Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas is the thirty-third animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to theaters on June 16, 1995 by Buena Vista Pictures. The film is based loosely on the encounter between the colonists of Jamestown, Virginia and the native Powhatan tribe, and in particular presents a highly emotionally charged and dramatic account of the meeting between Pocahontas and John Smith. A musical with music by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, the film's anthem, Colors of the Wind won the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Song. It was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World in 1998.

Plot
In the early 1600's, a ship carrying a group of English settlers sails to America. Also on board is handsome Captain John Smith (voice of Mel Gibson), and greedy Governor Ratcliffe (voice of David Ogden Stiers). They are going to America in search of gold (which Ratcliffe wants all to himself), and, quite possibly, to fight Indians.

When we are introduced to the Powhatan tribe, they are in a celebratory mood, and with good reason. The Powhatan tribe have just defeated a rival tribe. We next see the chief's beautiful daughter, Pocahontas, who is standing on a cliff, the wind blowing leaves around her until her best friend, Nakoma calls her from a canoe below, and Pocahontas, accompanied by her animal friends, Meeko, a racoon, and Flit, a hummingbird, leaps off the cliff, into the river where she overturns the canoe, and has a splashing fight with Nakoma before they turn the boat over, and row back to the village.

Upon reaching the village, Pocahontas and Nakoma see Kekata, the medicine man paint a couple of bear paw prints on the chest of a handsome warrior named Kocoum, who Powhatan says fought much bravely than the other warriors. Later, in Powhatan's hut, Pocahontas learns that Kocoum has asked for her hand in marriage. She tells her father that Kocoum seems so serious as she looks outside and sees that Kocoum is hardly interacting with the kids around him. Her father says it's a good choice for her and gives her the necklace that her mother wore on her wedding. Confused, Pocahontas gets in her canoe with Flit and Meeko, and travels to an enchanted glade that only she knows about. We are then introduced to a talking tree called Grandmother Willow, who instantly recognizes the necklace Pocahontas is wearing, and Pocahontas tells her about her father wanting her to marry Kocoum, and Grandmother Willow agrees that Kocoum is too serious. She proceeds to tell Grandmother Willow about this dream she's been having for some time about a spinning arrow that just goes faster and faster until it stops. When Pocahontas suddenly hears the wind, and does not understand what it is telling her, Grandmother Willow begins to sing a little song, and tells her to listen with her heart. Pocahontas climbs to the top of a tree, and sees strange clouds.

The "strange clouds" that Pocahontas has seen are the sails of the settlers ship, on which we see Ratcliffe in his cabin with his assistant, Wiggins, and his spoilt pug dog, Percy. Once ashore, John Smith climbs up some rocks to get a better look at the island. Hiding in the bushes, Pocahontas seems fascinated by Smith. Meeko sneaks out, and catches Smith's attention. Smith gives him a biscuit. When he goes to the bush where Pocahontas is, Flit attacks, and Smith drops many more biscuits which Meeko scoffs.



The tribe are aware of the new arrivals, and Kekata throws some powder onto a fire. The smoke takes on many frightening shapes and sounds, and Powhatan tells Kocoum to take some warriors to spy on the strangers.

The settlers start digging, and John Smith walks the land, unaware that he is being followed. Smith comes to a stream. He cups water in his hand, and sees a reflection in the water. Regardless, he washes his face, then hides behind a waterfall. When he sees a figure approach, he leaps out, armed, but lowers his weapon when he notices it's a woman. Pocahontas runs off, but Smith catches up with her. He extends his hand to her and when she takes it, the wind-carried leaves form a bond between the two. When Smith asks her who she is, the wind swirls around Pocahontas, and she hears Grandmother Willow telling her again to listen with her heart, and she tells Smith her name is Pocahontas.

In the meantime, the warriors are watching the settlers digging. However, when Percy spots one of them, a panic ensues. In the ensuing guns and bullets versus bows and arrows battle, one warrior, Namontak is shot and wounded by Radcliffe. The Indians retreat, and Powhatan declares, "These white men are dangerous! No one is to go near them!". Meanwhile, John Smith and Pocahontas are getting to know each other. Meeko mistakes John's compass, for a biscuit, and steals it. However, the two got into a little problem when John thinks of Pocahontas and her people as "savages". Pocahontas thinks Smith does not know about the nature of the world. Pocahontas then sings one of the films most popular songs "Colours of the Wind". However, their time together is abruptly cut short when Pocahontas hears a distant drumming sound, and runs away.

A few days go by, and John can't seem to get Pocahontas out of his head, and decides to track her down. Radcliffe sees Smith is gone, and sends two other settlers (one of whom is voiced by Billy Connolly) to find him. Nakoma also finds that Pocahontas is hiding something. Smith locates Pocahontas just as Nakoma tells Pocahontas to trust her with her secret. Pocahontas tells her not to tell anyone, and she and John sneak off. They head to the enchanted glade where John learns that his friends won't find any gold, so they came all this way for nothing. Pocahontas introduces John to Grandmother Willow. John hears the voices of the two settlers Radcliffe has sent, and he and Pocahontas hide. As the settlers pass the tree, Grandmother Willow lifts her root, and trips them, and the settlers are sure they see the tree lower it's root. Grandmother Willow then snaps her vines, hitting their bottoms, and they run away. John and Pocahontas agree to meet again that night. Pocahontas wants to meet him again, and Grandmother Willow wants to as well, but Pocahontas is afraid it's too dangerous. She gets the idea that the arrow in her dream is pointing at John, and not Kocoum.



