Yes, My [Future] Kids Will Watch Pocahontas

I was three and a half when Pocahontas premiered in theaters, and I've carried a few select memories of it with me through the present day. First, I remember the marketing for it - back in the day of VHS tapes and all the previews before you got to the actual movie you wanted to watch at home, there was not a trailer for Pocahontas, but the full animated musical sequence of Colors of the Wind, and that would get me so hyped up to watch this movie that it undoubtedly worked on other kids as well. Second, I remember how entranced I always was by how colorful this movie is. Even watching it again this week as a twenty-nine year old, I still think this is one of the most beautifully animated Disney films in terms of color scheme, and it fits right into the Disney Renaissance Era that it was born from. Third, as I said way back when on I believe the Aquarius post, I remember from the minute I heard it the first time thinking Colors of the Wind was one of the best songs I'd ever heard, and I still hold fast to that opinion this very day.

Pocahontas was released into movie theaters on June 23rd, 1995, around two and a half years after her royal predecessor Jasmine and fifty-eight years after royal matriarch Snow White. The film is a highly fictionalized and romanticized account of the real life Pocahontas (aka Princess Matoaka), Captain John Smith, and the founders of the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia in 1607. The movie, while a commercial success, had some pretty polarizing reviews from the press and from the public - on the one hand, it was praised for its animation, music, and performances by the cast, and on the other hand it was reprimanded for its trying to focus on too many themes at once, the overall tone of the picture vs the tone of the actual event, its many historical inaccuracies, and its racial overtones. With a budget of $55 million, it saw a box office of $346.1 million and walked away with 2 Academy Awards (Alan Menken winning Best Musical or Comedy Score and Colors of the Wind winning Best Original Song), a Grammy Award (Colors of the Wind winning Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media), and a Golden Globe (Colors of the Wind winning Best Original Song). To date, Pocahontas is the only Disney Princess of Native American descent and she was the second woman of color to be a Disney Princess after Jasmine. The film also saw a direct to video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, in 1998. The sequel brought back Irene Bedard as Pocahontas and David Ogden Stiers as Governor Ratcliffe but replaced Mel Gibson with Donal Gibson as John Smith, and the plot tries to follow Pocahontas' historical trip to London with her husband, John Rolfe, and tbh the movie is just not that good.

While I always enjoy this movie, it's so important to recognize that it's almost 100% inaccurate. Yes, Pocahontas did in fact save John Smith from execution at the hands of her father, but IRL Pocahontas was 12 years old, not the 18 year old powerhouse we know and love thanks to Disney's animators, Irene Bedard, and Judy Kuhn. John Smith was actually kind of a dick according to many accounts of other Jamestown settlers instead of just arrogant and good at his job like he is in the movie, and it cannot be confirmed anywhere that he ever had a romantic relationship with Pocahontas, which is a relief since he was like 29 when she was 12. Governor Ratcliffe's real life fate is much more graphic than his fate in the movie - instead of being arrested and shipped back to London, he straight up was ambushed by the local tribe, skinned alive, and then burned at the stake after a long, tense relationship with them. And part of the reason I think I don't like the sequel is knowing that in real life, Pocahontas never returned from her trip to London because at only 21 years old, she got horrifically sick and died there, leaving behind her son and her husband. Pocahontas is such an important historical figure that I totally get being upset that the movie didn't follow the true narrative. At the same time, I gotta admit that if I'd known all of the information that I just unloaded on you when I was 3, I would've been scarred for life, so when I show my future kids this movie, they're going to know as well as their age allows them to understand that Disney Pocahontas and real life Pocahontas were both amazing women in their own rights and that Disney Pocahontas is a fairy tale while real Pocahontas was a real life hero.

The movie is classic Disney Renaissance, as I said earlier. The animation is absolutely stunning and the colors just pop in a way that other Disney movies seem to miss. Most of the characters are a lot of fun - Flit is a little annoying but Meeko is a Grade A Animal Sidekick Registered Trademark. Chief Powhatan is a quintessential Disney dad - he truly loves his daughter and wants what's best for her, and while that seems like it'll be his downfall in Act II because he won't listen to her, he comes around in the end like they always do. I've always been very partial to Thomas, having a little bit of a crush on him when I was a kid, and then had my mind appropriately blown to bits when I got older and realized that Christian Bale, The Dark Knight himself, was his voice actor. Governor Ratcliffe is an appropriately despicable villain, but honestly it's Wiggins (also voiced by Ratcliffe's actor David Ogden Stiers) who steals the show for me with his goofiness and, naturally, the most self-aware line in the entire movie: when asked by Ratcliffe why the Native Americans are attacking the settlers, he replies "Because we invaded their land and cut down their trees and dug up their earth?" Grandmother Willow is an actual legend and you can't change my mind. John Smith is honestly just ok as far as Disney "princes" go - as I've gotten older, it just annoys me more and more each time I hear his speech about how the settlers can help the Native Americans use their resources more efficiently and they only think what they have going for them is okay because they "don't know any better." Pocahontas honestly should've dumped his ass right there, but I can't reasonably argue with plot unfortunately. I LOVE seeing a Disney Princess with a human best friend - yeah, did you even realize until just now that Nakoma is the first actual human best friend of a Disney Princess? Like, why did that take so long? And Nakoma's awesome, even when she does kind of accidentally send Kocoum to his death because she's scared Pocahontas is going to get hurt. And don't hate - I think Kocoum's kind of a wet blanket and they could've done so much more with his character but chose not to which isn't fair.

