The 1990s was some of the best years for Disney Fans. The success of those films at the start of the decade and latter 1980s propelled Disney Animation back into the limelight. The songs, characters and stories warmed millions of children and adults across the globe. Many of the films form this decade are still considered classic films nearly 30 years later. The Live action remakes released or planned are mainly from this era. The world gained new princesses, new cute little animals and new favourite songs. Many of the films are now or have been Broadway musicals and most can be found on merchandise across the stores. By 1993 Disney had released The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast and Aladdin, it seems strange that the next film to be released would almost be a slight blip on the chart for Disney Animation.
By no means a failure in revenue, Pocahontas isn’t widely regarded as the fan favourite from the decade, even from the forgotten classics this one doesn’t get a lot of attention. Disney took a slightly different direction with this film, from its source material to the types of characters involved this film seems to be a risk Disney was taking but never pulled off.
Before Pocahontas
Since the over budget and over run production time of The Black Cauldron, the contemporary chairman of Disney had been holding annual meetings for new ideas. Jeffrey Katzenberg had already ok’d Oliver and Company, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the beast by the time Pocahontas was pitched. Since joining as chairman he had revolutionised the animation department, a department he actually knew nothing about, he took it to new heights and his reign is seen as one of the greatest bar Walt’s own. With Pocahontas pitched and approved a fleshed out story needed to be built.
After the success of Love stories like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the beast, producers were looking for more stories they could tell that revolved around love. With Aladdin and The Lion King already too far in production to make any significant changes, Pocahontas would be the next true love story for Disney. The only issue was in real life Pocahontas married a man whilst she was still a child, she was taken from her parents and was abused. This isn’t something that would make a good Disney children’s film. To change this around, the producers looked at her involvement with a man named John Smith. John Smith had traveled to America and should have met a ten year old Pocahontas. Again the age was changed to make it more acceptable for a family film. Unfortunately the inaccuracies didn’t stop there. Research shows that although the two possibly did meet there is no proof that they had any romantic notions. Smith traveled back to England and the two never met again.
The inaccuracies dragged the feature down, it was always attempted to get as many as they could right but when making films some things need to be altered to give a different effect. All films taken from stories, whether books or fairy tales, deviate from the written text., unfortunately, as Pocahontas was a real person, these deviancies were highlighted further. This was the first time that Disney Animations had based a film on a real life character. Robin Hood and Sword in the Stone did feature people from legend but neither had proof of any existence. Pocahontas has family members alive today, she was painted in portrates and belongings have cropped up.Christopher Robin is also a real person but it was the book version that was adapted for the big screen Disney decided that if it couldn’t get the story accurate then they would try with the production.
The Plot
A ship sets sail from England, carrying settlers searching for the new world. Aboard is John Smith, a handsome hero-type captain, and Governor Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe wants to become a powerful and wealthy man by mining the new minerals from the new world. He has no respect for any natives.
After a stormy voyage there, with a young man almost drowning, they finally arrive.
In the new world (America) the Powhatan tribe carry on their daily lives, Pocahontas, the Chief’s daughter is at a turning point of her life. She wants to be a free spirit, but her father wishes that she marries Kocoum.
The chief gives his daughter a necklace that once belonged to her mother. She is thankful but takes a journey to Grandmother Willow to speak to her about a dream. At this meeting, the talking tree alerts Pocahontas that the settlers have arrived.
As Ratcliffe orders the men to build Jamestown and then, immediately, dig for gold, Smith goes to explore and meets Pocahontas for the first time. The two bong and with a fascination for each other’s backgrounds, they fall in love.
This doesn’t go down well as the settlers and Kocoum have already initiated a fight. The Chief, Powhatan, orders her to stay away from the English Settlers.
Pocahontas disobeys her father and she takes John Smith to meet Grandmother Willow.. Nakoma, Pocahontas's best friend discovers their relationship and warns Kocoum. In Jamestown, the relationship is heard about by Ratcliffe who tells Smith that any relationship between settlers and natives shouldn’t happen and is punishable by death.
Once again, the couple meet up with Grandmother Willow. They plan to unite the settlers and tribe together. They share a kiss but they are being watched. From the settler’s, Ratcliffe has ordered the same young boy who nearly drown to keep an eye on Smith. His name is Thomas. Kocoum is also watching and screams out his battle cry. The warrior tries to attack and kill Smith but Thomas Intervienes. He uses his musket and kills Kocoum.
Smith orders Thomas to leave, he manages to return to Jamestown but Smith is captured by the tribe.
Powhatan declares war on the settlers, a war that will begin with Smith’s execution. When Thomas gets back to Jamestown, Ratcliffe also declares war. He believes the tribe had gold, however, unbeknownst to him, they don’t.
