences.

One of our great influences
were the wonderful illustrations

of Howard Pyle in the late 1890s.

That's where the red scarf kind of idea
started with.

And there's a great picture of a pirate

- with a red scarf there.
- DAN: Right.

And here is the famous, iconic hat.

- DAN: Oh!
- This is in rubber.

- Rubber?
- Because he kept throwing them overboard.

- DAN: [LAUGHING]
- PENNY: So, after we'd gone through

about ten, I was exasperated
and had it copied in rubber.

- But it looks identical in every way.
- It does. There's no way I would know

- that that's not leather.
- And it floats.

- [CHUCKLES]
- And it doesn't...

- So you can recover it easily.
- All the time.

What does it feel like to see this costume
after so many years?

- An old friend.
- DAN: [CHUCKLING]

Just the amount of work in this
one costume alone is just astounding.

- Well, there are a lot of ingredients.
- DAN: Yes.

- But I think that's why it works.
- DAN: Yeah.

DAN: Penny recognized the importance
of even the smallest details in creating

an authentic world.

But dedication
to creating believable pirates

- doesn't stop at the costumes.
- DIRECTOR: Action!

[GRUNTING]

DAN: Each one of these characters needed

a historically accurate,


And where did I find the blacksmith
responsible for arming these pirates?

[AIRPLANE WHOOSHING]

Burbank.

[OPERA MUSIC PLAYING]

DAN: Less than a mile from Disney Studios.
Talk about convenience.

[OPERA MUSIC PLAYING]

DAN: If you've seen
cool swords in a movie...

there's a good chance
that this guy made 'em. Tony Swatton.

He's been the go-to blacksmith
for many hit films

over the past 25 years.

This particular anvil...

was screen-used
in Pirates of the Caribbean,

- you know, so...
- No way!

So, production rented about 200 tongs
and hammers...

- Right.
- From me, and swords

- for the Blacksmith's shop set.
- Oh!

TONY: I, you know, I...

I wouldn't say I hoard 'em
or I have a problem.

I have 500 hammers,
and I could stop at any time.

- DAN: [LAUGHS]
- So, to release maybe 150, 200 hammers

- and a bunch of tongs.
- So you're like a real-life Thor.

- Yeah, kinda, yeah.
- [LAUGHS]

- Which one's Mjolnir?
- Right.

[HUMMING]

TONY: We did it for Orlando Bloom
for Will Turner.

Obviously, Johnny Depp's sword
for Jack Sparrow

and for Norrington's sword,
which is a small sword,

which is like a gentleman's jewelry,
I did a steel blade

as a presentation piece,
as the hero sword. I also made...

a stock removal blade.

And here's a blank of aluminum.

It came as a long, tapered spike,
and it doesn't weigh much, right there.

- So, stock removal means...
- Yes.

You start with a piece like this,
and then you grind it down.

Take away everything that doesn't look
like the sword blade.

- Oh, okay.
- TONY: And then this is the grip.

This is made out of water buffalo horn.
You can see

- the spiral groove cut into it.
- DAN: Wow.

TONY: And this will polish up
like black glass.

Let me show you, um...
That's a water buffalo horn, that...

- DAN: Wow.
- I trim down and shape up.

DAN: Just the striations in there,
that is where,

I guess, all that detail comes from
when you just polish it.

TONY: Well, and that's all keratin.

- DAN: Yeah.
- TONY: That's like fingernails.

You know, grinding that, it smells, like,
horrible, but you can see here.

- And that's how that comes out of there.
- DAN: That is so cool.

DAN: In an age of CGI
and 3D-printed weapons,

Tony's commitment to do things the way
they've been done for centuries

is truly remarkable.

- TONY: This...
- DAN: Wow.

- Is a sword from about 1740...
- DAN: Wow.

That they brought in.
So this sword in your hands

is older than the United States...

- Wow.
- By about 35 years.

DAN: Wow.

We made probably 50 or 60
of this style hilts for the ND pirates,

so the nondescript background pirates,
but this is very similar to how

Johnny Depp's sword was brought to me
to replicate it.

So, having this, I could emulate the style
of it and use components of it.

And I can show you Jack Sparrow's
original sword

from Pirates of the Caribbean.

