Pocahontas (10th Anniversary Edition) Reviews

• New Version Still Coming

  
  By A1Q4ZU2Y929N0A on 2003-11-19
  Just a quick note here - if you are thinking of purchasing a copy of Pocahontas now, just wait a little while.
  
  On May 3, 2005, Disney will be releasing a "Special Edition", tenth anniversary, 2-disc DVD release that will be similar to thier recent reissue of Sleeping Beauty and other Disney classics.
  
  With all of the features on that, people who buy this DVD now will be disappointed if they don't wait.
  
  Disney will be adding the usual "Making of" clips, some pre-production art, and other features that make their "Special Editions" great, to this new edition of Pocahontas.
  
  

• One song makes all the difference!

  
  By A2UQIIJ2CD8REE on 2006-08-29
  Loosely rooted in real American history and based upon people who once actually lived, "Pocahontas" is a very different kind of animated classic from the House of Mouse. It's the tale of a beautiful, free-spirited, young (but not as young as Disney's usual) Native American princess who crosses paths with an English explorer named John Smith, only to have romance quickly develop between them. John Smith arrives in the Americas just in time for Pocahontas, who is troubled by her father's wish that she marry hometown hero Kocoum and, confused all the more by a mysterious dream, is in search of a different path to follow. John Smith is also in search of something, and when he finds Pocahontas, he thinks he has found it. The problem is, John is filled with prejudices against Pocahontas and her people, until she shows him the light. She teaches him about the beauty and wonder of nature and how we are all connected to each other. But love makes John an easy sell. His fellow English settlers are not quite so easily convinced. They only see the Indians as dangerous savages that must be destroyed to make the area safe to live in. Matters are made worse by the greed of their leader, Governor Ratcliffe, who is convinced the savages are hoarding the gold he can't seem to find by digging up the land. Their violent actions lead to violent reactions from the tribe, which culminate in a fiery confrontation that only Pocahontas's love and understanding can bring to peace.
  
  The first time I saw Pocahontas, and for long after that, I had mixed feelings about it. I'm a hardcore Disney fan, and there's little I hate more than to be disappointed in a Disney animated feature. Unfortunately, this was something I had to deal with for... possibly the first time ever in theaters upon seeing "Pocahontas." Not doubt, "Pocahontas" was always a gorgeous film. The art is Disney at its best, and the music and songs are truly beautiful. The comic relief, in the form of Pocahontas's animal friends, is right on the money. The voice cast is top notch, with Mel Gibson as John Smith and Irene Bedard as Pocahontas (Judy Kuhn doing her wonderful singing voice), David Ogden Stiers as Ratcliffe and his servant, Wiggins, Russell Means as Chief Powhatan, Christian Bale, Linda Hunt, and more rounding out the cast, but there was just something missing,...something crucial. I soon decided that the problem was in the villain, Governor Ratcliffe, who just wasn't villain ENOUGH for my tastes. This sudden realization of what was wrong with "Pocahontas" was a big mistake, but it's one that is still commonly made. I failed to see then, that the true villain of "Pocahontas" is not Governor Ratcliffe at all, but "prejudice" itself. This is something that is even pointed out in the DVD's audio commentary, but, of course, I only heard that recently. My bad. I should have been able to see past the expected to the pretty obvious. However, while this knowledge does help improve the movie somewhat, it still doesn't take it from, "good, but not quite `Disney' good," to "Instant Disney Classic." As it turned out, the secret lay in a cut musical number: "If I Never Knew You." One day, while watching the network television premiere of "Pocahontas" on ABC, I learned about a beautiful and wrongfully cut scene from the film in which John Smith, while awaiting his execution, shares a romantic duet with Pocahontas in which the two truly expose their feelings for and to each other. It's the moment in the movie where we truly get the feeling that these two love each other, and not having it in the film was a horrible mistake! And, why did they cut it? Because little kids were bored with it. Thank goodness for DVDs and Special Editions! In this 2-disc, 10th Anniversary DVD release of Pocahontas, that glorious scene has been completed and restored to the film, and it makes all the difference in the world! There's even a new reprise of the song near the end as Pocahontas and John Smith exchange two lines, and that moment will bring you to tears! After finally viewing the movie with "If I Never Knew You" intact, I can happily say that "Pocahontas" has gone from one of my least favorite Disney films to one of the best! There may be no drop-dead gorgeous, redheaded mermaids and no delightful singing bears, but Disney has managed to take a more real and serious subject and turn it into a wonderful new masterpiece! Now, if they could only fix "Atlantis: The Lost Empire."
  
