Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest parents guide

Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest Parent Guide

Overall B

Johnny Depp swaggers back into the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate that owes his soul to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). Now, the only way for the sailing scallywag to stay out of the sea demon's locker is to track down the mysterious Dead Man's Chest. To do so, he shanghais the help of his old friends, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley).

Release date July 6, 2006

Violence C-
Sexual Content B+
Profanity A-
Substance Use C

Why is Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest PG-13 for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images.

Parent Movie Review

Three years and $300 million later (the booty from the original Pirates movie), it should be no surprise that Captain Jack is back in a sequel to the theme park ride inspired Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. This time the infamous rouge (played to precision by Johnny Depp) discovers he owes an unpaid debt to none other than Davy Jones, the nastiest—and definitely the ugliest—pirate of the seven seas.

After thirteen years of commanding The Black Pearl, Captain Jack Sparrow has somehow forgotten the ship’s mortgage is still in Jones’s name. That’s also bad news because Jones (Bill Nighy) isn’t your typical bill collector. Instead, he and his crew are beings paying for their reprehensible lives by slowing decomposing and metamorphosing into various sea creatures (which are amazingly crafted) and living their hellish lives on board The Flying Dutchman, a vessel which can magically surface nearly anywhere in the ocean without notice. With a squid for a face, the tentacle covered pirate and his ghastly crew certainly rank as one of the most gruesome sights seen on screen. Encumbered by Jones’s devilish powers, Sparrow is informed the price to ransom his boat is ninety-nine souls.

It would actually be one hundred, had not his friend Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) agreed to volunteer to serve on the Dutchman, after uncovering a personal secret. However, this course of action forces him to postpone his plans to marry Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). Turner’s dilemma leaves the bride-to-be spending an inordinate amount of time with the dastardly Jack, leading to the obvious romantic triangle implications.

Adding additional meat to this two-and-a-half-hour epic, is yet another side plot involving the East India Trading Company, helmed by pirate hunter Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander). What he, Captain Sparrow and Will all need is a treasure chest that holds the beating heart of Davy Jones. Whoever can get the key, find the box, and possess the heart has ultimate rule over the seas and Jones’s destiny.

Parents who were dealing with the ethical issues of “good” pirates versus “bad” politicians in the first movie will find those concerns minimized in this outing which pits nasty pirates against nastier scallywags and big business playing the baddest of them all. And, like the last movie, nothing in this film is intended for serious consumption. By choosing to exploit Depp’s popular character to the fullest, there are few scenes of serious drama. Every other moment is rooted in sarcastic wit thanks to Sparrow’s eccentric grandstanding.

Yet, for those too young to be in on all the jokes, there are many horrific scenes, especially involving the Dutchman’s crew. Character’s rotting bodies are slashed open, parts fall off, and one man loses his head… which begs for the lower half of his corpse to return and pick him up. Murders, torture, and even a strong hint of cannibalism permeate this adventure. These pirates also live up to the stereotyped notion that rum is a main food group, with Sparrow in particular often shown guzzling and stumbling around on deck.

Thankfully profanities are nearly extinct, and some low-cut dresses as well as references to prostitutes are the extent of the sexual content. If you aren’t expecting your kids to learn any positive life-changing messages and feel they are mature enough to deal with the Jones’s appalling crew, this may be a summertime adventure worth sailing on.

Theatrical release July 6, 2006. Updated

Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest
Rating & Content Info

Why is Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest rated PG-13? Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images.

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is definitely the most content laden product to bear the Walt Disney Pictures logo. Rated PG-13, parents of pre-teens should carefully assess their children’s readiness for the depicted ghoulish images such as portrayals of decomposing and disintegrating bodies slowing turning into sea creatures. As well, violence is plentiful, with stabbings, slashing, shootings, decapitations and many other means of taking lives and inflicting injuries. The character of Davy Jones is akin to a devil, and holds supernatural and metaphysical powers. A sea monster capable of swallowing a ship and its crew also makes many appearances, including one close-up when it regurgitates slime onto a man. Drinking of rum is depicted in comedic fashion, and Depp’s character often guzzles booze and appears intoxicated. Sexual content is limited to a couple of veiled verbal references, low cut dresses, and a pair of prostitutes acknowledging their relationship with Sparrow. Only one mild profanity was noted and a man is seen smoking a pipe.

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Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest Parents' Guide

Why do you think audiences have grown to love the character of Jack Sparrow? What makes an underdog personality easier to relate to?

The classic tall ship, The Bounty, was utilized once again in this movie. It was originally built for a 1960s version of Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlin Brando. For more information on this important craft, visit http://www.tallshipbounty.org/.

For party ideas for your little scallywags, check FamilyFun.com’s Pirate Party.

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest movie is December 4, 2006. Here are some details…

DVD Release Date: 5 December 2006

Sailing onto DVD in time for the Christmas gift-giving season, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is available in either a single or double disc version. Both offer the feature presentation, an audio commentary with writers Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, as well as the Bloopers Of The Caribbean.

But if you are hunting for the real bonus treasures, you’ll find those only in the 2-Disc Edition. If you chose this option, the gems you can look forward to are: Charting The Return (a pre-production documentary), According To Plan: The Harrowing and True Story of Dead Man’s Chest, Captain Jack: From Head To Toe, Mastering The Blade (for Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Jack Davenport), Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy Of A Legend, Creating The Kraken, Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering The Attraction, Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer’s Photo Diary, Fly On The Set: The Bone Cage, and Pirates on Main Street: The Dead Man’s Chest Premiere. Audio tracks are available in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound in English, French and Spanish, with subtitles in Spanish and French. The movie is also close captioned for the hearing impaired.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is also part of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Four-Pack Collection, which releases to home video on October 18, 2011.

Related home video titles:

This movie is the continuing saga of the characters introduced in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The saga continues in the sequels Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. A spirit of insurrection leads to Mutiny on the Bounty in the 1935 film adaptation of a real life story about a group of seafaring men turned outlaws.

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