- This...
- Oh, wow.

Is the screen-used
Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow sword.

- DAN: [BLOWING]
- TONY: Here you go. This has...

- Wow.
- Got Johnny's DNA on it.

DAN: Amazing.

Screen-used. And you can see the dings
on there from the combat

- that he was fighting with it.
- Yeah, it's heavily used.

TONY: Yeah.

- DAN: Wow, that's fantastic.
- TONY: Yeah.

I mean, this is one of the nicest-looking
pieces I've ever seen.

- Well, thank you.
- I mean,

the quality of work
that you put into it this is spectacular.

You know, you're making swords
for movies, you'd think you'd do shortcut,

but it looks like you're doing things
very authentically.

Right. I mean, if you're gonna get
a hero prop

to show something
that's a historical piece,

I'm gonna make it
with the correct materials.

Jack Sparrow's sword,
I used African black ebony,

and, you know, you could paint a piece
of pine black throughout...

- DAN: Right.
- Or you can make it right.

Wow.

DAN: Every aspect of this sword
has been designed by Tony

to make you feel like a pirate.

And while you might not be able to see
this level of detail in the movie,

they give it a level of authenticity
that makes it so much more

than just a movie prop.

I wanted to see
where that authentic vision began...

so I tracked down the first artifacts
from the film...

- JIM: [GRUNTING]
- DAN: The concept art.

- [GRUNTS]
- JIM: [YELPS]

- Oh, it went down.
- DAN: [LAUGHS]

Whoa!

DAN: How great is it that legendary film
artists Crash McCreery and Jim Byrkit

were willing to share their stash
of original drawings?

DAN: Look at that, buried treasure.

Crash and Jim have worked on
some of Hollywood's biggest films,

and they were two of the first people
brought on to Curse of the Black Pearl.

You know, Gore calls you up and says,
"I want you to work with me."

- JIM: Yeah.
- What happens?

Nobody was on the movie.
Johnny Depp wasn't on, nobody.

- And he said "The first thing..."
- DAN: Wow.

"We have to do is take a trip
to the Caribbean

- "and scout it out."
- Okay. [LAUGHS]

- JIM: So that was...
- Twist your arm, right? [LAUGHS]

JIM: Yeah. So, this is the original
sketchbook that I took down with me

on the location scout,
going down to the Caribbean.

I was there just for a few weeks,
getting some very simple concepts for,

- "What is the vibe? What is the feeling?"
- Right.

"What is the magic of it?"

When you're at sea, everything is gonna be
the same shot,

it's gonna be sky and water.
So, one of the first places we found

that started giving us a cinematic quality
was on location in the Caribbean.

Gore and I see these giant pitons,

and suddenly, we looked at each other
and we went, "Oh, that's a pirate movie."

And it actually ended up being
that first location.

And that's a real place.
And we would've never known that

- if we hadn't physically gone there...
- DAN: Right. Yeah.

JIM: And sorta looked everywhere,
because if you would've just made

this movie in Burbank, in a computer,

you would've never gone there,
and you would've never had

- these special elements.
- DAN: That's right.

Getting to dig this stuff out
of Jim's basement...

- Oh...
- DAN: Is a film geek's dream come true.

- JIM: Yeah, I remember that.
- DAN: Wow.

JIM: Oh, right.

CRASH: See, here's
the Errol Flynn version.

- JIM: That's like the Chocolat Johnny.
- DAN: [LAUGHING]

- DAN: Wow. Such a handsome fella.
- CRASH: Right, yeah, too handsome.

Boy, did I get that wrong.
And so, this was the cursed version.

DAN: Crash is who you'd call
when you wanna figure out

what an 18th-century zombie pirate
should look like.

CRASH: And this is where the moonlight
is showing who he really is.

So he's actually got kind of an, "Oh,
I'm curious as to what you're saying."

And then this is more like,
"You don't wanna know what I'm thinking."

JIM: So, the cherry became
an apple, right?

- The apple hadn't been cast at that point.
- [LAUGHS]

- It was hard finding that apple.
- Hey, you gotta find the perfect apple.

- It's hard to find a good apple.
- JIM: Yeah.

CRASH: And then there was the monkey.