  As for the DVD, this incredible 10th Anniversary Edition is a huge improvement over the Gold Collection release. The film has been digitally remastered and is presented in anamorphic widescreen. Your are given the option of viewing "Pocahontas" as it plays, which means the "extended cut" with "If I Never Knew You" intact, or choosing the shorter, far inferior theatrical cut. Why would anyone want to do that? Still, options are always nice to have. Disc One also includes a fine and informative audio commentary with producer and directors that will only heighten your appreciation of the film. An art project, game, and two sing-along-songs ("Colors of the Wind" and "Just Around the River Bend") are included on Disc One as well, along with the Vanessa Williams video for the pop version of "Colors of the Wind." Remember how they used to play Disney songs like that on the radio during the Disney Decade? That was so cool.
  
  Disc Two is loaded with great extras for the serious animation enthusiast. There's an enjoyable making-of featurette hosted by Irene Bedard, an early production reel, loads of galleries and clips on one of my favorite subjects: character development (art design, layouts, and backgrounds are also covered), scene production comparison reels, the pop video for "If I Never Knew You," a featurette on the music of the film, and one about the decision to restore the movie's (very necessary) cut scene. One of the highlights of the DVD extras for me was definitely the discovery of the thankfully deleted talking turkey character, Redfeather, while what some might consider a low point is the lack of insight given into the real history behind Pocahontas, Smith, and the others. Further extras include an awesome selection of fascinating deleted scenes, two theatrical trailers, a neat featurette on the movie's ambitious premiere in Central Park (on a row of 8-story movie screens), a multi-language clip reel of the Oscar Winning song, "Colors of the Wind," and a very cool publicity gallery which includes a fun fashion spread from Harper's Bazaar that used Pocahontas as a model! Yes, you get to see Pocahontas drawn in modern clothes, in full color, and she looks darn good, even if I am more of a Tink and Ariel man myself!
  
  The is one DVD Edition I can't recommend enough, primarily because it presents a movie you've seen before as you've never seen it before, and, in this case, I think most people will find the extension to be a huge improvement. Bottom-line, even if you weren't a fan of "Pocahontas" before, do yourself a favor and check it out one more time in its extended cut. It's not the same experience. It's much, much better!
  
  
  
  
  

• Political correctness, historical gormlessness -- Argh!

  
  By A1PIOTD9Q0BKZ9 on 2002-11-20
  ---
  Yeah, it's Disney. Yeah, it's something in front of which brain-dead yuppies are supposed to be able to seat their larvae so as to keep the little weasels from messing with daddy's Sharper Image catalog while mommie goes through her aerobics routine, trying to wipe out those stretch marks. Yeah, it's yet another one of those Great Amurrican Myths that we're all supposed to internalize, about the beautiful Injun princess and the handsome young English soldier. Yeah.

  Of course, the image doesn't get maintained once you take the kids on that week-end trip to the Jamestown historic site and they discover that the Tidewater stomping grounds of the Powhatan Confederacy consists of flat alluvial plains with no cliffs or picturesque waterfalls off which to make impressive dives, that Pocahontas was only the young lady's nickname (meaning "playful" or "little wanton" in Algonquinian), and that no matter what's just around the river bend, you wind up in the Chesapeake Bay.

  You'll find that it grits in your wife's craw as you explain to your grandkids that when John Smith and Pocahontas met in 1607, he was about 27 and she was perhaps 10 or 12 years old, that they were friends but never fell in love with one another, and that her role in "saving" John Smith's life was part of a ritual of mock execution-and-rescue traditional among Algonquin tribes at the time. Big romance, right? Yeah.

  "All this stuff in the movie is made-up Disney mush," you explain. "The English came here expecting to set up farms and develop a self-sustaining colony after an earlier attempt at Roanoke had failed because of a horrible drought. They were after land, not gold, and if you think everything ended up peaceful and happy with everybody getting along together, you've got another think coming."

  Yeah, but it's *Disney*. Yeesh.

  ---
  
  

• Pocahontas is a True Classic

  
  By A7Y6AVS576M03 on 2000-10-12
  Meeko, Flit and Percy, these the are names of the animal friends who get in and out of mischief, befriend each other and accompany Pocahontas in the vast panorama of pristine North America that is the setting for "POCAHONTAS." No Disney animated film would be complete without these familiar looking creatures and rightly so. These are films for the whole family, but "POCAHONTAS" was a notch above many of the animated films from Disney over the past two decades.

  "POCAHONTAS" was a change-of-pace from the recent trend of animated films from Disney in 1995. This is one of my favorite Disney films and one of the best since the 1960s. It has substance and deals with real issues. We see the Native American Indians at peace and harmony with the land and nature. This is beautifully captured with the exceptional animation of vibrant green forests and flowing blue rivers. These scenes have a breath of fresh air about them that you can almost feel. When the European settlers arrive we know that it is only a matter of time before they begin to erode this paradise. The Europeans with closed minds did not realize how much they had to learn from the Indians and tried to impose their brand of civilization on them. Their brand of civilization is to subjugate or annihilate the "savages" and ravage the land.

