{"id":34598,"date":"2014-09-23T08:29:49","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T12:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/?p=34598"},"modified":"2022-02-06T00:04:39","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T05:04:39","slug":"movie-review-pocahontas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/movie-review-pocahontas\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: Pocahontas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DVD<\/a>
DVD Cover \u00a9Disney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Based on a true story surrounding the 1607 English settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, Pocahontas <\/em>was released on June 23, 1995 as the 33rd<\/sup> full-length animated feature in Disney history. The 81-minute flick was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World<\/em>, in 1998.<\/p>\n

Plot Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

In search of gold and glory, the Virginia Company departs London for the New World, landing and settling at Jamestown. Led by Governor John Ratcliffe, the Company\u2019s members are confident and believe they can easily defeat any Native Americans that they may encounter. The settlers derogatorily refer to the Native Americans as \u201csavages.\u201d<\/p>\n

In sharp contrast to Ratcliffe and his men, members of the native Powhatan tribe fear for their lives and are determined to banish the newcomers from their land.<\/p>\n

Mutual hatred notwithstanding, a shocking development stuns both sides: Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan, falls in love with Captain John Smith, the primary figure in the Virginia Company aside from Ratcliffe. This relationship is approved by neither the settlers nor the Powhatans. Can it possibly persist?<\/p>\n

Historical Reception<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pocahontas <\/em>received criticism for historical inaccuracies upon its release. For example, Dr. William Rasmussen of the Virginia Historical Society noted that in real life, Pocahontas was only 12 years old when the settlers arrived, not a young adult as shown in the movie. (1)<\/p>\n

Rasmussen also took umbrage with the fact that the Powhatans in the film attempted to execute Smith through \u201cclubbing.\u201d On this point, Rasmussen said, \u201cTo the Indians’ thinking, a quick death by clubbing or burning was a humiliation awarded petty criminals within the chiefdom; a worthy opponent, like Smith, would have rated the honorable experience of a slow and painful execution, which probably would have included flaying and dismemberment, with limbs thrown into a fire…\u201d (1)<\/p>\n

Finally, Rasmussen noted that, unlike in the movie, mining for gold wasn\u2019t a concern for the actual Jamestown settlers. The hills depicted in the film are 100 miles west of the settlement, and besides, the settlers were simply fighting for survival from malaria. (1)<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s producer, James Pentecost, defended the project because his goal was to \u201centertain, not educate.\u201d Even so, Pentecost heralded the flick\u2019s educational value, saying, \u201cMore people are talking about Pocahontas than ever talked about her in the last 400 years, since she lived. Every time we talk about it, it’s an opportunity to talk about what was, what was known about her and what we created out of our imagination.\u201d (2)<\/p>\n

Tolerance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tolerance is the film\u2019s main theme. Aside from Pocahontas and Smith, neither the settlers nor the natives are willing to attempt to understand the feelings and motives of the other side. For both groups, it\u2019s their way or the Colonial Parkway…err, highway. (3)<\/p>\n

Independence<\/strong><\/p>\n

Against her father\u2019s wishes, Pocahontas strives to become an independent woman. Whereas Chief Powhatan wants his daughter to marry the warrior Kocoum because he will undoubtedly protect Pocahontas and make her life as \u201csmooth\u201d as a river, the title character questions the match. Kocoum is \u201cserious;\u201d Pocahontas is free-spirited and adventurous.<\/p>\n

Pocahontas also disagrees with her father on the smoothness of rivers because rivers flow, adjusting to the terrain. Pocahontas fears that by marrying Kocoum, she will lose her chance to discover \u201cwhat\u2019s around the river bend.\u201d<\/p>\n

It should be noted that Kocoum is not an evil suitor in the vein of, say, Gaston from Beauty and the Beast<\/em> (1991). To the contrary, he is valiant and good. He\u2019s just not the best fit for Pocahontas. The situation is akin to the Dave Mason song \u201cWe Just Disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Pocahontas<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Grandmother Willow<\/strong><\/p>\n

A wise, talking tree, Grandmother Willow represents animism, or the concept of inanimate objects possessing a spirit. Grandmother Willow affords Pocahontas crucial advice, most notably \u201clisten with your heart; you will understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Utilizing her heart as opposed to her head allows Pocahontas to understand Smith\u2019s English dialect.<\/p>\n

