Pocahontas (1995 film)

Pocahontas
Promotional poster
Directed by	Mike Gabriel Eric Goldberg
Produced by	James Pentecost
Written by	Carl Binder Susannah Grant Philip LaZebnik
Starring	Mel Gibson Irene Bedard David Ogden Stiers John Kassir Russell Means Billy Connolly Frank Welker Christian Bale Linda Hunt
Music by	Alan Menken Stephen Schwartz
Studio	Walt Disney Feature Animation
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures Buena Vista Distribution
Release date(s)	June 16, 1995 (selected cities) June 23, 1995 (general)
Running time	81 minutes (Theatrical) 84 minutes (Special edition)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$55 million
Gross revenue	$346,079,773[1]
Followed by	Journey to a New World (1998)

Pocahontas is the thirty-third animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures. It belongs to the era known as the Disney Renaissance that began in 1989 and ended in 1999.

The film is the first Disney film to be based on a real historic character, based on the known fact of the real historical story and also the folklore and legend that surround the Native American woman Pocahontas, and features a fictionalized account of her encounter with Englishman John Smith and the settlers that arrived from the Virginia Company.

A video game based on the film was released across various platforms shortly after the film's theatrical release, and the film itself was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World in 1998.

Plot

In 1607, a ship carrying British settlers from the Virginia Company sails for North America in search of gold and other material riches. On board are Captain John Smith and Governor John Ratcliffe. A storm erupts, and Smith saves the life of an inexperienced young settler named Thomas when he falls overboard, befriending him in the process.

In the "New World", Pocahontas, Chief Powhatan's beautiful daughter, learns that her father wants her to marry Kocoum, one of his finest warriors, but a bitter and serious man. Pocahontas does not really want this marriage, and asks the advice from a talking tree spirit named Grandmother Willow. Grandmother Willow tells Pocahontas to listen to her heart.

The British settlers land in Virginia and dig for gold under Ratcliffe's orders. John Smith explores the territory and encounters Pocahontas. The two spend time together, with Pocahontas teaching John to look at the world in a different way, and to not think of her people as "savages". Back at the settlement, the Powhatan warriors and Englishmen have a skirmish, and one of the warriors is injured. The warriors retreat, and Powhatan declares that the "white men" are dangerous and that no one should go near them.

A few days later, John and Pocahontas meet again, during which John learns that there is actually no gold in the land. They agree to meet at Grandmother Willow's glade again that night. When Pocahontas returns to her village, she finds that warriors from neighboring tribes have arrived to help Powhatan fight the white settlers. Back at the English fort, John tells Ratcliffe there is no gold in the land, which Ratcliffe does not believe, thinking that the natives have hidden the gold for themselves.

That night, Pocahontas' best friend Nakoma catches her sneaking off and informs Kocoum that she has gone. Meanwhile, John sneaks out of the fort, and Ratcliffe orders Thomas to follow him. Pocahontas and John meet in the glade, where Grandmother Willow convinces John to try talking to Chief Powhatan, as Powhatan had previously stated that he would be more than willing to listen. Pocahontas insists that John meet her father. When he agrees, Pocahontas is so delighted that she puts her arms around John's neck. Both Kocoum and Thomas watch from the shadows as John and Pocahontas kiss. Kocoum, full of jealousy, attacks and tries to kill John, but Thomas intervenes and kills Kocoum. The sound of the gunshot attracts several natives, and John tells Thomas to run. A group of natives take John prisoner thinking he is the murderer, and Powhatan announces that he will be executed at dawn before the war with the settlers begins.

Thomas returns to the fort and announces John's capture. Ratcliffe sees this as an opportunity to attack and rescue John at the same time, and they arrive just as John is about to be executed. Before Powhatan can deliver the fatal blow to John's head, Pocahontas throws herself over John and tells her father that if he kills him, he's going to have to kill her as well. Powhatan orders her to stand back, but Pocahontas refuses and admits her love for him to the surprise of everyone else. She tells her father that this is what the path of hatred has brought and that she has chosen her path and it's time he chooses his. After thinking about what Pocahontas has said, he lowers his club and announces that the hatred will end and that no killing will come from him. The settlers and the natives then lower their weapons. Powhatan orders John to be released and when he is, Pocahontas rushes into his arms. Ratcliffe, seeing an opportunity, orders the settlers to fire anyway, but they refuse. Ratcliffe grabs a gun and aims it at Powhatan. John sees this and pushes him out of the way as Ratcliffe fires. The bullet hits John in the stomach and he falls to the ground. The settlers turn on Ratcliffe, capturing him and sending him back to England to await punishment for high treason.

John ends up living from being shot, but must go back to England for proper medical treatment or else he will die. As he's about to be loaded onto the ship, John tells the settlers to wait because Pocahontas promised she'd show up. At that moment, John and the settlers see her and her people arrive, carrying baskets of food for them. Pocahontas goes to John and gives him a pouch of Grandmother Willow's bark, telling him it will help with the pain. Powhatan then walks up and takes off his tribal shawl. As he lays it over John, he tells him that he will always be welcome among the natives. He then thanks John for heroism and calls him his brother. John then asks Pocahontas to come back to England with him. She looks at her father who tells her that she must choose her path. Pocahontas then tearfully tells John that she belongs with her people. John then tells her he'll stay and Pocahontas tell him he must go. John tells her that he can't leave her and Pocahontas says he never will and no matter what happens, she'll always be with him. The two of them kiss and hold hands until John is taken away. As the ship sails away, Pocahontas runs to the cliff and when John sees her standing there, he waves to her by the tribal way she taught him and Pocahontas waves back.