  We see the two cultures meet in one of the finest animated scenes ever presented by Disney. Captain John Smith and Pocahontas come face to face by a waterfall. Smith lowers his rifle, as Pocahontas stands erect and unafraid. Their eyes meet and he no longer sees a "savage" but a human being. Their eyes tell us that they immediately fall in love. As Pocahontas "listens with her heart" as Grandmother Willow has taught her they both communicate with each other. Soon their differences become apparent, but it is John Smith's ignorance revealed by inadvertently referring to Pocahontas as a "savage" that is the focus of the rift. He states that there is so much the "savages" can learn from the English. Pocahontas asks, "If the savage one is me, how can there be so much that you don't know?" During the "Colors of the Wind" sequence John Smith learns first hand the value and reverence of nature and that it should not be exploited out of mere human greed.

  The message of "POCAHONTAS" is that European settlers leveled forests and imposed their own vision of a "civilized" society, whether or not it was welcome by the Native Americans. The corrupt Governor Ratcliffe is shown gleefully using cannons to level forests while his other men wield picks and axes in a mocking musical number. The brown piles of shoveled up earth stand in contrast to the majesty of the green untouched forest. When the settlers open fire on the Indians, they retaliate by capturing John Smith and prepare an execution for him. Only Pocahontas, who can empathize with both sides, can bring them to see their transgressions and teach them that violence only breeds violence.

  The dramatic structure over which the film's message is delivered deals with her father's disapproval of the man she loves, because he belongs to a different race. The film thus takes on more significance as it deals with ethnic discriminations as well. Her father wants her to marry a member of the tribe, who she dislikes because "he's so serious." A similar theme is taken up in "THE LITTLE MERMAID."

  "POCAHONTAS" is based on legend, rooted in murky historical events. In real life, Pocahontas was about 13 when she first met John Smith. Smith claimed in his journals that Pocahontas saved his life. John Rolfe was the Englishman that she eventually married. She did indeed get to go to England (See "POCAHONTAS II"), where she was treated as a princess. She died in Europe, near 21 years of age.

  What is particularly good about "POCAHONTAS" is the artistry of the animation. The virgin land of towering green forests, sparkling blue steams and rugged cliffs are drawn with a freedom and energy that posses real power and reverence. Very effective is the jutting rock that overlooks the landscape giving the entire film a feeling of sweep and grandeur. Anyone viewing the finale of this film can not help feel an emotional outburst as the "colors of the wind" blow past this precipice toward the horizon. I know I did. The image is unforgettable.

  The songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz include one unrestrained emotionally charged standout, "Colors of the Wind." This is an unforgettable song that can be appreciated on so many levels. It is a consummate example of melody and lyrics that make you "Listen With Your Heart."
  
  

• Unbearable

  
  By A2FS38D943KX12 on 2003-11-24
  My wife used to rent this video for our son, until I made her promise never to bring it into the house again.

  Where to start with this movie? The history, or lack thereof? One could spend hours discussing Disney's shredding of history in this movie, and certainly, many previous reviewers have levelled ample criticism at Disney for the copious inaccuracies. Suffice it to say, I do not approve of the idea that we should somehow whitewash history to make it more appealing to modern-day sensibilities. What kind of message does that send to our children? I agree that little kids probably aren't ready for the reality of European conquest of the New World; in that case, tell them the historical truth when they are ready to handle it. Don't lie to them, and don't package those lies in some cutsey cartoon.

  Was the historical inaccuracy of this movie my real problem? Not particularly; I have come to expect such willful distortions from Disney in most of its "adaptations" of literature (Hunchback of Notre Dame), history & mythology (Hercules). It really is par for the course with The Mouse. My real problem comes from the fact that the movie is truly unbearable to listen to, thanks to the high-pitched caterwauling of Judy Kuhn (Irene Bedard having provided the speaking voice for the indian princess). Sorry dear, but screeching high & loud with a wobbly vibrato does not good singing make. It does make my head throb with pain, though. It didn't matter where I was in the house, I could hear Judy screaming at me, as though she were stalking me. This made for a particularly bad Disney soundtrack, which is indeed saying something.

  Now, we have 3-month-old daughter, and I am terrified at the prospect that Pocahontas will somehow sneak into our house again in the not too distant future. I am determined to make her life Pocahontas-free if at all possible.
  
  

• Forced Previews on DVD Version
  By on 2003-12-28
  The "Pocohantas" movie is OK, but my biggest beef with this product is that Disney is now using forced previews at the beginning of all their DVDs. These are over 5 minutes of dull Disney previews that you are FORCED to watch. You can't skip over them or fast forward through them, and you can't start the movie after them. If you want to watch the movie, you HAVE to watch the previews.

  This might not be such a big deal if you're only watching the movie once, but if you're like most families your kids will watch this movie over and over again. Then its really annoying.

