Quoted from javagrind888:According to the podcasts I've listened to, a guy was let go for the a horribly bad deal on license acquisitions for the game.
It sure is an odd license tier. No scenes from the film with the actors' faces, nor the main PotC theme song.
That being said, JJP did an amazing job given those two limitations. I find I am actually glad that they did not use the PotC movie theme song. That has tendency to get stuck in my head. Although, it is too bad they couldn't use "A Pirates Life for Me". That one song would have made all the difference in making the theme stick, I think.
The lack of actors in the backbox video is a bit of a let down, but has the side effect of making this pin attractive to those who like a more generic pirate theme - and aren't fans of the movies. So again, not all bad.
What you say makes sense, though. The license was just odd. I think everyone was wondering about that while, also (like me) appreciating how much they did within the license limitations. I get the sense that they pushed that boundary to the absolute limit.
The theme still wound up being a big plus for me on this pin, overall. It's just, they could have made this a GOAT pin, I think, with just a little bit more theme integration. As it is... still #4! Not bad.