When Pocahontas returns to the village, some brothers of the Powhatan tribe have arrived to help them destroy the white men. Pocahontas tries to convince her father to try and talk the men out of fighting. Her plea falls on deaf ears. Smith arrives back at the settlers fort, and tries to convince Radcliffe that their is no gold, because a savage told them. Radcliffe sees this as a lie, and warns Smith that there is a severe penalty for treason: hanging.

That night, Nakoma catches Pocahontas sneaking off again, and tries to convince her not to go out there again, but Pocahontas tells her best friend she has to do this, and runs off through the cornfield. Nakoma finds Kocoum sitting on a rock, sharpening his knife, and tells him that she thinks Pocahontas is in trouble. Meanwhile, a young settler named Thomas (voice of Christian Bale) sees Smith sneaking off. Radcliffe tells him to follow him, and gives him a rifle to use on any indians.

John and Pocahontas meet in the enchanted glade, Smith tells her what his men are planning to do. A mysterious creature, which turns out to be Percy stuck in an old bit of tree appears and chases after Meeko, who has become quite a thorn in his side. But, upon seeing the face of Grandmother Willow, Percy faints. Grandmother Willow manages to convince John that the both of them can bring peace between their two worlds. When Pocahontas and John start kissing, a deafening war cry rings out, and Kocoum attacks John. Pocahontas tries to pull Kocoum off him, only to be tossed aside. John is saved when Thomas appears, and shoots the Indian, who pulls the necklace from Pocahontas' neck as he falls to the ground dead. As voices approach, John tells Thomas to run. Having heard the gunshot, a group of Indians arrive, and John is taken prisoner. Percy trembles at this sight, and he follows Meeko and Flit as they follow Pocahontas back to the village. Back at the village, Powhatan announces that Smith will be killed at sunrise, and out of anger, he blames his own daughter's foolishness for Kocoum's death.

Thomas runs back to the fort and breaks the news of John's capture. Radcliffe sees this as a perfect opportunity to get his greedy hands on the gold, and announces that they will attack at dawn. Meanwhile, Pocahontas returns to the enchanted glade, and tells Grandmother Willow what's happened. Meeko gives Pocahontas John's compass, and as she stares at it, the needle, which looks like an arrow starts to spin, and Pocahontas recognizes it as the arrow from her dream, and realizes she was right about the arrow pointing at John. As Pocahontas stands up, the sun starts to rise. The needle then stops. It is pointing in the direction of the sun, and Pocahontas races back to the village.

The settlers arrive at the village just as Smith is about to be killed. Pocahontas arrives just in time, and tells her father that if he kills John, he'll have to kill her, too. After proclaiming her love for John, she shows her father that this is where the path of hatred has brought them. Powhatan declares: "From this day forward, if there is to be any more killing, it will not start with me". Smith is freed. Radcliffe orders the settlers to fire, but they refuse. Angry, Radcliffe snatches a rifle, and aims at Powhatan. John pushes the chief aside, and he gets hit instead. The settlers now see Radcliffe for what he really is, and they gang up on him. Thomas grabs the rifle from Radcliffe, and orders the settlers to put him in chains and to also gag him.



John is only wounded, but must return to England if he is to survive. Pocahontas and her people arrive, carrying baskets of corn. Percy is now dressed like an indian, indicating that he has decided to remain in America. The animals return Pocahontas' mother's necklace, and Pocahontas promises John, "No matter what happens, I will always be with you. Forever".

Production
The movie Pocahontas was designed as Disney's first real dramatic animated picture. Screenwriters gave the story of Pocahontas a new treatment, based on Romeo and Juliet. Disney began to experiment with a new, more emotional tone with the film, and hence several unconventional decisions were made during production.

Of note, Pocahontas is the only full-length Disney animated feature except 1981's The Fox and the Hound that does not have a traditional happy ending. There are various parts in the film where dialogue is void, and the emotional score propels the picture and characters forward. Another decision made by Disney executives involved cutting all the dialogue from the secondary animal characters, such as Meeko and Flit, in order to make the film more serious.

During production, the film earned the reputation for being the hardest film for animators to work on ever at Disney. The complex color schemes, angular shapes, and facial expressions caused Pocahontas to be in production for over half a decade. But a result of this hard work was critical acclaim that Pocahontas herself was one of the most beautifully and realistically animated characters Disney had ever made.

Before his death, comedian John Candy had recorded a large amount of material for a turkey character named Redfeather, who was to be Pocahontas's sidekick. Executives perceived the character to lighten the tone of the film excessively, and the turkey was replaced with the characters Meeko the raccoon and Flit the hummingbird.

