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Summary
While the originalPirates of the Caribbeanmovie already included multiple show-stopping effects, its 2006 sequel,Dead Man’s Chest, truly raised the stakes with theFlying Dutchmans crew and a significant character’s CGI design.Pirates of the Caribbean2delivered on expanding the world and the characters first introduced inThe Curse of the Black Pearl, creating an even more tortuous adventure for Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann.
However, the introduction of new characters and locations inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chestbrought the pirate lore to the front for the swashbuckling blockbuster, which simultaneously allowed the franchise’s second entry to reach new VFX heights.
Based on the legend of Davy Jones Locker,Pirates of the Caribbean2introduced the octopus-like pirate Davy Jones(Bill Nighy) as its main antagonist, and his greed and violence cemented him as such.
Coming to collect on Jacks promise to join hisFlying Dutchmancrew in exchange for raising theBlack Pearlfrom the oceans depths 13 years prior already highlighted his formidable nature.
Still, increasing the stakes from Barbossa’s skeleton crew in the first movie led to making the sequel’s villains and worldbuilding physically more terrifying through advanced special effects, with the CGI utilized by Disney to accomplish this in 2006 being massively ahead of its time.
The Avatar franchise’s success is largely based on its technical achievements, which proves a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot is necessary.
Pirates Of The Caribbean’s Davy Jones CGI Is Still The Franchise’s Best (& An All-Time Great CGI Character)
The attention to detail that Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) put into creating Davy Jones truly makes him stand out.
While the technology utilized for the character was the same that made the entireFlying Dutchmans crew come to life, his centrality as a character inPirates of the Caribbean2and Nighys performance made Davy Jones uniquely peculiar.
Many highlighted inPirates of the Caribbean2s bonus feature, Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend, how Nighys performance introduced quirks that almost made Jones comical, adding depth to an otherwise serious villain with a heartbreaking backstory.
Jones success as a character relied as much on Nighys acting as onILMs decision to put CGI on top of the actors, letting them interact with the other actorswhile shooting on location.
At the time, this was a novel approach to filming with CGI characters, and set a high standard for the franchise’s subsequent use of special effects.
The technique made Davy Jones' character more realistic, and it is glaringly evident when his 46 beard tentacles play the organ.
The attention to detail of the multiple movements of Jones tentacles and their texture still set him aside as one of the best CGI characters ever created.
Achieving this in 2006 is even more impressive, with Davy Jones still standing out as the greatest CGI accomplishment inPirates of the Caribbean’s five movies.
How Pirates Of The Caribbean Created Davy Jones With CGI
Pirates of the Caribbean2s bonus feature, Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend, goes into detail explaining how IML’s VFX artists added CGI over theFlying Dutchmans crew, and how meticulous they had to be with Davy Jones tentacled beard and its movements.Launching IMLs patented IMocap technology in 2006specifically withDead Mans Chest, they made it possible for the process to be less scientific and more involving of all actors on set.
This way, it let Nighy and the actors portraying theFlying Dutchmans crew members shoot on location alongside the rest of the cast, rather than shooting a clean plate with nobody in it, with the performance in a controlled environment.
Bill Nighy opened up about his experience as the cursed captain Davy Jones, and the costume he wore on set makes his performance even more impressive.
Pirates of the Caribbean2s bonus feature also offers a behind-the-scenes look at particular scenes in thePirates of the Caribbeansequel, and how aspects like the texture of Davy Jones beard tentacles were created by scanning coffee-stained Styrofoam cups, thus contributing to his more realistic depiction.
Jones beard moving along with him and focusing the audiences attention on tiny little movements, whether the tentacles were playing the organ or the side valve was expelling smoke, proved exceptional feats.
These early accomplishments made thePirates of the Caribbeansequels villain more authentic and allowed the CGI character to stand the test of time.