Once again, Pocahontas visits Grandmother Willow for advice. It is here that her Raccon friend, Meeko, hands her John Smith’s compass. She recognises it from the dream she was explaining to Grandmother Willow when the settlers arrived. She realises that the two are linked and believes this to be her destiny.
Powhatan and his tribe have escorted John Smith to a cliff’s edge with the intent to kill him. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe and his men are hidden. Their guns are aimed at the tribe.
Pocahontas intervenes in the execution and tries to convince her father to make peace. Eventually he does and the execution is cancelled.
Enraged by greed, Ratcliffe attempts to shoot Powhatan but instead hits Smith. The Settlers turn on Ratcliffe and they tie him up to return to England and face punishment for his crime against the settlement.
The tribe try to help John Smith but his wound requires more medical attention, something he can get back in England. He asks Pocahontas to go with him. She refuses.
Smith leaves with Powhatan’s approval to return. Pocahontas stands on a cliff as she watches the ship sailing away with John Smith on Board.
The Cast and Crew
Pocahontas is a different kind of princess from her predecessors. Although she is not the first princess of colour she is the first lead human Princess of colour. Princess Jasmine had come a year before but the title of her film was Aladdin. She is drawn as a mature and older woman rather than the young teenagers the other princesses are modeled on. Her posture is different too, she stands with strength at all times rather than just when the plot requires it. She had a tribal tattoo and wears very little in the way of clothes.
Designed to look like models of the day, her face carries a regal air rather than the rounded edges and cute characteristics that the other princesses have.
As with Jasmine, two talented women voiced the character of Pocahontas. Irene Bedard voiced the character for her speaking roles, and Judy Kuhn took on her singing.
Kuhn had been on Broadway for a number of years when she took on the singing role. The Pocahontas film score won an academy award which included her performance of Colours of the wind. The sound track also reached number one on the Billboard 200, it sold over 2.5 million copies. Her work continues within musical theater but she has returned to Disney to provide the singing voice of Pocahontas for the Sequel, and Princess Ting Ting in Mulan 2. She also played a Pregnant woman in Enchanted, A Disney film that not only spoofs a Disney Princess film but is an abundance of references, Easter eggs and cameos.
Irene Bedard has played many Native American woman during her career, her looks match that of the public perception of the native Americans. Her involvement with the character or Disney didn't stretch as far as her singing counterpart but she didn't return for the sequel and to voice Pocahontas in Wreck it Ralph 2. She is one of the few living princess voices not to make a cameo in the film Enchanted.
Mike Gabriel began directing with Disney's The Rescuers Down Under, released in 1990. He wanted to take something to the annual ‘Gong Show’ which was an affectionate name given to the idea meetings hosted by Jeffrey Katzenberg. He happened to come across a picture of Pocahontas in a book and thought that it would make a great idea to pitch and a great film. Gabriel wasn’t an artist so to picth his idea he altered a Xeroxed copy of Princess Tigerlilly from the film Peter Pan, he added a few animals around her. When asked to describe Pocahontas as a character, he simply stated she was a girl with problems. He pitched the idea as a daughter is torn between the English man she loves and her fathers hate of the strangers to his land. When the pitch was taken up the story moved into a direction of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Two people of different backgrounds fall in love. In the same fashion that Aladdin, The Rescuers Down Under and The Lion King had taken cartoon critters were drawn to accompany the latest Disney Princess.
For a successful and conventional love story there has to be two main characters, Starring opposite title character Pocahontas was John Smith, an Englishman. Smith was played by Mel Gibson. Gibson was born in New York but moved with his family to Australia when was was 12 years old. His acting career evolved over time through television, stage and screen but his big hit in Mad Max (1979) propelled him into stardom that eventually evolved him into the leading man for 1989’s Lethal Weapon. .With the success of the first, more films in the franchise followed and at the time of Pocahontas, Gibson was a leading man in Hollywood. In 1995, the same year as Pocahontas, he starred in Braveheart, a film he also directed and produced. The film was a major success and is remembered and often mimicked today, nearly 25 years later. His role as John Smith also included his singing voice which came as a surprise as many title characters of the era had separate actors for this side of the role. His involvement with Disney never amounted again to the heights of his role in this film, although he did do voice work for other films although not Disney (Chicken Run). His live was full of controversy and many things he had said has caused offence and downgraded his Hollywood status. In 1991 he made a Homophobic remark, something that raised its head once more after the release of Braveheart. Gibson did not return for the Pocahontas Sequel.
Christian Bale, most famously portrayed Batman in the Dark Knight Trilogy also stars as Sam. His role was smaller than would be expected of him now but at the point of making the film, his major credits were in the form of Empire of the Sun (1987 and a supporting role in Little Women (1994). 10 years after the release of the Disney Animated classic, Bale would be propelled into stardom as Batman, a role he beat Jake Gyllenhaal for.