  Disney should be ashamed for being so greedy that they have to put this defect in all their DVDs.
  
  

• Okay, let's look at what Disney was really doing.
  By A3EIR1H3RLVF9J on 2005-01-03
  For those who use history as the basis for hating this film, get over it. Disney was not telling the history of Pocahontas, but the LEGEND of Pocahontas. As with many historical figures, there are legends surrounding who Pocahontas was, so let's actually look at some of the other big complaints.
  
  1. They made Pocahontas look much older. Well, duh. Do you really want Disney to do a love story of a 12 year old girl and a 30 year old man. How would that have gone over? Of course, if they are going to tell the love story, they are going to make the main characters adults.
  
  2. The sequel shows Pocahontas marrying John Smith. Apparently you slept through the sequel because it is clear that she chooses John Rolfe in the sequel. (Yes, historically she marries him, converts to Christianity, changes her name to Sarah, and dies before leaving England of syphillis.) But again, do you really want to explain to your child that this American heroine died of syphillis?
  
  3. The animal companions/talking tree. These are representative of the spirit of nature which is sacred to many Native American tribes.
  
  Again, Disney does a really good job of telling the legend. They never have claimed historical accuracy, because that is not the story they are telling. Truthfully, the lessons here are wonderful lessons.
  
  
• Pass On the "Gold Collection" and get the "10th Anniversary"
  By A29AAA1NAIR6NH on 2007-01-26
  The Gold Collection disc is too flawed to seriously consider at this point with the "10th Anniversary{ two-disc set now out.
  
  Gold Collection:
  1. Worst DVD tranfer of a Disney film in recent memory
  2. No "If I Never Knew You". Not even the rough cut.
  3. Extras: a Trailer and some music videos. Not much going on here.
  4. Not anamorphic
  
  10th Anniversary:
  1. Anamorphic 16:9
  2. Great new transfer
  3. "If I Never Knew You" in the movie and completely animated. Major addition to the last half of the movie.
  4. Both versions of the film, the 1995 cut and the 2003 "Director's Cut".
  5. Loads of extras including a documentary, updated audio commentary track, sections for each major character with art, concept drawings, deleted scenes, scenes that never made it past the concept stage......you get the idea.
  
  
• Absolutly Breathtaking
  By ANO1GZUCI7K9V on 2000-06-17
  When I first heard about Pocahontas back in 1994, I knew Disney wouldn't do the story justice. Boy was I wrong. This movie has beautifully crafted visuals, strong leading characters, and wonderful music. Though for me the music works on two levels. One, of course, the obvious "Disney" songs, which get better or worse depending on the movie. Colors of the Wind is the best Disney song to date. Also the pop song If I Never Knew You blew me away. And two, the underlying soundtrack perfomed by Alan Menken. The music was absolutly riviting, as it has to be to convey the serious emotions Disney was going for. A bit depressing in it honesty of hate and love, this movie shows that animated movies can convey more emotions than just laughter.
  
  
• Bad DVD transfer
  By AGY59U9FDMWMN on 2000-06-07
  I have most of Disney's Animation collection and look foward to the re-releases. Pocahontas on DVD is a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, this is a good movie. However the DVD version is NOT good. It is a bad transfer. The DVD version is grainy and the colors bleed. At this poor level of transfer, I would stick with the VHS version and wait for a better transfer version to come out.
  
  
• And now what really happened...
  By on 2001-05-27
  I do hope there will be another version of this film which shows what really happened. Disney said the film was "responsible, accurate and respectful"; I don't see how sugar-coating this dreadful period of American history with blatant lies is any of those.

  Pocahontas was actually called Matoaka, she was around 11 when the attack happened and kidnapped by the British and married off to John Rolfe who was twice her age. In 1614 she was shipped to England where she was paraded around the upper-classes, until she died alone of smallpox in March 1617. Rolfe then returned to America to 'disperse' the Powhatan and steal their land.

  No one expects all movies to be 100% accurate, but when it is a historical movie supposedly showing true events I don't think it's unreasonable to expect them not to completely disregard known facts and provable dates just because they think it'll make a better movie. If the details do need changing to make the movie better then they shouldn't make a movie about it at all.
  
  

• Yuck!
  By A2RCLN8ELQE2LF on 2000-06-09
  I was so disappointed in this movie. And it has nothing to do with the "historical accuracy" of the movie...what really bothered me was the way Pocohontas and her man apparently learned to speak each others' languages in about 5 seconds. I know they've got to condense that part of the story, but this is ridiculous!
  
  
• POCAHONTAS DVD REVIEW: What happened to the video???
  By A2FRKEXDXDN1KI on 2000-07-04
  I suppose this movie has a more meaning for me due to a past romance and the this to be the movie we shared, so I enjoyed it. Sure, Disney knows how to take some part of history and make it so fictional but one of the things I like about this movie is the detail they put into Pocahontas facial expressions. That feature always caught me.