Cast and characters

• Irene Bedard (Judy Kuhn, singing) as Pocahontas, the daughter of the Chief Powhatan that manages to stop an armed conflict between the Powhatans and the British settlers. She is an adventurous girl who violates her father's forbidding of meeting white people and even falls in love with Captain John Smith.
• Mel Gibson as John Smith, the love interest of Pocahontas. He is the only one of the English settlers in the Jamestown Settlement willing to befriend the natives due to his love and learning to accept other cultures from Pocahontas.
• David Ogden Stiers as Governor Ratcliffe, the primary antagonist of the film who leads an expedition to Virginia to find gold and other riches (which he wants to keep for himself). Unlike other Disney Villains, he is based upon a combination of actual historical figures: while the captain of The Discovery, John Ratcliffe, was the governor of the Jamestown Settlement at one point, he was not the first, nor was he the captain of the ship that John Smith and the rest of the Virginia Company arrived on. David Ogden Stiers also provided the voice of Wiggins, Ratcliffe's manservant.
• John Kassir as Meeko, Pocahontas's pet raccoon who is friendly to John Smith and loves eating.
• Russell Means as Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas's father and chief of the Powhatan, who almost kills John Smith because of a misunderstanding. Jim Cummings did the singing parts of the character.
• Christian Bale as Thomas, a friend of John Smith and one of the British settlers.
• Linda Hunt as Grandmother Willow, a speaking willow tree that acts as Pocahontas's guide.
• Danny Mann as Percy, Governor Ratcliffe's pet pug.
• Frank Welker as Flit, Pocahontas's xenophobic pet hummingbird who prefers Kocoum to John Smith, but eventually warms up to him.
• Michelle St. John as Nakoma, Pocahontas's best friend who secretly adores Kocoum.
• James Apaumut Fall as Kocoum, a brave Powhatan warrior who desires to marry Pocahontas. To this end, he tries to kill John Smith out of jealousy, but is shot and killed by Thomas.
• Gordon Tootoosis as Kekata, the shaman of the Powhatan. Jim Cummings did the singing parts of the character.

At least three actors in this film have been involved in other Pocahontas-related projects. Gordon Tootoosis, who voiced Kekata the medicine man, acted as Chief Powhatan in Pocahontas: The Legend, which was released the same year as this film. Christian Bale, who voiced Thomas, would ten years later portray John Rolfe in The New World. Irene Bedard, who was the speaking voice of Pocahontas, portrayed Pocahontas' mother in a flashback sequence also in The New World.

Soundtrack

Release and response

The film was a box-office success, earning $141,579,773 in the United States and $346,079,773 worldwide.^[2]

The musical score by Alan Menken, with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz received two Academy Awards, including one for the song "Colors of the Wind".^[3] The film's soundtrack was also successful, reaching number-one on the Billboard 200 during the week of July 22, 1995.^[4] It ended up with a triple platinum certification.^[5]

Awards

Criticism

The film was harshly criticized by Chief Roy Crazy Horse as historically inaccurate and offensive for glossing over more negative treatment of Pocahontas and her tribe by the English. He claims that Roy Disney refused the tribe's offers to help create a more culturally and historically accurate film. ^[7]

Home video release

Pocahontas was released on VHS in 1996 as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection. February 20, 1996 prototype copies of the VHS release used the 1989 Walt Disney Classics logo, while copies produced from February 28 onwards used the standard Masterpiece logo.

The film first appeared on DVD in 2000 as part of the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection; Pocahontas II was released on DVD at the same time. In 2005, a 10th Anniversary 2-disc Special Edition DVD set was released, which featured a new extended cut of the film (adding two performances of "If I Never Knew You") and numerous bonus features.

Video game

A video game based on the movie with the same title, Pocahontas, was released on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive on January 1, 1996. The Sega title was developed by Funcom on contract with Disney. It was followed by a later release for the Game Boy and PlayStation on June 10, 1996, nearly a year after the film's premiere. A Super NES version of the game was under development around the same time as the Genesis version, but was canceled due to development being too far behind to coincide with the Genesis release.^[8]

In the game, the player plays as Pocahontas and Meeko, switching between the two frequently to overcome various obstacles, with the help of NPC Flit. Along the way, as Pocahontas, the player gains various new abilities from various animal spirits by helping them. The game, like most film-based games, follows the plot of the movie, but with many variations in situations and events.

References

External links

• Pocahontas at the Internet Movie Database
• Pocahontas (1995 film) at Box Office Mojo
• Pocahontas at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Big Cartoon DataBase entry for Pocahontas
• Pocahontas: 10th Anniversary Edition DVD Review and Interview