Governor Ratcliffe, the main villain was once called something else but Disney chiefs decided that it wasn’t authentic enough, despite being the actual name of the man this character was based on. To take on the role, Disney looked at one of it’s most prolific voice actors. It is in this film where the voice talents of David Ogden Stiers are used for villainy rather than good. His Disney Credits far outweigh those of any fellow cast members of the film, starring in: Lilo and Stitch, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast, Atlantis: the lost Empire, Lilo and Stitch 2, Stitch the Movie, Teachers Pet: The Movie, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Leroy and Stitch, Beauty and the Beast: Belle;s Magical World and Pocahontas 2. He also starred as the narrator in the early 2000s Winnie the Pooh Films, (Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie and Springtime with Roo). He passed away on March 3rd 2018.
It is fitting that the Chief, Pocahontas’s father, would be played by a leading activist for the American Indian People. Russell Means worked hard throughout his life as a prominent member of AIM (American Indian Movement). It was important to him that the film should be as accurate as possible. Unfortunately the love story in the film was pure fiction and this caused many critics to slam the inaccuracies despite his best efforts. Other than his activist work and acting, he also released records. His latter years started to unravel his life’s work. AIM severed all ties after Means was Arrested, he was divorced four times, however married for a fifth time. He died of Cancer in 2012.
Grandmother Willow’s role was taken by Linda Hunt. She had starred in many supporting roles before taking on the voice of the enchanted tree. Although she returned for the sequel, hunt rarely worked for Disney after. Her major Disney role was that of Lady Proxima in SOLO: a Star Wars Story in 2018.
Frank Weller started as Flit, the adorable Hummingbird. Although the charctaer doesn’t speak he did provide the noises the bird makes. His other voice work for cartoon characters extends beyond the Disney Branches. Although he starred in Aladdin, The Hunch Back Of Notre Dame, The Rescuers Down Under, Oliver and Company, Ducktales, Gargoyles, and, Mickey Mouse Club House, pans may also know him from The Road to Eldorado, Jimmy Neutron, Muppet Babies, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Tommy and Jerry Kids, The Grinch, The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, Gremlins, Dexter's Laboratory, the Cat in the Hat, The Transformers films and the Simpsons. He is also the Voice of Fred in Scooby Doo, this could be why a photo of Scooby appears in the film.
John Candy, a famous comedian of his time was set to star as a talking turkey. The character would have been a failed ladies man, but was dropped completely when Candy Died. At this point a choice was made to make all animals non-talking. Candy will be known to most people for his roles in Home Alone, Cool Runnings, Little Shop of Horrors, The Rescuers Down Under, and Spaceballs.
The Sequel
Three years after the original film, the majority of the cast returned for the sequel Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World. Whereas this original film had focused on the relationship between her and John Smith, although it never actually happened, the sequel focused on her journey to England to try and create peace. On the journey she meets John Rolfe who becomes her new love interest. John Smith does reappear but he is played by Mel Gibson’s Younger brother, Donald.
The Sequel is a Direct-To-Video film, however it did have some mildly good reviews. It averages out around the 5 out of 10 mark on most review websites and is quoted as been on the same level as the original. It must be pointed out that the original didn’t do as well as others in the era. Billy Zane claimed the role of John Rolfe, he hadn’t had many high profile roles before the film but had starred in the Back to the Future films and had a reoccurring role of John Justice Wheeler in Twin Peaks. At the time of the film’s release, Zane had just appeared as the Millionaire Caladon hockey in 1997’s Titanic. A film that topped the box office charts for many years and has only recently lost it’s third place slot to Avenger’s Endgame. Since Pocahontas 2, he has had reaccuring role in Charmed before the series ended.
Once again the film is based loosely on real life events, however the film does change the ending. In Real life, Pocahontas dies.
Inaccuracies
The main problem with Pocahontas is that it is a story using real-life characters but then it fabricates the plot. The Love story between the two main characters never happened, there are some theories that they never even met, or if they did it wouldn’t have been in any way like the film. A love story that could have been used involved a 30-something year old man with a pre-teen Pocahontas, this would have been deemed inappropriate for a Disney film or for most films. Instead the story was shifted to John Smith, Pocahontas’s age is increased and the strong independent female is presented as it is today. Her appearance is a mixture of references but her outfit and arm ink are taken from the correct era. Disney received a lot of criticism for the altering of events and people, it had been stated at one point that the film would be as realistic as it could be. Russell Means, the voice of the chief helped to correct some of the small mistakes, he changed the way the character's talked to eradicate any stereotyping. Although, some reviewers claim inaccuracies on this however from all accounts of the actor they are simply under the misconception of the stereotype.
It seems strange then that Disney should make many choices that went against the need to be accurate. The colours used in the film for the backgrounds and landscapes are actually of Mexican origin. Ratcliffe was given a new name as it felt more authentic, despite it being the name of the actual person the character is based on.
Chief Crazy horse of the Powhatan Renape Nation the film ‘Distorts History beyond recognition.’
The Songs
The soundtrack was released in 1995 and featured the main songs, written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Menken had previously been responsible for music in Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. Pocahontas would be Shwartz’s first time working for Disney, he wold return for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He will be known to many around the world as the Composer and Lyricist for the Stage Musical Wicked. The Soundtrack to the sequel was also released. Howard Ashman, who co-wrote the songs for Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid was also due to work on this film instead of Schwartz but passed away in 1991. Tim Rice who had worked with Menken on Aladdin was due to work with him again for Pocahontas but his consistent travelling made the process on Aladdin Difficult and Schwatch came in as his replacement. English Sea Shanties and Native American Music was the inspiration and Colours of the wind became the first song written for the film. This musical Number would be released before the re-release of the Lion King in November 1994. Schwartz’s wife had suggested the initial idea for ‘Just Around the River bend’ however the song almost didn’t make it into the film. It didn’t have the impact that they want at that moment. Other songs didn’t make it into the cut, for example when Smith and Pocahontas meet there originally would be a song but was cut. The melody can be heard throughout the score.
The soundtrack reached number one in July 1995 on the Billboard 200 charts. It also received a triple platinum certification.
Reviews and Reception
Pocahontas's premiere is the biggest in history with reportedly over 10,000 people in attendance. Vanessa Williams, who recorded her version of Colours of the Wind, performed at Central Park. A behind the scene’s documentary was also released on the Disney channel, although this wasn’t aired at the premiere itself.
A limited release was timed with Pocahontas's 400th Birthday too, it played in only 6 selected theaters. After it’s initial release, the film was slammed for poor performance when measured up against The Lion King. Michael Eisner, the then Disney CEO, claimed in a Annual Shareholder’s meeting that the film was doing well and the merchandise is hugely popular, domestically the film has done as well as Beauty and the Beast and, it has taken Europe by storm.
The critics gave mixed reviews. Many praised the look of the film but many also hated the fact there were no funny talking animals. Overall the Writing and lack of comedy let the film down.
Beyond the Film
Distribution of toys accompanied Kids meal toys and plush, magnets, glasses and apparel lining the shelves of toy stores across the US and other countries. Over the years, access to Pocahontas Merchandise has weened and she isn’t as prominent as the other princesses of her time. She is included in the official Disney Princess Line-up, along with Mulan this caused some questions. Disney stated that they were the rank of a Princess within their civilisations and would be included as such. With the release of Tangled a series of products were released to celebrate the 10 princesses, guests could buy a charm bracelet featuring the character.
In 1996, a video game of the same name was released on Sega Genesis. A NES version was in development at the same time but production was too far behind and cancelled. The game was also released on GameBoy and Playstation.
In 1995 a stage show opened called The Spirit of Pocahontas at Walt Disney World Florida. It was performed at FantasyLand Theater for just over 2 years, being performed 5 times a day. A French version was also performed in Disneyland Paris.
Also in the parks, Pocahontas has her own Indian Village at the Paris Park, the village is based upon a Native American settlement and is an adventure playground.
In Florida, she is the main section of Fantasmagora spectacular, here we see a stunning conclusion to the film re-enacted with actors and pyrotechnics. You can also find the American Princess at her Meet and Great stop.
Just after the film’s release, she was the main focus of the Disney on Ice show as part of a Mickey Presents section.
The VHS release did have the wrong video logo at the start on some copies but this was rectified for the second run. 9 million copies of the VHS was sold in the first week. By 1998, the film had made $250 million on home media alone. The film received a DVD release in 2000 and finally on Blu ray in 2012.
Pocahontas was the turning point in the renaissance era of Disney Animation. Although the film is a strong love story and means to present Native American Women in a positive light, it failed to do so. It is fair to say that she is more loved than other princesses and has a bigger presence in the parks than others she never reached the heights of her contemporaries of the time. After the success of The Lion King the previous year, the film was seen as a flop despite turning in a good revenue. There have been no plans announced to remake the film as a live action feature like The Lion King or Mulan, and her presence in the stores and parks is slowly winding down.
The film was by no means a failure, however, with the tremendously strong features that went before it, people may be forgiven into thinking this would be the decline in Disney Animation that would harm the studios for nearly 15 years. With the uprising of Pixar with Toy Story, the world of Feature Animation would be changed forever and Disney's attempt of a mature animated feature with a strong female lead didn’t cut it.