  Anyway, you either like the animation or you don't. The audio is very well done. No major sound effects but the music and the dialogue is the main things for this film. What about the video? The video is a shock. Where Tarzan bursts with a radiance of colors, not Pocahontas. What happened during the transfer? It's like a transfer from a video tape seen 10 times before. Not acceptable with a DVD! I can't believe the colors aren't superb.

  Extras...well, I guess after the fans were upset that Disney didn't include any extras in their previous releases, now they are with their "Gold Collections". I like how the DVD has the two music videos especially "Colors of the Wind" by Vanessa Williams. There are a lot of trailers before the movies which you can fortunately skip over, a trivia game and DVD storybook like the Tarzan DVD and a fun with nature booklet which they should of added to the DVD. Otherwise it's better than what we got before from older Disney DVD's. So, we have the movie at above average, the special features in the C to C- range and the DVD Overall probably a B-/C+.

  Otherwise, for a DVD from Disney, this movie deserved better. A better video transfer and they could at least added the making of Pocahontas or something. (sigh)...

  Anyway, if you want to watch Pocahontas, get the DVD version. Even those it's VHS quality, you get those extras and good sound. If you don't care about the extras and just want to see the movie, then the VHS might be your thing.
  
  

• Sigh. . .
  By A26QAGDY3C1B2E on 2000-10-27
  There is nothing like watching a DVD, a crowning glory of Western technology, that argues that all cultures are equal. At one point in this oppressive PC film, the not-at-all historical "Pocahontas" asks how John Smith can think that his culture is "better." One might suggest literacy as a basic improvement. Or the ability to make movies. This Disney film is dull and plodding. In my experience, once you buy it kids will seldom choose it, if you have a big enough Disney library.
  
  
• Racist dribble
  By A3F23E9UW3YXSY on 2005-05-25
  This is the most racist movie I have ever seen. PC to the max.
  
  
• Disney's Pocahontas Gold Collection DVD
  By AA5XZVANDXGJE on 2001-08-31
  Pocahontas is a good tale that deserves to have the Disney name. While far from the most entertaining in the Disney library, this one does have some of the most spectacular animation and imagery then any of them! The film is definatley not for the very young, there is much war violence (superficial, yes, but it's still there), including some blood-free shot wounds. The story is much more mature oriented, with Pocahontas trying to end the war between her people and the white-men for the sake of her love for John Smith.

  The film has many songs, but only a few stand out - -Oscar Award Winner "Colors Of The Wind" is one of them, "Around the River Bend", and "If I Never Knew You" is the other - - the rest are catchy, but unmemorable numbers.

  The "Gold Classic Collection" DVD edition of the 1995 film, has a mediocre picture. There is constant grain, and it is rarely perfectly clear. On the plus side, the animation is still able to be appreciated and the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is good.

  Again, this is NOT the Disney movie to show little kids (it would probably be a complete fly-by for them), but it does have much appeal to an older audience who can appreciate the animation, and the Oscar- winning music. A true modern masterpiece.
  
  

• Disney produces yet another inaccurate cartoon...
  By on 2004-07-11
  As always, Disney provides us with an hour-glass shaped, beautifully dashing, ever accomodating heroine, and a strong, handsome, brave, conquering hero; a romance story that is historically inaccurate, romanticized, racist, and sexist. "Pocahontas" was not her real name, and she was about ten years old. According to LEGEND, she saved John Smith's life - the woman of color saves the white man, while falling in love with him. According to REAL history, he was brought in to the village, well-fed and well-treated. Most likely, she simply talked with him while he was in her village. There was NO romantic relationship. She was actually kidnapped a few years later and held for ransom in Jamestown. She died of a White Man's disease. Disney has created a cartoon "Romeo & Juliet" story for children, and what hurts my heart the most is that people really believe that the Disney version is true. There are so many un-truths in the world, especially in our Media, and "Pocahontas" is one of them.
  
  
• Politically-correct racism
  By A3A5WTXBGCHYPQ on 2004-07-18
  I wish my children had never seen this movie, but since I made the mistake of trusting Disney and since it reappears on TV frequently, I've used it as an opportunity to talk about the blatant (but politically-correct) racism woven through it. My point to my children: racism is wrong, no matter who it's directed at (a point that goes directly against the main theme of the movie).

  In this movie, there is one and only one exception to the rule that all Native Americans are good and all English are bad. John Smith is the exception that proves the rule - other than him, all British are evil (and crude, dirty, greedy, etc.). The Native Americans aren't all quite perfect but all come around in the end, while the English are clearly rotten to the core, and the world would be a better place if they were all gone.

  Get this movie for your children IF you want to teach them to use skin color as a way of predicting good versus evil. And don't worry, they won't get the wrong, racist lesson that dark skin is bad - they'll get the politically-correct lesson, that people with white skin are bad.
  
  

• Pocahontas (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
  By A320711PPRN4W5 on 2004-10-13
  We all sat down one Sunday evening with our two children - a little over 2 and almost 4 - to watch Pocahontas. We were all enjoying it very much - beautiful Pocahontas, the funny racoon and hummingbird and the majestic scenery... Then the violence started. The Indian was shot DEAD, the people were angry, the Indians were called "savages" then John Smith was seriously injured. I thought this movie was pointless and violent. I do not recommend it to any one much less any one under 8.
  
  
• Disney should be ashamed. As well as Mel and Demi
  By A23NM3ED306YFA on 2004-10-29
  It seems to me that people are afraid to give Disney bad reviews. DISNEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED! The true story of Pocahontas was not a cute little love story with cute animals. It is a story of the white man taking advantage of the naitve Americans. I get so angry when I think about all of the kids who will think that this was a happy story and that she "fell in love." I will make sure that my new nephew will never see this piece of "junk" until he is 18. Mel and Demi should be ashamed and give their monies to proper education. Grrr I am so MAD at these folks. I wish I could give a negaive star score!
  
  
• Poca Haunts Us
  By A1NLLX3IZAQUFI on 2005-05-03
  Disney was on a roll: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Alladin, and the Lion King. After The Lion King, it appeared Disney could do no wrong. Well, Pocahontas dispelled that myth. While this 10th anniversary edition was carefully put together, it does not hide the fact that at its core is a severely flawed and uninspired movie. The movie's slow pace makes it somewhat difficult to watch despite the brilliant colors and awesome sound. Disney fans are used to action and adventure appearing at expected and unexpected moments. And there's always a love story somehwere. Pocahontas, however, is almost devoid of any action and really does not have a love story. For that matter, there isn't much of any kind of story. I am sure that Pocahontas, a legendary figure in our history, deserved a much better treatment that this hauntingly weak Disney dud.
  
  
• Better than I remembered, but still deeply flawed.
  By A2PCEDGZJAWS8L on 2005-05-26
  I remember seeing this movie in the theater and being so bored I nearly walked out. It's been on my list of films to avoid for a long time. Imagine my groans when my daughter received it for a birthday gift last week. But, she likes it so I sat down this morning and watched it with her. I have to admit, I've revised my opinion a bit. It's not as bad as I'd first believed. The acting and the animation is quite good, I really do like "Colors of the Wind," and I even got a bit choked up at the end when Smith has to leave.
  
  HOWEVER, the politically-correct racism does bother me. Excepting John Smith, every white man is greedy, evil, stupid, and ugly while the Native Americans are beautiful and wise and live in some kind of utopian society of love, peace, cleanliness, and harmony (which I'm sure they didn't). Disney has glossed over the unpleasant aspects of that culture and completely disregarded anything positive about the Europeans. A good example is in the beginning when the Indian chief is returning from a war. We're not told what the war was about but we know there's been fighting and they were all brave and heroic. Yet when the white men are talking of war, they're just blood-thirsty, dumb, violent animals. I think it is an offensive portrayal of both races.
  
  This historical inaccuracy also galls. Others have mentioned the problems with the Pocahontas/John Smith love story; in addition, it is also a false portrayal of the colonists. I'm not a expert, but I believe most of the Jamestown settlers came here to find a better life and escape tyranny in England, not for gold. They didn't land and immediately set out to exterminate the Native Americans, they were too worried about simply surviving that first winter, and most of them didn't.
  
  This movie would have been better if Disney had scrapped any ties to Pocahontas and simply made a fictional Native American/European love story. You'd still have the emotion and passion, but it wouldn't be paraded as fact. They could have portrayed both cultures in a more truthful light and probably had a better story all the way around.
  
  
• Worse the second time around
  By A2GNFPQWMJ294D on 2007-12-01
  I saw this movie in the theater when it was released in '85. I remember being mildly entertained but annoyed, despite my loose grasp of American history, at the extreme liberties taken with the realities of this true story. No, I was not expecting a documentary from Disney, but a second viewing a few days ago really brought home how non-praiseworthy this film really is.
  
  There's a lot to like: love the "Sleeping Beauty" era animation style. Pochahontas, as a fictional construct, is gorgeous in a very exotic way, and Mel Gibson delivers a very engaging performance as a fictional John Smith. The overly (as usual) anthropomorphized animals were rendered less obnoxious by not speaking English...but then they threw in a talking tree(!). Oh, and despite the fact that I've grown weary of animated musicals, "The Colors of the Wind" is a fabulous (if tree-huggy) number with beautiful visuals.
  
