Movies

The Real Johnny Depp Showed Up As Jack Sparrow On Disneyland's 'Pirates' Ride

Johnny Depp Disneyland Pirates Jack Sparrow
By Ben Pearson/

In 2006, when Disney parks began adding characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean films into the theme park attraction that inspired the successful film series, fans were impressed with the level of realism the Imagineers achieved. But even the coolest animatronics pale in comparison to the real thing, and attendees at Disneyland in Anaheim, California yesterday were surprised to discover actual Pirates star Johnny Depp incorporated into the ride in full Captain Jack Sparrow costume. Watch the Johnny Depp Disneyland videos below.

THR points us to a few Twitter users who witnessed the surprise firsthand:

It's worth noting that this isnt the first time Johnny Depp has appeared in costume as one of his movie characters at Disneyland. He did an appearance for the last Alice In Wonderland movie:

It would certainly be fun to see an A-list star dressed up as one of their most famous characters, especially if it just randomly happened while you were out on a family vacation. But it'd be a lot more fun if that A-list star wasn't drowning in allegations of domestic abuse against his ex-wife Amber Heard, something Hollywood as a whole seems to be completely ignoring. (He and Heard settled the case out of court.)

Not only is Disney moving full steam ahead on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – the movie this stunt is ostensibly promoting – but Depp has also secured a lucrative role in Warner Bros.' Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series. This kind of publicity opportunity may generate a quick rush of "oh, how fun!" responses from fans who might not have been paying close attention, but it's going to take a hell of a lot more than that for Depp to get back in the good graces of the rest of us.

Next time, may I suggest dressing Michael Bolton up and having him hang out on the ride instead?

But we live in a culture right now where it's depressingly easy to predict how all this will shake out. The upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – which has earned some good buzz from early screenings – will make a ton of money, restore the franchise back to its glory days, and Depp's career will continue to flourish. The only thing we can do is continue to point it out and hope that the broader issue of domestic abuse is eventually looked down upon in an industry which has a notoriously noxious history with women.

Dead Men Tell No Tales arrives in theaters on May 26, 2017.

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