When Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother.
After being snubbed by the royal family, a malevolent fairy places a curse on a princess which only a prince can break, along with the help of three good fairies.
When a litter of Dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella de Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.
This is the Disney animated tale of the romance between a young American Indian woman named Pocahontas and Capt. John Smith, who journeyed to the New World with other settlers to begin fresh lives. Her powerful father, Chief Powhatan, disapproves of their relationship and wants her to marry a native warrior. Meanwhile, Smith's fellow Englishmen hope to rob the Native Americans of their gold. Can Pocahontas' love for Smith save the day?Written by
Jwelch5742
Pocahontas is one of only two Disney Princesses to have a visible tattoo, the other being Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). See more »
Goofs
There are many cliffs visible near Jamestown in this film. In reality, Virginia's eastern region near Jamestown is flat due to being part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. All mountains in Virginia containing waterfalls are on the western end near present-day North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and Maryland. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Chorus:
[singing]
In sixteen hundred seven, we sailed the open sea for glory, God and gold and the Virginia Company/for the New World is like heaven, and we'll all be rich and free or so we have been told by the Virginia Company/so we have been told by the Virginia Company/For glory, God and gold and the Virginia Company.
See more »
Alternate Versions
On some dubs, including the German and Norwegian versions, "Colors of the Wind" is the first song being played in the credits. "If I Never Knew You" plays after. See more »
When Pocahontas originally came out, Disney's wave of recent hits came to a crashing halt. The film was labeled as racist or at least insensitive to Native Americans and the goodwill that Disney had established with its audiences quickly evaporated. You could say they have never been the same since.
The "fearsome foursome" that is The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and the Lion King has no equal, except perhaps the last four Pixar movies. Pocahontas is not, unfortunately in that "club" and never will be. Disney spent the next four to five years trying to recreate the "magic" with films like Hunchback, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan. Unfortunately, none of those films had the surprise and "good feeling" of the earlier Disney hits, and except for maybe Mulan, none of those films, as films, were as good either. And although Pocahontas is and was the point where the schizm occurred, in retrospect, it's a pretty damned good movie. So what went wrong?
First, it wasn't the Lion King. They could have put out something "safe" after the Lion King, and it still probably would have paled in comparison to what was then a great big giant behemoth of a movie. That movie earned over THREE HUNDRED MILLION in its theatrical run in 1994 - not as common then as it is now - thing was a juggernaut. Pocahontas, following on the heels of this bad boy, was not going to live up to expectations.
People blamed the fact that it was about PEOPLE and not animals, and that it was based on ACTUAL history rather than a fairy tale. THEN they blamed the fact that the history part of it was botched and that the film's portrayal of Native Americans was at best insensitive, racist at worst.
I'll grant you that making Pocahontas' mentor a talking tree and having her learn English "instantaneously" because she listened to her heart is a wee bit ridiculous, but racist? Come on. The message of the film - that love can conquer hate - is anything but racist and if anything, the film shows the "Indians" in a more human light than the English, who are their usual, stereotypical pig-headed selves.
Here's what else is good about the movie: The SONGS. Remember 'Colors of the Wind'? Could there be a better song about reconnecting with nature and valuing the earth more? We NEED this song right now, especially, with the world seemingly sliding ever more into a consumerist "bliss," what better than to see some beautiful chick running through the forest teaching that rugged white man how to value LIFE? And what the hell is wrong with that I ask?
And what about some of the other songs? The one about the RIVER BEND and making choices - good stuff. And the whole montage ending song that repeats SAVAGES SAVAGES BARELY EVEN HUMAN from both sides - showing that BOTH SIDES misunderstand each other. It gives me chills when Pocahontas is running and you see the war superimposed behind her and she sings "HOW LOUD BEAT THE DRUMS OF WAR!" - makes me want to cry! Don't we need this now I ask you?
But, by far the best thing about this movie is - the animation. It is absolutely GORGEOUS. The design for this film is sumptuous, with mostly blues and a seamless style that never gets in the way and illustrates the action (and the feminine nature of the film) so beautifully. Compared to the dreck that is the HUNCHBACK - that film is ugly as sin - and the absolute HIDEOUSNESS of Hercules - the animation in that is strictly straight-to-video, Pocahontas absolutely ROCKS. Only Mulan, with its chirpy story and colorful style match up to the grandeur of this one.
