May 14, 2011. Copyright 2011, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Disney is set to fill its treasure chest with fourth Pirates of the Caribbean
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, May 14, Graphic News:  The news that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film in the series, would be shown at the Cannes Film Festival drew inevitable sneers from those critics who have been mystified by the success of the Disney franchise since the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie thrust Johnny Depp's rollicking Captain Jack Sparrow on cinema audiences in 2003.

But On Stranger Tides is not the first fantasy-adventure film to grace Cannes -- that honour goes to Indiana Jones -- and festival bosses probably knew the chance to have Penelope Cruz and the ever-popular Depp together on the red carpet was too good to pass up. While some find Pirates' combination of slapstick comedy, caricature and incoherent plots too reminiscent of the theme park where the idea originated, millions of film fans simply love the ride.

Each Pirates film has been among that year's highest earning movies, and overall the franchise has grossed $2.8 billion worldwide. The series was originally intended as a trilogy: Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest (2006) and At World's End (2007) were loosely grouped, but On Stranger Tides, directed by Rob Marshall, is a standalone film, and there are reported to be two more Pirates movies in the pipeline. 

On Stranger Tides reunites Depp's boozy, blundering Jack Sparrow with his father, Captain Teague, played by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards (on whom Depp's Sparrow is based). But it departs from the first three in that regulars Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom do not feature. However, Kevin McNally is back as Sparrow's loyal sidekick Joshamee Gibbs; Geoffrey Rush reprises his role as the embittered Captain Hector Barbossa -- and this time we have Ian McShane relishing a turn as the "pirate all pirates fear": Blackbeard. 

Penelope Cruz appears as Blackbeard's daughter, Angelica, a former lover of Sparrow. After the pair are reunited, she forces him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge to search for the elusive Fountain of Youth, and he comes face to face with Blackbeard, his new nemesis. The film was shot mainly in Hawaii and the UK, with a budget cut to $200 million, but fans of the swashbuckling series can still look forward to the usual mayhem, including mysterious mermaids, and zombies marauding on deck.

Whatever the critics make of it, On Stranger Tides is unlikely to sink at the box office. Despite Disney's initial wariness about his camp, spaced-out portrayal of Sparrow, Depp's creation is an iconic character with unprecedented box-office appeal. Depp, who earned $55 million for the latest film and has bought his own island with his Pirates proceeds, once got an Oscar nomination for the role. The enduring appeal of Pirates might just be that, while the main actors clearly relish the absurdist escapism of the movies, filmgoers also have the feeling they are in on the joke.

On Stranger Tides opens in cinemas worldwide from May 18.
/ENDS