Governor Ratcliffe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ratcliffe is the film\u2019s primary villain. He is a difficult villain to rate in comparison to Disney\u2019s other main antagonists because his role is limited. Ratcliffe is undoubtedly evil, but he appears only sporadically until the end of the film, thus mitigating my level of hatred for him.<\/p>\n

Suspense<\/strong><\/p>\n

The movie\u2019s latter scenes are very suspenseful. I won\u2019t reveal any specific details, but key decisions regarding the futures of some characters must be made.<\/p>\n

Humor<\/strong><\/p>\n

The various animals, including Meeko the raccoon, Flit the hummingbird, and Percy the dog, are primarily inserted for comic relief. The critters engage in assorted shenanigans.<\/p>\n

Wiggins, Ratcliffe\u2019s manservant, is buffoonish and essentially useless to his master but potentially hilarious to the audience. He creates wonderful gift baskets.<\/p>\n

Grandmother Willow features a corny sense of humor. In addition to wisdom and wit, she possesses numerous, to reference The Little Mermaid<\/em> (1989), \u201cthingamabobs,\u201d including a dinglehopper\u2026err, fork.<\/p>\n

Music<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taken as a whole, I think Pocahontas<\/em>\u2019 soundtrack is solid, though not as comprehensively great as its counterparts from other contemporary films, especially Aladdin<\/em> (1992), The Lion King<\/em> (1994), and Hercules<\/em> (1997). Still, I find \u201cVirginia Company\u201d and \u201cJust Around the Riverbend\u201d to be catchy, and \u201cColors of the Wind\u201d is among my favorite Disney songs. I think this number, which emphasizes the value of empathy, is beautiful.<\/p>\n

Relationship to Other Disney Films<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mining also plays prominent roles in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs<\/em> (1937) and The Rescuers<\/em> (1977), respectively.<\/p>\n

Phoebus from The Hunchback of Notre Dame <\/em>(1996) reminds me of Smith because they\u2019re both captains who disregard their roles to help women in need.<\/p>\n

In the Parks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Guests can interact with Pocahontas on the \u201cDiscovery Island Trails\u201d at Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Also at Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom, in the \u201cRafiki\u2019s Planet Watch\u201d section, Grandmother Willow narrates the \u201cSong of the Rainforest\u201d sound exhibit.<\/p>\n

Pocahontas <\/em>garners a scene in Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios\u2019 nighttime spectacular \u201cFantasmic.\u201d The Disneyland version of the show substitutes a segment based on Peter Pan<\/em> (1953).<\/p>\n

Disneyland Paris features \u201cPocahontas Indian Village,\u201d a playground based on the movie.<\/p>\n

Overall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pocahontas<\/em> is one of the weaker efforts of Disney\u2019s Animation Renaissance (1989-1999), but it\u2019s still an enjoyable watch. There is plenty of music, drama, action, and emotion to appeal to a wide audience.<\/p>\n

Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Kilian, M. (1995, July 2). POCAHONTAS’ TALE A VISIT TO JAMESTOWN ENVIRONS REVEALS HISTORY VS. DISNEY’S `LEGEND’ Chicago Tribune<\/em>,<\/p>\n

2) Kershaw, S. (1995, July 12). Coming to Classrooms: The Real Pocahontas Story. New York Times<\/em>, p. B.6.<\/p>\n

3) The Colonial Parkway is, nowadays, the road that connects the respective historic sites of Jamestown and Yorktown, Virginia.<\/p>\n

What do you think of Pocahontas? Let me know in the comments!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sponsored Ad:<\/strong>\u00a0 Would you like to help support The Mouse For Less website in continuing their mission of being THE Disney vacation planning resource?\u00a0 You can do so by purchasing Pocahontas<\/em> (combined with Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World<\/em>) from our Affiliate Link through Amazon.<\/a> Thanks so much for your support!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Incoming search terms:<\/h4>
  • https:\/\/www themouseforless com\/blog_world\/movie-review-pocahontas\/<\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Based on a true story surrounding the 1607 English settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, Pocahontas was released on June 23, 1995 as the 33rd full-length animated feature in Disney history. The 81-minute flick was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, in 1998. Plot Summary In search of gold and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":34599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disney-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34598"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82614,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34598\/revisions\/82614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}