  So what's not to like? Pretty much everything else. The rest of the songs are about on par with the dreck from the Rankin-Bass "Hobbit". Remember that? Ugh. I know people defend this movie by justifying the historical inaccuracies as "art" or "minor artistic license" or whatever, but that demonstrates a deep ignorance that testifies to the shameful state of public education. Another reviewer here used the illustration, by way of comparison, of a supposed film about Anne Frank where she might run off and marry a German soldier. That example carries the right weight, imo. Pochahontas was a little girl when the Jamestown colonists arrived! She was not a statuesque teenager! She may have had some kind of illicit relationship with John Smith later on, but she married somebody else. She was passed around like a novelty back in England and died there. This is not really Disney material, folks.
  
  This goes beyond "artistic license" to completely re-writing the story and replacing historical characters with fantastical constructs that just distract the educated viewer from enjoying a nice little tale. When the writers of "The Patriot" (another Gibson project) played this loose and fast with history, the historical big wigs eventually pressured them to change the names from actual persons to fictional ones, because the story was no longer really about actual historical people. This one is even worse, and they really should have done the same. This is not a fairy tale, like "Little Mermaid" (which was also changed dramatically...but who cares? It's just a fable...), and there is a should be a certain amount of responsibility to see that the lives and efforts of those represented are honored.
  
  If they just wanted to fill their lineup with a "native American" story, why not Sacajaweya? Here's a girl who was taken from her people as a child, volunteers or is sold (can't remember) to the Lewis/Clark expedition as a native guide, and ends up finding her own people along the way! Baby Pip grows up and is sponsored by the "evil white guys" to get a good education and ends up an important guide and Native advocate in the West. Lots of adventure and some seriously happy endings. Crazy wacky characters built right in, plus it's a "buddy pic".
  
  No, we'd rather make up some tree-huggy sexual tension fantasy with bad songs. Gah. It sort of works for pre-schoolers: pretty colors, cute animals, mindless songs...but then why the romantic angle? Kids hate the "kissy" stuff. It's like they couldn't make up their mind what they wanted it to be, so the whole thing is kind of half-baked.
  
  It could be worse, I guess.
  
  
• BRING BACK TIGER LILLY!
  By on 1999-07-19
  Disney's foray into political correctness is a boring BOMB! Both Pocahontas and John Smith look like characters straight out of a Stalinist painting! There's a thick line between "dignified" and "ridiculous-beyond-belief" that none of Uncle Walt's animators seem to know how to draw. They think it's O.K. to make fun of Europeans (you know, the usual cartoony loons) while "respecting" Indians by portraying them (all of them!) like professional wrestlers incapable of eliciting a laugh!

  Don't get me wrong, it's just that I think this "sublimation" demeans them just as well, if not more! Indians (Native Americans, if you prefer) are merely people, just like you and me. They're no better nor worse. They don't need your patronizing help, all they want is to be treated like equals! And when you set a double standard, whether well intentioned or not, you end up dehumanizing them all over again. Stop that!

  So, if you're lampooning the British, lampoon the Native Americans too! Don't you think they'll know it's a cartoon? And please, get rid of the cute sidekicks, i.e. hummingbirds, bulldogs, racoons et al. It's been done and it's getting quite tiresome!
  
  

• Great movie
  By on 1999-11-01
  This is Disney's best movie ever. John and Pocahontas love is so sweet and true. And very forbidden because of some peoples prejustice. And I think that many people don't like this movie because they have the same prejustices as Governor Racliff (The bad guy). This movie is beautiful made, has great music and a fabulous plot. John Smith are make so beautiful that one can not help but fall in love with him at first sight. As Grandmother Willow says: " He has a clean spirit. And he is handsome, too." People will remember this movie and it will make a ever lasting impression on everyone when the love ones are forced to part because of the hate in other peoples hearts who can not see that ALL people are created equal and have the same rights NO matter their colour. If you don't cry for John and Pocahontas in the end of the movie then you must have a heart of stone.
  
  
• Pocahontas. Enough said.
  By on 2002-03-03
  If Disney wanted to do a good deed, in preaching the children of today to look around the riverbend, then they failed dreadfully. Pocahontas is the spirit of good, the body of health and the mind of insanity. Although her sermons are well-meant, she cannot help but provoke the viewer into throwing their TV out the window.
  Here are a few comments on some of the main points in the movie:

  1. If someone thought they could provide a thrilling story, they were wrong. The story of the native-american tomboy (Pocahontas) is totally predictable and very much less than thrilling, i.e. young rebelous girl is to marry according to tradition (Kocoum), she decides she must go against her tribe and her father (the chief) to be true to herself and falls in love with someone bound to bring an end to her people. All in all, a completely irratating (at least when seen on tape) story, which one should rent if one ever wanted to be guaranteed sickness.

  2. As for the music: From the fast-forwarded lines of "Just around the Riverbend" to the highly preachy, idealistic messages of "Colors of the Wind", although some of the words were quite nicely put together, the music, which in most Disney films is outstanding, was annoying and came to be like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. More to "Colors of the Wind": If you really do walk in the footsteps of a stranger and do learn things you never knew you never knew, I'd hope you'd learn something useful,like how to harvest some yellow corn, instead of hearing the wolf cry to the blue corn moon.