- I love doing more creature kinda stuff.
- DAN: Right.

CRASH: So when he said,
"There's a cursed monkey,"

I just went in and just...
this was the first pass.

DAN: This guy is quite evil-looking.

- Man! I love it!
- CRASH: Yeah. Yeah.

DAN: And the pendant...

JIM: I was just gonna say,
where did you get that design?

CRASH: I designed that.
Just, just, um...

This is what blows my mind
about a Crash drawing, is...

that would've taken me all day.

- To do that.
- DAN AND CRASH: [LAUGHING]

And Crash is just like,
"Yeah, and then there's a pendant. Blech."

I mean, it's amazing.

[LAUGHS] Thanks, Jim.

A lot of what I do is coming up with shots

that are then incorporated
into the screenplay.

So you find moments based on a thing
that you're inspired about,

- or things that you think are cool.
- JIM: Exactly.

And then you implement those
into your artwork, and then, hopefully,

- they go into the film.
- JIM: That's right.

JIM: This is one of my favorite ones
because it's the first time anybody

had visualized the ships at all.

- DAN: Ah!
- JIM: Up until this point,

you read the script,

- and there's three ships.
- DAN: Right.

JIM: And so I sort of said,
it's very important that each ship

has a completely different
personality to it.

The Interceptor was very fast,
the Dauntless was just

- this huge battleship...
- DAN: I mean, the first drawing,

and they look so similar
to what wound up on screen.

- The basic idea, yeah.
- DAN: The profiles. Yeah, exactly.

The basic idea.

JIM: And so, the Black Pearl, we needed it
to feel very different than the others.

It's haunted, it's a special place.

Wherever you look, you feel
like you're being watched.

This idea that the...

sails actually had personality to it,
the way they were ripped,

they almost had faces coming out.

And yet, it's Jack Sparrow's
Millennium Falcon. You know?

- It's his ship that he loves so much.
- DAN: Yeah.

So you have to not hate it,
you actually have to

- think it's kinda beautiful.
- DAN: Yeah. Yeah.

DAN: Do you ever feel like,
"Oh, this is gonna be one of the greats"?

CRASH: Even the most successful films
I've ever worked on,

I never imagined they were gonna be
as successful as they were.

And it's like, that... But the experience
is this, and being with a director

- like Gore, and artists like Jim...
- Yeah.

And going through the process,
that's the love of it, you know?

To me, that's the most exciting part.

DAN: Seeing these drawings showed me
what an indelible impact Crash and Jim

had on the look of everything in the film,
from the costumes and locations

to a possessed galley.

And that sketch of the Black Pearl
would be brought to life

as a model miniature.

Today, I'm visiting
the Walt Disney Archives,

where the ship currently resides
in dry dock.

And joining me is one of its creators,
modelmaker Don Bies.

- DAN: Oh, that is a big miniature.
- DON: [LAUGHING]

In fact, that's the biggest miniature
I've ever seen.

Really?

- Yeah.
- I haven't seen it for 12 years.

- [CHUCKLES] This is great.
- That's amazing.

So, this is the Black Pearl
from Pirates one, two, and three.

- Not exactly.
- Wait, what?

DON: So, we built the Black Pearl
for Pirates one,

but essentially, this was the Black Pearl
from Pirates two and three.

So what happened to the Black Pearl
from the first film?

They decided to redesign it
for Pirates two.

It had very minimal changes.
The original model wasn't even built to go

in water initially, and we knew this one
was gonna go in water,

so what we did is we actually
had to build the hull anew.

The shape of the bow
was slightly changed.

- DAN: Okay.
- DON: The shape of the stern

- was slightly changed.
- DAN: Right.

DON: And we had to build it tough enough
to withstand the rigging,

because the rigging puts
a lot of force on it.

DIRECTOR: Action!

It needed to do different things
that the old ship couldn't do physically.

Yeah. We were able to save a lot
of the detail pieces and reuse them.

I mean, the detail level on this
is spectacular.

DON: And we built it like a real ship.
The planking is actual pine.

It's doorstop molding
from the local lumber yard.

- DAN: [LAUGHING]
- DON: And that's actually

architectural detail that we bought
from a place in San Francisco

that sells it for the house.