Pocahontas, though. She and Ariel have a few similarities in their curiosity about people and things that are different from them, but Pocahontas manages not to be a whiny brat about it. Pocahontas truly loves her village and her people and wants them taken care of, and she proves that she could be a successful diplomat/Queen by her insistence that both sides just TALK TO EACH OTHER STOP FIGHTING WHAT IS THE ACTUAL POINT THIS SOLVES NOTHING. The turquoise necklace she inherits from her mother is iconic, and I'd kill to have the woman's hair. Irene Bedard, who herself is of Native American ancestry (Inuit and Cree to Pocahontas's Tsenacommacah), did an amazing job bringing life to Pocahontas and making the switch from fun-loving, carefree teenager to loving, responsible leader at the drop of a hat. Judy Kuhn, who provided Pocahontas's singing voice, has been a favorite of mine since I was a wee child, with my first exposure to her being the role of Cosette in Les Misérables. The emotion Kuhn pours into Pocahontas's two phenomenal solos as well as her part in Savages Part 2 really help make this movie and its amazing soundtrack what it is. Pocahontas takes shit from no one and nothing, but in a gentle sort of way. She will point blank tell you that you are very wrong, so wrong, unbelievably wrong, but instead of making you feel like a giant dumb-dumb she then does her best to teach you to see things differently to help try to change your mind, which is a more mature outlook on things than any other Disney Princess had had up to this point.

The soundtrack to this movie is unbelievable. It's one of the more theatrical soundtracks, with each number (vocal or instrumental, doesn't matter), seamlessly flowing into each other to create a beautiful music picture. Disney legend Alan Menken naturally headed the project, and originally intended to compose the soundtrack with other Disney legend Howard Ashman before his death. Then he was going to compose with Tim Rice, whom he had worked with for the Aladdin soundtrack, but scheduling conflicts made it extremely difficult. So he turns to a lyricist who was studying at NYU to help put words to his music, a lyricist who had had great success on Broadway with shows like Godspell and Pippin but who had stepped away from theatre at the time. This man turns out to be Stephen Schwartz, who now is responsible for one of my favorite shows of all time, Wicked, as well as soundtracks for later Disney films The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted and DreamWorks classic The Prince of Egypt. I went back and forth with several of these songs for a while on which were my Top 3, but here is what I've narrowed it down to.

Just Around the Riverbend by Judy Kuhn (written by A. Menken, S. Schwartz)

Obviously, Pocahontas's biggest number is Colors of the Wind, but no one should forget about her first solo here at the beginning of the movie. It really sets up Pocahontas's character, how she feels trapped between honoring her father and the traditions of her tribe by setting down with a nice boy and running free with the wind and the water to explore and enjoy the world around her. Kuhn hits some really beautiful high notes at the end of this number, really showing off her phenomenal vocal skills, and this song is just fun and high energy and a good time to listen to.

What I love most about rivers is you can't step in the same river twice/The water's always changing, always flowing/But people, I guess, can't live like that, we all must pay a price/To be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing/What's around the riverbend/Waiting just around the riverbend/I look once more just around the riverbend/Beyond the shore where the gulls fly free/Don't know what for, what I dream the day might send/Just around the riverbend for me/Coming for me

Mine, Mine, Mine by David Ogden Stiers & Mel Gibson (written by A. Menken, S. Schwartz)

I'm always a sucker for a good villain song, and this is definitely one of them. Mel Gibson may not have the best singing voice, but luckily David Ogden Stiers takes the lead here so you don't have to hear Gibson too overly much. The tune and the beat are both very catchy, and while the lyrics are definitely villainous, the melody isn't, which helps lure the settlers into a gold-fueled frenzy to help Ratcliffe get his way.

The gold of Cortes, the jewels of Pizarro/Will seem like mere trinkets by this time tomorrow/The gold we find here will dwarf them by far/Oh, with all you got in ya, boys, dig up Virginia, boys/Mine, boys, mine, every mountain/And dig, boys, dig 'til you drop/Grab a pick, boys, quick, boys/Shove in a shovel, uncover those lovely pebbles that sparkle and shine/It's gold, and it's mine, mine, mine

Colors of the Wind by Judy Kuhn (written by S. Schwartz)

I've said it before, and I will say it again as many times as I have to - Colors of the Wind is one of the best Disney songs ever written. It just is. No contest. While Vanessa Williams does a just fine job on the credit roll version, nothing compares to Judy Kuhn's original. It goes from haunting, to soft and beautiful, to high energy, to grandiose and majestic, back to quiet and calm all within the span of three minutes and thirty-four seconds, and the animation sequence attached to the music is truly an experience to behold.

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest/Come taste the sun sweet berries of the earth/Come roll in all the riches all around you/And for once, never wonder what they're worth/The rainstorm and the river are my brothers/The heron and the otter are my friends/And we are all connected to each other/In a circle, in a hoop that never ends/How high does the sycamore grow/If you cut it down, then you'll never know/And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon/For whether we are white or copper-skinned/We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain/We need to paint with all the colors of the wind/You can own the earth, and still all you'll own is earth until/You can paint with all the colors of the wind

Like with the rest of the Princesses, I encourage you to go back and watch Pocahontas if it's been a minute since you've seen it. This is one that it's important to go into recognizing it's a story, not a factual representation, and it's important to recognize that the way the people all treat each other is a way that needs to change now as much as it needed to change then. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!