Disney Month III- Pocahontas

Pocahontas (1995)
Starring: Irene Bedard, Mel Gibson, David Ogden Stiers
Directed by: Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg


Plot Summary: In 1607, a group of British settlers of the Virginia Company set sail for the New World. Leading the crew is Governor Ratcliffe, who is using this quest as a means to discover gold and secure a strong position at the British court. When they get to the New World, Captain John Smith separates from the group in order to explore the land. During this time, he meets a member of the Powhatan tribe, Pocahontas. Pocahontas is the chief's daughter and carries a free spirit and deep appreciation for all things in nature. Smith and Pocahontas develop a strong bond with each other, despite their different backgrounds, and want to be together regardless of the prejudices that both of their groups think of the other.


The Disney Renaissance was a great boom period for the animation studio, but with many classics comes that one film that falls just short of the rest in terms of success and quality. For Marvel, it's Iron Man 2. For The Godfather, it's Part III. And for Disney movies in the '90s, it's clearly Pocahontas that ranks as the weakest entry. Granted, even a weak film can hopefully have a few redeeming qualities so it's not absolute garbage, and Pocahontas certainly has a few enjoyable aspects. But there's no large factor that ties the film together as a whole. The main characters are lacking, the themes seem a bit too adult for a family film, and the depiction of Native American culture in the film treads that fine line between what's authentic and what's offensive.

The heart of the film is supposed to lie in the hands of Pocahontas and John Smith, voiced by Irene Bedard and Mel Gibson. Pocahontas and John Smith, however, are a pretty lackluster romance in the grand scheme of Disney films. As individual characters, Pocahontas is a "free spirit," that translates more as reckless and naive, and John Smith is noble and heroic, but comes off more as boring. They just aren't that interesting to watch. They are the civil side of a war erupting between the British settlers and the Powhatan tribe, and yet, they (mainly Pocahontas) are usually the ones responsible for all the conflict. And we're supposed to root for these morons?

Surprisingly, the characters I actually cared about the most were the three main animal characters. Pocahontas has two sidekicks, Meeko and Flit, a raccoon and hummingbird voiced by John Kassir and Frank Welker. Both are very humorous and entertaining, but it's Meeko that steals the show. His expressions and comedic timing are fantastic, especially in his scenes with Percy, a spoiled dog voiced by Danny Mann. They're brand of slapstick was definitely a highlight in the film. Of course, they aren't the focus of the movie, so they aren't the most compelling and thought provoking characters in Disney history, but they provide enough levity to gain a number of chuckles.

Probably the biggest criticism in the film is the historically inaccurate and questionably racist depiction of the British settlers and the Powhatan tribe. This is one of those films that is so immersed in the Native American culture, that if it wasn't considered accurate, then it's going to offend the Native American demographics, as well as any demographics that would behave as sympathizers for the Native American culture. Because of this, the film, which is supposed to be marketed towards families, have themes, lines, scenes, and even song lyrics that appear racist. I'm sure it's historically accurate based on the time period, but you can CLEARLY see what went wrong here with this decision.

Pocahontas is the type of film where every negative has a positive. The negatives, obviously, include the boring human characters, the generic plot, the historical inaccuracies, and the questionable tones and themes that Disney would market to children and families concerning the settlers and natives. However, the biggest positives for the film are in the forms of the music and animation. The animation is spectacular thanks to the look of the landscapes and uses of earthy colors, and the music is particularly catchy thanks to the return of composer Alan Menken. Combine the animation and music, and you can have great scenes like for "Colors of the Wind" and "Savages." However, you then get to the questionable lyrics that tread the line of what's offensive and almost laughable to include in a film like this for families, proving that these positives for the eyes and ears try their best to mask the negatives, but they can only do so temporarily.

I'm pretty content on calling Pocahontas the sore thumb of the Disney Renaissance. What do I mean by that? Look at every criticism I've made towards the film, then take into account that it had to follow Renaissance classics like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, followed by the fact that it preceded films like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan. It doesn't measure up to the rest of the Renaissance films by comparison. Even more fascinating is that Disney had high hopes for the film, anticipating a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. Something was clearly lost in translation by the time the film was released, and while the film was by no mains a failure, it was easy to see that it lacked that spark from the previous Disney films in the '90s.


Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Pocahontas has a handful of positives going for it in the animation, songs, and the animal characters, but is lacking in that big, intangible element that ties the film together. For me, it's the lowest point for the Disney Renaissance in terms of quality and I can only recommend it for the most diehard of Disney moviegoers.

Pocahontas and movie images are copyrighted by Walt Disney Pictures