Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas suffers from a dated depiction of native American tribes and the fact that it came out the same year as Disney's masterpiece The Lion King, but it's so much better than the Princess Movies that get more attention. Pocahontas feels like a real person with hopes and dreams and fears, the score is breathtaking and the animation is absolutely lovely. Yes, there are stereotypes, but on the whole it's not the most backward story from the 90s, and if you watch with a critical eye and a grain of salt, you can learn a lot about history and love and taking care of mother nature. Colors of the Wind is one of the best songs in the world.

I've heard this called many things, such as "racist," but I watched this for the first time today, just 'cause. I was expecting bad things, for it's been turned down by many people, but I had seen a few clips that didn't seem bad and was hoping a bit. Now I think it should be called "the most underrated Disney movie."Honestly, "racist" is the last thing I would call it. The English are the bad guys, and all the good guys are the natives. Like another said, Disney put the natives in the light, so I don't see why "racist" is a word for this. This is a masterpiece. Sure, white people call natives "savages," and so do natives to white people. (Which makes it interesting that the opposites see each other the same.) They also call each other devils, which was a bit disturbing, but that is probably one of the few things that was accurate about this. Sure, most of it is inaccurate, but why be annoyed by that when the fairy tales Disney does are inaccurate? I loved the personality of Pocahontas. She was spunky, kind, curious, and even had a sense of humor! The characters (personalities) of John Smith and Governor Ratcliffe didn't seem to be that well-built, but they were built well enough that when John Smith left, I was a bit depressed, and when the villain got what he deserved, I was satisfied.The music and songs are incredible. We all know about "Colors of the Wind," and some know "Just Around the River Bend," but I liked the intro song "Steady as the Beating Drum" and its reprise, which were new to me, along with the other songs. Sometimes, at moments where there where no words, the music took over and spoke instead. his has a different style of songs than other Disney movies, but it's a good different and has a wonderful uniqueness to it. One beautiful thing is that this shows acts of true love. Pocahontas risks getting herself hit--and killed--when she throws herself on top of John Smith, and John Smith blocks Chief Powhatan, making himself get shot. They care about another before him/herself.The animation was well-done. When light flashed, you could see faces and people from a different perspective that looked 3-D. Not everyone looked the same. I like that Pocahontas didn't have enormous eyes but was still pretty. Grandmother Willow was moving around, yet wasn't 2-D. Fire, smoke, and shadows were well-done. The backgrounds weren't as good as they used to be, like in Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, where they looked real, but they were still good.The characters, music, and animation all put together blew me away. When John Smith left at the end, music to the tune "Colors of the Wind" began playing, but it was louder and more powerful, also more beautiful. With the desperateness on Pocahontas's face, the music, and the connection I felt to the characters, I was crying. Seriously, crying, sobbing, not just wet eyes. I won't say what happens at the very end, but there was a connection of some sort between Pocahontas and John Smith in the last few seconds, and it broke my heart and touched it at the same time.Of course, it isn't perfect. I didn't like that "spirits were everywhere," and I didn't like many of the characters. In the past, Disney has made it clear when a song is coming--music starts building up, and there's a pause of talking, but here, I was surprised multiple times when characters suddenly started singing. It was disturbing to hear both sides call each other "devils," too.But even with its flaws, this is a masterpiece. It should get more attention and is a wonderful movie everyone should see.

Pocahontas (1995)I remember the backlash when this movie was released, there was a big backlash about how the Native Americans were portrayed, depending on the article, it was rather insensitive at best or racist at worst. Personally I don't think it's that bad. It's not as good as the other Disney movies released around that time. Aladdin, Beauty & The Beast, Little Mermaid and of course The Lion King are vastly superior!! But it's not the awful movie you may remember!! I'll probably never watch it again in my life, and truthfully if my girlfriends daughter wasn't sat watching with me, I may have even turned it off, but I have sat through worse. Despite the critical mailing, Pocahontas grossed $141 million at the domestic box office, to end the year the fourth highest grossing movie of 1995.

This was the most under-appreciated Disney film of all time. I rewatched it last night and finally grasped just how great it was over 20 years later.The animation and scenery were both gorgeous and the colors in the Virginia countryside were fantastic. No, it wasn't historically accurate, but it did contain issues that hold significance to this day. I truly believe that this film belongs in the top 5 Disney films ever.Pocahontas character was the most realistic Disney figure to that point and the animal characters were hilarious. One can only hope that with the passing of time that Pocahontas will get the respect it deserves.