Gauging a New Treasure Seeker

A couple of weeks ago, I referenced a then-upcoming change on Pirates of the Caribbean regarding a classic scene being infused with new technology.  In the treasure-filled caverns at the start of the attraction, a skeletal pirate long portrayed in static, unmoving form was being replaced with an animatronic utilizing projection-mapping face technology to tell a new story--or as Walt Disey Imagineers claimed, a story that was always there but never had the opportunity to truly showcase.

The announcement was met with a lot of objection and criticism in the Disney community, with many feeling that the projections were not very realistic and didn't match the tactile charm of the old figure.  There was also plenty of unhappiness from the park of Disney park fandom that objections to anything new.  But was it really that bad?

Last weekend, I had the chance to ride and witness the new scene in person, and, of course take photos.  The verdict? Well, I'm more on the side of detractors.  Although the scene photographs very well, and the projection can be edited to look more realistic, I felt like in person, the new audio animatronic's face looked very much like a projection, lacking the convincing three dimensional facial features of its predecessor.  The grunting and confused groaning of the pirate picking up a cursed coin, being impacted by its magic, and then turning into a skeleton felt silly and didn't match the serious vibe of the scene's ambiance.  It didn't seem as realistic as the latest, fully physically moving animatronics that Disney can produce now.

But my main issue with the change stems from something I think is more objection: it just doesn't make sense for the ride's storytelling.  As Disney fans know very well, the second scene of Pirates of the Caribbean--after the pair of waterfalls that propel riders into the story following the initial bayou scene--functions as an epilogue to the buccaneering tale, showing what happened to those pirates after their plundering and treasure seeking.  The frozen skeletons serve as an eerie reminder of the consequences of this pirate's life, and the end of the scene even saw an addition a few years ago of a transitional moment where a skeleton lugging a net full of treasure turns into a living pirate with skin and muscle and eyes.  This part marks the flashback to the pirates' living days and transitions the narration to their marauding days.

To insert a pirate that is alive and then turns into a skeleton via the curse of the inauspicious gold goes against the whole point of the scenes shown in the grottos.  Perhaps this is now a different pirate who has stumbled upon the grisly scene and is ignoring the macabre suggestions of all the dead pirates, but this is inconsistent with the ride's six decades of storytelling and retcons this moment in the tale.  It feels like shoehorning a story change for the sake of incorporating a new technology, rather than have new technology organically support an established story.  

I try not to be too negative with Disney changes, as Walt Disney himself famously said that Disneyland shall never be complete. But I think in this case, the attempt of a creative idea turned out to be a swing and a miss.