a family movie

Rating: 4/10 (30 December 2011)

The movie contains not much dialogue, a sad love affair, couple of new and original story lines and lots of stereotypical pirate types. J. Depp makes a big effort to not sound normal. The way he keeps talking like Jack Sparrow just doesn't make him connect with the audience in my opinion. BUT - this being primarily a children's movie (a Disney one), it is best suited for them - getting exited about exotic places, mystique, mermaids, seamen talking funnily and making funny faces. No place for rationality or hardships of life, which are still to be taught at (life) school. Only few people of today's padded environment would be capable of dying of old age either being a soldier or a pirate in early modern age Europe.
Unfortunately this particular pirate movie doesn't contain any educational angle for kids - none of the pirates were hanged. Only a couple were shot by the Spanish (who also shot the English). Truth be told, the bad will get punished, but one just doesn't have the feeling of it having been done.
If I'm not mistaken, Disney has made a movie or movies about mermaids before. Anyway they seem to be a rather underused resource at Hollywood, meaning a complete surprise. Other stuff were old - think of Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail.