If you must watch a Hulu movie in October, stream this one

For decades, Disney has tried to turn its theme park rides into their own feature film franchises. The only time this strategy really worked was when director Gore Verbinski and screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio took a popular Disneyland ride and turned it into a ride Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The film was such a huge success that it spawned four sequels. Even the rides at the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park have since been changed to more closely match the films they inspired.

The quality of the sequels declined, but that doesn’t take away from the incredibleness of the first film. And if you need more convincing, these are the reasons you should stream Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl this month.

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Johnny Depp gives one of his most iconic performances

“This is the day you will always remember because you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow.” On the script side, Captain Jack Sparrow was not as over-the-top flamboyant or over-the-top as he was when Johnny Depp played the role. By most accounts, Disney executives didn’t know what to make of Depp’s performance and they were afraid he would ruin the film. On the contrary, Depp created the film by giving it a larger-than-life main character who became the face of the franchise.

Unlike Depp’s later appearances in the sequels, the first film strikes a nice balance between Jack’s comedic aspects and his more serious desire for revenge against his former crew. Audiences and critics loved him in the role and Depp received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He didn’t win, but that was an impressive achievement in itself, as comedic roles rarely receive this honor.

The rest of the supporting cast is excellent

Depp didn’t carry this film alone. Geoffrey Rush had successful films like Shine, QuillsAnd Shakespeare in love when he was cast as the film’s villain, Captain Hector Barbossa, the man who betrayed Jack and took the ship known as the Black Pearl as his own. Barbossa has a very convincing motivation in the film: he wants to be mortal again and is willing to kill anyone just for the simple feeling of being able to feel something.

Orlando Bloom is sometimes criticized for his portrayal of Will Turner, but he also fits the character perfectly. Will becomes the film’s immediate hero, while Jack is its antihero. Will also gives the film his romantic lead opposite Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann. Knightley has appeared in many period films and seems right at home as Elizabeth. And although Elizabeth must be saved from Barbossa, she is also a competent hero in her own right.

In one of her earliest films, Zoe Saldana has a small role as Anamaria, a reluctant member of Jack’s crew who harbors a grudge against him. Saldana said that she did not enjoy her time on set and that she did not reprise her role in any of the sequels. This is unfortunate because Anamaria is a fun character during her brief moments on screen.

The story is really funny and exciting

One of the reasons the first film still stands out over the sequel is that it never strays too far into farce. There are plenty of comedic moments, but they don’t detract from the life-or-death stakes for Elizabeth and Will or the bitter rivalry between Jack and Barbossa.

But it’s also not so serious that we can’t enjoy a few laughs along the way, including a clever escape that Jack and Will manage early in the film. Even the film’s deadliest scene – a brutal attack of undead pirates – still manages to land within a PG-13 rating without going too far.

The “Curse” of the Black Pearl was a great thing

It was screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio who came up with the idea for the “curse” in the film’s title. Because Captain Barbossa and his crew stole cursed gold from the Aztecs, they were doomed to spend eternity as undead pirates. Her only motivation was to find the last remaining gold coin and the blood of her former shipmate Bill Turner to break the curse and become human again.

The pirate curse is only visible in moonlight, which gives the film its visually stunning skeletal pirates. This twist helped set this film apart from previous pirate films that failed.

The music of Pirates of the Caribbean is unforgettable

Hans Zimmer is often blamed for the compelling themes in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearlwhich were revisited in the sequels. Zimmer was the film’s music producer and scored or co-scored the remaining films in the series. But it was Klaus Badelt who wrote the music for it The Curse of the Black Pearland his recurring notes have been used to great effect ever since.

Regard Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl To Hulu.