While Pocahontas didn't have the grand ending that the Lion King had (it was a downer, remember?), the story bucks tradition by making it about people instead of animals, and its' message outweighs the "historically inaccurate" complaint. What movie IS historically accurate? Disney took a chance with this one and they got BURNED, which is why they went back to doing "safe" crap like Hunchback, which tanked anyway. They should have done the SCARLET LETTER or something like that - really start pissing people off. How about the MARQUIS DE SADE? There's some history for you!
Watch Pocahontas again without the weight of expectations. You'll be surprised by how good it really is.
239 of 286 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
When Pocahontas originally came out, Disney's wave of recent hits came to a crashing halt. The film was labeled as racist or at least insensitive to Native Americans and the goodwill that Disney had established with its audiences quickly evaporated. You could say they have never been the same since.
The "fearsome foursome" that is The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and the Lion King has no equal, except perhaps the last four Pixar movies. Pocahontas is not, unfortunately in that "club" and never will be. Disney spent the next four to five years trying to recreate the "magic" with films like Hunchback, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan. Unfortunately, none of those films had the surprise and "good feeling" of the earlier Disney hits, and except for maybe Mulan, none of those films, as films, were as good either. And although Pocahontas is and was the point where the schizm occurred, in retrospect, it's a pretty damned good movie. So what went wrong?
First, it wasn't the Lion King. They could have put out something "safe" after the Lion King, and it still probably would have paled in comparison to what was then a great big giant behemoth of a movie. That movie earned over THREE HUNDRED MILLION in its theatrical run in 1994 - not as common then as it is now - thing was a juggernaut. Pocahontas, following on the heels of this bad boy, was not going to live up to expectations.
People blamed the fact that it was about PEOPLE and not animals, and that it was based on ACTUAL history rather than a fairy tale. THEN they blamed the fact that the history part of it was botched and that the film's portrayal of Native Americans was at best insensitive, racist at worst.
I'll grant you that making Pocahontas' mentor a talking tree and having her learn English "instantaneously" because she listened to her heart is a wee bit ridiculous, but racist? Come on. The message of the film - that love can conquer hate - is anything but racist and if anything, the film shows the "Indians" in a more human light than the English, who are their usual, stereotypical pig-headed selves.
Here's what else is good about the movie: The SONGS. Remember 'Colors of the Wind'? Could there be a better song about reconnecting with nature and valuing the earth more? We NEED this song right now, especially, with the world seemingly sliding ever more into a consumerist "bliss," what better than to see some beautiful chick running through the forest teaching that rugged white man how to value LIFE? And what the hell is wrong with that I ask?
And what about some of the other songs? The one about the RIVER BEND and making choices - good stuff. And the whole montage ending song that repeats SAVAGES SAVAGES BARELY EVEN HUMAN from both sides - showing that BOTH SIDES misunderstand each other. It gives me chills when Pocahontas is running and you see the war superimposed behind her and she sings "HOW LOUD BEAT THE DRUMS OF WAR!" - makes me want to cry! Don't we need this now I ask you?
But, by far the best thing about this movie is - the animation. It is absolutely GORGEOUS. The design for this film is sumptuous, with mostly blues and a seamless style that never gets in the way and illustrates the action (and the feminine nature of the film) so beautifully. Compared to the dreck that is the HUNCHBACK - that film is ugly as sin - and the absolute HIDEOUSNESS of Hercules - the animation in that is strictly straight-to-video, Pocahontas absolutely ROCKS. Only Mulan, with its chirpy story and colorful style match up to the grandeur of this one.
While Pocahontas didn't have the grand ending that the Lion King had (it was a downer, remember?), the story bucks tradition by making it about people instead of animals, and its' message outweighs the "historically inaccurate" complaint. What movie IS historically accurate? Disney took a chance with this one and they got BURNED, which is why they went back to doing "safe" crap like Hunchback, which tanked anyway. They should have done the SCARLET LETTER or something like that - really start pissing people off. How about the MARQUIS DE SADE? There's some history for you!
Watch Pocahontas again without the weight of expectations. You'll be surprised by how good it really is.