Pirates of the Caribbean has captured the essence of pirate life across its five successful films, exploring the swashbuckling life of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow as his sense of adventure leads him to various treasures. Although pirates have been notably obsessed with treasure chests in popular media in modern times, the Pirates of the Caribbean films use “treasure” as a more vague termapplying it to other objectives and Macguffins, such as the Fountain of Youth and Jack’s Compass.
There are five different types of “treasure” across the $4.5 billion franchisewith some taken directly from myths and legends, and each film expertly explores the unique motivations why each character wants it. This often provides tension and a driving force for the Pirates of the Caribbean films, as this objective informs most of the plot. However, some treasures work better than others in Pirates of the Caribbeanand can affect the tone and immersion in the larger story.
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Jack Sparrow’s Compass
All Pirates of the Caribbean movies
Jack Sparrow’s magic compass has been everywhere Pirates of the Caribbean film, and its ability to lead the bearer to everything he most desires in the world has made the object highly desired by almost everyone. Throughout the franchise, Jack has used his compass to find people, objects, and directions. However, he is not the only one who possessed it. Both Lord Cutler Beckett and Will wanted the compass to lead them to Dead Man’s Chest and Shipwreck Cove. Beckett attempts to negotiate with Jack for the compass, and often results in illicit means to obtain it.
The compass is mainly used to further the plot in Pirates of the Caribbeangetting characters where they want much more quickly. When Jack gives this in Dead men tell no storiesfrees Salazar, setting the story in motion. Therefore, the compass could be considered a cheap trick to explain the plot. On the other hand, the compass was used quite effectively in Dead Man’s Chest and At the end of the worldto highlight the Jack-Elizabeth-Will love triangle, and was part of Jack’s plan to use Will as a double agent against Lord Beckett.
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The Cursed Aztec Medallion
The Curse of the Black Pearl
The Aztec Cursed locket was used by Elizabeth Swann after she secretly took it from Will Turner. The medallion is one of 882 pieces of Aztec gold that Barbossa and his crew took from Cortés’ Cursed Treasury. and caused Barbossa’s crew to become insentient, immortal, and skeletal in the moonlight. The crew tried to return every piece of the treasure, but Bootstrap Bill sent the last piece to his son, Will, believing that the pirates who had provoked a mutiny against Jack deserved their punishment.
Barbossa kidnapped Elizabeth in The Curse of the Black Pearl return the medallion to the chest and stop the curse, without realizing that Will was Bootstrap’s son. Of course, this became important later in the film when it was revealed that they needed not only the gold but also Bootstrap Bill’s blood to break the curse – and with him gone, Will became the surrogate sacrificial target.
Although there is a plot hole Pirates of the Caribbean first film – the medallion was already in the sea at the beginning with Will and did not emit any signal as it did when Elizabeth fell into the water – as an introductory treasure, the cursed Aztec gold in The Curse of the Black Pearl it was a good choice. It’s the most pirate-accurate treasure in the entire swashbuckling franchise, and the motivations behind each character’s desire for the treasure were simple but effective, creating a good formula for the rest of the game. Pirates of the Caribbean films next.
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Heart of Davy Jones
Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End
Interestingly, Davy Jones’ heart was searched for in two Pirates of the Caribbean films, Dead Man’s Chest and At the end of the world. After betraying his beloved Calypso, Davy Jones ripped out his own heart and locked it in a chest, burying it on Isla Cruces. Consequently, whoever possessed Davy Jones’ heart could control the cursed captain of the Flying Dutchman and his Kraken, making him a highly desirable treasure. Jack, Beckett and Will wanted the heart for slightly different reasons; Jack wanted to spend forever at sea, Beckett wanted Jones to eradicate the pirates, and Will wanted to free his father.
Plus the heart matched the original Pirates of the Caribbean the film’s cursed treasure, as they are both in a treasure chest.
The dead man’s chest was the subject of two films, which means Pirates of the Caribbean The CGI character Davy Jones received more airtime. This was a good thing, because Jones proved to be a fascinating and quite threatening villain in the pirate franchiseand there was a good backstory for his character. Plus the heart matched the original Pirates of the Caribbean the film’s cursed treasure, as they are both in a treasure chest. However, the heart of Davy Jones goes a step further because it includes control of a mythological Kraken as part of his powers over Davy Jones.
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The fountain of youth
On strange tides
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides introduces a new treasure to the franchise: the Fountain of Youth. The mythical spring is supposed to restore youth to those who drink its waters, and Jack Sparrow has ventured there beforemaking it all the way to the entrance before being turned around. Therefore, when Blackbeard decided to seek out the source and relive his glory days, he forced Jack to lead the way. They were closely followed by the Spanish on behalf of King Ferdinand, who wanted to destroy the sacrilegious fountain, and by the privateer Barbossa on behalf of King George II.
A large part On strange tides spent preparing the items needed for the profane ritual when they arrived at the fountain, which included the Cartagena chalices and a mermaid’s tear. The introduction of the mermaids fleshed out the franchise’s tradition and the search for the Fountain of Youth made a compelling plot for a Pirates of the Caribbean film, as it reinforced the classic pirate adventure story. Furthermore, the motivations and approaches of the different groups created a tense race to get to the source, and Penélope Cruz’s Angélica was an interesting character in the Pirates of the Caribbean universe.
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Poseidon’s Trident
Dead men tell no stories
Poseidon’s Trident has a unique history as one of the most powerful treasures in the world. Pirates of the Caribbean. The trident was supposedly capable of creating earthquakes, destroying ships, summoning the Kraken, controlling merfolk, and breaking curses.. After Jack Sparrow “cheats” By trading his compass for rum, the ghost of pirate hunter Armando Salazar is freed from the Devil’s Triangle. Salazar wanted the trident to wipe out all pirates (including Jack), Elizabeth and Will’s son returns to Pirates of the Caribbean to free his father from the Dutchman’s curse, and Barbossa wants control of the sea.
Although mythology has been integrated into Pirates of the Caribbean films, Poseidon’s Trident was somewhat underwhelming. The powerful object was overcome quite easily compared to other threats such as the Kraken, such as Henry Turner was able to break the trident with just his sword to break all the curses at sea. The trident’s destruction turned Salazar human once again, and he drowned while trying to escape, but it also freed Will Turner from the Flying Dutchman. However, with the disappearance of Poseidon’s Trident, the only treasure left in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is Jack’s compass.