  3. The animals are also incompetent [pitiful] creatures. Maybe I could have liked the racoon and bird, but then I noticed that they liked Pocahontas, and that turned me off.

  4. The only thing I liked in the whole movie (the reason it got
  1 star), was the talking tree. Although it was very story-ish and obviously trying to bring the native-american beliefs to light, it was such an absurd idea that it was actually appealing (tree=grandmother).

  Conclusion: Try again, Disney!
  (Hercules was a wonderful recovery!)

  Writers ages are 10 and 14
  
  

• pochohantas is bad
  By A2A3HZKHS9RSI2 on 2002-05-15
  this movie is okay but some of the stuff in it just plain stupid. native women did not wear skirts. and thier dresses did not go above thier knees. and even if it the dress did come up high the woman would wear leggings. talking animals are just stupid if disney wanted this movie to be a good one then they should have researched native americans better. we did not talk to animals. oh yeah another thing is that native women are not tom boys and that is what pochohantas basicly is.
  
  
• Honestly
  By on 2005-02-28
  You people are crazy. This movie wasn't made to teach kids history, it was made to tell a classic LEGEND. Who wants to watch a movie about a 12 year old Native American and a 30 year old white man and their love? Don't you find that a little bit disturbing? How would you explain to a 3-year old what syphillis is?
  This movie is awesome. It has great songs and an enticing plot. I don't know anyone that doesn't like it, except, apparently, for a couple of you guys. It's not a history lesson, it's a kid's movie!
  
  
• One of my favorite underrated Disney classics.
  By A37NL9EDUT23IV on 2005-10-12
  Pocahontas was the 1995 follow up to Disney's blockbuster success of The Lion King. Although it didn't manage to even gross half of what TLK did, it managed to pull in over $141 million domestically, which is quite respectable. Many don't care for it because of its historical inaccuracies. For a while as of late, I did push it aside and thought that I no longer cared for it like I did. However, when Disney announced a 10th Anniversary 2-Disc DVD, featuring a new extended version of the film with the previously and wrongfully deleted If I Never Knew You song, I decided to get it and gained an all new appreciation for the film, its themes, and its visual beauty...an appreciation I never had at 12 when I first saw it.
  
  The transfer is much better than the Gold Collection DVD, which was riddled with grain and softness. There's not a speck of grain or any other video flaws. Audio is excellent. It's kind of hard to believe Pocahontas is 10 years old. And the film finally feels complete now that If I Never Knew You has been restored into the film.
  
  While not as packed as a Platinum Edition, this DVD is thankfully void of the countless games (Instead, only one game is included here.) and cheesy pop remake videos and gets down to the MEATY stuff. The two videos for the pop songs heard during the end credits ARE here, however, but they all provide nostalgic fun while looking at videos riddled with mid-90's video cliches. Nostalgic fun. Also included is a 28-minute making-of docu produced in 1995 for the Disney Channel. It also includes cliched mid-90's touches. Nostalgic fun, yet again. It's also surprisingly not completely fluffy. Also included are various featurettes on the premiere, the making of the If I Never Knew You scene, and the music, as well as an early presentation reel featuring an early demo of Colors Of The Wind, deleted scenes, and theatrical trailers.
  
  For a non-Platinum disc of a more overlooked film, Disney has certainly given Pocahontas an awesome DVD treatment, complete with a deleted song. I definitely recommend it, and I hope Disney does something similar in 2006 for the 10th Anniversary of another cruelly overlooked classic, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame.
  
  
• Each Disney Film Has Its Own Unique Merit
  By A31U2QT7SAL7K on 2000-06-13
  Coming after the four-film punch of "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and "The Lion King," Disney had a tough act to follow: itself. As a result, many critics were overly condemning of "Pocahontas," dismissing it as having lackluster music, altered historical facts, and less-than-stellar animation.

  Sorry, guys, but Disney scored. The songs are quite memorable and delivered well by non-singers Mel Gibson and David Ogden Stiers. Both actors do a credible job with their respective solo efforts.

  Yes, there were some liberties taken with the depiction of such a curvaceous and liberated Pocahontas and the ready-for-the-beach Captain John Smith, but this is just entertainment. Remember "Titanic" featured ficticious lovers, too, and we all know how much it grossed.

  The conflict between Native Americans and the invading "colonists" is glossed over somewhat but is still presented in such a way to cause little minds - with adult supervision - to ponder what really occured in Colonial America.

  Not a perfect film but deserving repeat viewing an ownership.
  
  

• Aladdin (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
• Mulan (Special Edition)
• The Little Mermaid (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)
• Cinderella (Two-Disc Special Edition)
• Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)