It's still hard to believe that a series of films based on a ride at Disneyland could become such a phenomenon, but the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was indeed a massive hit with moviegoers of all ages. The first installment, 2003's Curse of the Black Pearl, introduced audiences to the iconic Captain Jack Sparrow, and in so doing, changed pirate movies forever.

While en route to Jamaica with his daughter Elizabeth, Governor Swann and his small crew rescue a young shipwreck survivor named Will Turner. Elizabeth notices that he is wearing a pirate medallion around his neck, and she decides to keep it so that no one else will discover his secret.

Years later, when Captain Jack Sparrow steps off the mast of his sinking ship onto the docks of Port Royal, he rescues Elizabeth from drowning. But when she fell into the water, her medallion alerted the doomed, undead crew of the Black Pearl to her presence. Now, Elizabeth and Will are caught up in breaking an ancient curse, and there's no telling if they'll make it out alive. This is where the franchise begins, and it still boasts some of its finest, funniest, and most exciting sequences.