And then the more sculptural pieces,
like the face that we...

- DAN: The fish and the mermaids.
- DON: Yeah, that we had to replicate

from live action,
as well as the ones lower here,

these were all handmade.
The doors were handmade.

The other thing, just talking
about the detail, is that I think

what really sells this, and many, many,
many miniatures,

is the paint job, the texture to give it
that weathered look.

- DAN: Right.
- DON: You see the rust stains,

- the barnacles.
- DAN: I would imagine

anytime you see the ship from a distance
with full sails, it would've been...

- DON: Would've been this ship. Yeah.
- This ship.

This is certainly becoming
a lost art form, isn't it?

It is. In more ways
than just the people that make the models.

You know, the people that I worked with...

- DAN: Oh.
- DON: Are all retired, essentially.

It's amazing. I mean, like you said,
that it's... [LAUGHING] ...still here.

It's... I guess it's a testament
to our building.

- But...
- DAN: It certainly is. Oh, look at this.

"Travel height, eight foot, nine inches."
I imagine that's important...

- [CHUCKLES] Yeah.
- When you're moving this thing around,

how big it is.

Well, when we built the first Pearl,
I remember we had that moment

"like you're building a boat
in your basement. It's like, "Oh...

"Oh, no, can we get it out?"
So we built the mast

so that it could telescope down,
so we were able to squeak under

by a few inches.

But then, what we didn't realize is
all the electrical cables on the street,

- you know, the power lines...
- Oh, boy.

Were too low, so I actually rode
the ship with a two-by-four,

and as we drove up to a cable,
I would have to pick it up and over

- the mast, and continue down. So that...
- That sounds dangerous

- for multiple reasons.
- DON: [LAUGHING]

- DAN: [LAUGHING]
- Ignorance is bliss, yeah.

- Yeah, it is, if you survive it, right?
- [LAUGHS] That's right.

DAN: I mean, you just don't see things
like this, ever.

You know?
I just feel like I'm a giant.

- [IMITATES GIANT'S VOICE]
- [LAUGHS]

DAN: While the miniatures used
in the effects shots were fascinating,

I'm curious to see the full-size objects
that the cast interacted with.

After a movie wraps, the surviving props
from the film can end up

in all sorts of random places...

and I tracked down a gem
in Aberdeen, Washington.

Oh, look at this.

Prairie Besore, who worked
as a rigger on one of the tall ships

used in the film, has agreed to show me
where it's been hidden away.

- DAN: [LAUGHING] Look at that. Wow.
- [WHEEL SQUEALS]

Give me the details.
Which ship was this on? What is this?

This is the ship's wheel that was rigged
to the Lady Washington

that played the Interceptor
on the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Oh, wow.

PRAIRIE: It is completely functional.

They had it hooked up to the tiller

that they normally use
to steer the vessel.

You could see it has a gear here
where they'd actually rig it up

to make it actually functional.

They put like a little platform over it,
so you couldn't see it,

and then they ran some pulleys down
and hooked it up here.

A wheel like this would be way overkill

- for a vessel of that size, so...
- Right.

We just rigged it up for the movie
because it's way more dramatic.

Yeah, it's probably cooler to see
Jack Sparrow doing this

- than doing this, right?
- Yeah. [CHUCKLES]

DAN: I mean, look at all the nicks
and all the wear on this thing.

PRAIRIE: I think a lot of it has been
distressed intentionally for the film.

Yeah, you can see up on this one
right here, is a big divot.

That's probably where they actually threw
a rope over it to hold it in place.

It's funny, in that first film, you know,
you think about Jack Sparrow

and his ship, the Black Pearl,

but he doesn't really spend that much time
piloting the Black Pearl.

This is his ship for a lot of that film.

PRAIRIE: Mm-hmm.

Wow.

[WHEEL SQUEALS]

That is really... I mean,
it's a beautiful piece of artwork as well,

separately from the functionality
that it's made to represent.

It's a big wheel, but...

where's the Interceptor?

DAN: Hunting down movie props
usually means

I spend a lot of time digging
through basements and warehouses.

But some treasures are just too big
to be buried.