A controversial last minute decision involved the cutting of the song "If I Never Knew You" from the film. In hindsight, Disney would later regret the decision, and added it back into the film as part of the 10th Anniversary Special Edition DVD.

Release
Many at Disney had high hopes for the movie upon initial release. Then-studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg regarded Pocahontas as a more prestigious project than The Lion King, and even believed that it had a chance of earning an Academy Award nomination for "Best Picture," following in the steps of 1991's Beauty and the Beast. However, the movie was less successful commercially than was hoped. Because the film dealt with more adult themes and tones, the film did not appeal to younger children as well as earlier Disney hits. Though the stellar box office performance that The Lion King had previously enjoyed was expected for Pocahontas, it never materialized. Nevertheless, the film was still a box-office hit, earning $141,579,773 ($208,301,300 adj) in the United States and $347,179,773 worldwide.

Pocahontas was released on home video by being part of the Masterpiece Collection. Since the release, the film has attracted a considerable cult following. Some consider Pocahontas to be perhaps the greatest Disney film, as well as the highest point of the so-called Disney Animation Renaissance in the early 1990s.

Reaction, praise, and controversy
Upon release, however, Pocahontas was criticized by many for presenting stereotypical images of Native Americans. Some felt, for example, that Pocahontas looked more like the black model Naomi Campbell than a Native American (although Disney claims she was modelled on the voice actor Irene Bedard, who is of Native ethnicity). The film was also criticized for its distortion of history, as John Smith was an explorer and never disposed to staying in one place for an extended period of time. Furthermore, historically Pocahantas was prepubescent when John Smith encountered the Powhatan tribe, and a relationship between the two would have been highly unlikely and irregular. Among many changes are the fanciful topography of Jamestown, which is located in flat terrain but in the film possesses massive cliffs and high ridges, and the love affair between Pocahontas and John Smith. Another criticism came in the form of Kocoum's mistreatment of his wife-to-be, Pocahontas. Her father wanted her to marry him, but Pocahontas did not want to marry him because of his stern face and serious attitude, though her father says that he will make a "fine" husband: he's loyal, strong, would build her a good house with sturdy walls, and that she would be safe from harm with him around. This is an example of an arranged marriage in a Disney film. Other criticism of the movie was it portrayed the Native Americans to be just as if not more prejudicial than the Europeans; an example that has never helped Disney's troubled relationship to Native American tribes.

The film did receive critical praise for both the animation and art direction. The animation of the film is widely regarded as Disney's best animation to date. The film utilizes very different colors than in previous Disney films, which resulted in a beautiful color palette from the Art Department at Disney. Colors that symbolized different emotions, such as red for anger/hate, blue for love, and pink and purple for nature were purposely used. The animators also decided to be unconventional when they decided to use the "mother spirit in the leaves" motif, which consisted of leaves floating in the wind during significant scenes in the movie that represented passion and beauty.

The film's soundtrack was very successful, reaching #1 in the week of July 22nd, 1995. It ended up with a triple platinum certification.

The musical score written by Alan Menken received two Academy Awards, including one for the song "Colors of the Wind". The movie's score is widely regarded as one of the most emotional and eloquent scores in an animated feature ever. Several recurring musical themes were written, such as "Colors of the Wind", "Listen with Your Heart", and "If I Never Knew You".

Trivia

 * The first Disney animated film to be based on fact, it was soon followed by Mulan.
 * The on-screen death of a human protagonist (Kocoum) in a Disney film for the first time. There have, however, been off-screen deaths of human antagonists in the past; as well as on-screen deaths since.
 * The film's premiere occurred in Central Park in New York City. Over 100,000 people were in attendance; it holds the record for the largest movie premiere ever.
 * Numerous attempts have been made to turn Pocahontas into a live-action Disney musical, akin to The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. However, it has been difficult to logistically transfer the film to the stage because of potential technical problems. A stage is limited by size, and several scenes such as "Colors of the Wind" and the final scene where Pocahontas runs after the English ship, would have to be reconceived entirely, which would likely diminish their crucial power on the story.
 * Throughout the movie the cornfields are organized into rows, but Native Americans did not plant corn or any of their crops in rows. Other errors include when Ratcliffe is surrounded by the sailors all of their shadows are facing inwards, which is impossible, and Meeko is shown hiding on a moose, but moose do not live in Virginia. Also, John Smith meets Pocahontas in front of a waterfall; there are no waterfalls in Virginia.
 * The battle scenes between the Natives and the English are dramatised in the hugely popular night time show at the Disney-MGM Studios, Fantasmic!. The relationships between Pocahontas and the Earth, and Pocahontas and John Smith tie into the show's theme of good triumphing over evil. The segment featuring Pocahontas replaced the corresponding segment in the original version of the show performed at Disneyland featuring Peter Pan.
 * Pocahontas is not included in any of the "Kingdom Hearts" games despite being an official Disney Princess herself.
 * Although the speaking voice of Pocahontas was performed by Irene Bedard- a Native-American herself, the singing voice was performed by notable Broadway singer Judy Kuhn

Voice cast
Singing voices