Meet the Lady Washington.
A 67-foot, 99-ton brig

that starred as the navy ship
Interceptor in Curse of the Black Pearl.

Wow. Look at this place.

- PRAIRIE: I know, it's amazing.
- This is awesome. The rigging is insane!

- PRAIRIE: [LAUGHING]
- You used to hang out up there?

- Um, yes.
- Wow.

Yo-h*, yo-h*.

This is so cool.

- This is awesome.
- PRAIRIE: [CHUCKLING]

Wow.

If I don't get tangled up
in these ropes.

- PRAIRIE: [CHUCKLING] Occupational hazard.
- Wow.

It's just insane to think
about what it would be like

to live on a ship like this.

PRAIRIE: Feels nice to see it again.

We actually hired quite a few other
vessels, as well, when we got down there.

- DAN: Really?
- PRAIRIE: They did a search for

- pretty much any tall ship in the area.
- DAN: Oh.

PRAIRIE: I think they brought in, like,
three or four other vessels,

and they painted the different sides
different colors

so they could flip it around
and make it look like a different boat.

DAN: So it looked like there's more ships
in the world that they were in.

PRAIRIE: Yeah. They had them
just out in the harbor and stuff,

so we had to go do some repairs
on some of those vessels,

'cause not all of them
were exactly seaworthy.

- PRAIRIE: [LAUGHING]
- DAN: Wow. Wow.

PRAIRIE: So back here, this is where
they installed the wheel.

You need a ship's wheel here.
It's just...

- [CHUCKLES] Feel like you're missing it?
- Yeah.

- [LAUGHS]
- CAPTAIN: Stand by to get underway!

Hands to mooring station!

Cool. Are we gonna get to go out
on this thing?

Uh, yeah. Yeah, they're gonna take us out
for a little sail.

[CHUCKLES] Oh!

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

DAN: Feeling the power
of these tall ships,

I understand why the filmmakers
wanted to create an authentic experience,

both for the actors and the audience.

I've traveled far and wide to see
so many iconic artifacts from this movie.

But I know there's still more
out there to find.

And to do that, I'm going back
to the place where it all began...

the original attraction at Disneyland.

JOHN: Watch your step around
these teetering timbers here.

- It's kind of a little bit tricky...
- DAN: Oh, wow.

To get past here.

These cobblestones are kind of awkward.

Tonight, Disney Imagineer John Gritz
has agreed to let me

step out of the boat
and onto the attraction.

JOHN: Well, you didn't think
you were gonna land in jail

on this trip, did you?

DAN: I've been on this ride
dozens of times, but never like this.

- Oh, wow, look at this.
- JOHN: Yeah, I know, yeah.

DAN: Everywhere you look, you can spot
characters and set pieces

that directly inspired scenes
within the film.

- [PANTS]
- [PIGS SNORTING]

JOHN: Well, Dan, in the movie,
they had even more gold than this,

but the over-the-top quality
was definitely inspired by what's going on

- right in here.
- DAN: There's a lot of gold here.

JOHN: Mm-hmm.

- Is that what I think it is?
- You know, you spotted it.

The original Aztec chest
that was used in the movie.

DAN: Wow.

That's amazing.

JOHN: An interesting story
about this chest is, of course,

it had a false bottom in it,
because they didn't wanna fill

the whole thing with coins.
It would've weighed a million pounds.

And when we took the false bottom out
to see how we could anchor it,

we found one last piece
of the Aztec gold...

- DAN: Oh!
- Had somehow slipped

through a crack and was in the bottom
that was used in the movie.

It had a little dot of stage blood on it,
so we always wondered,

"Could this be the one that you see,
the close-up in the movie?"

DAN: Wow. That is just so cool.

DAN: How fitting that every day,
thousands of pirate fans get to float past

a real hidden treasure; The screen-used,
one-of-a-kind Aztec chest from the movie.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

[GRUNTING]

- DAN: Yes...
- [SCREAMING]

it's a story about ghost pirates
and ancient curses,

but what makes it believable
is the dedication

of a group of artists to create
a world that feels lived-in and real.

The people who make these movies
are always striving for new horizons,

and we, as fans, are lucky
to get to share in their spoils.

And that's why I like
exploring the world of movie props.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]