Disney's Pocahontas

     Pocahontas is a beautiful and majestic film accompanied by stunning music and songs. But the story is quite a bit weaker than other films of this era of Disney and the rather one-note or underdeveloped characters are probably the largest contributor to this.

    Governor Ratcliffe is the worst offender by farcand actually might be the worst villain in a Disney movie so far in my opinion. 

     Greedy characters can be compelling or threatening villains.  Medusa and McLeach from the Rescuer films are great examples of this. They are both greedy but their unique cruelty and flair makes them great villains. 

     But Ratcliffe is pathetic by comparison and portrayed more like a buffoon than a serious threat.

     Besides Ratcliffe most characters beside Pocahontas and John Smith's I feel to be underutilized or poorly developed. Yes there is only such much you can do in a fairly short animated film length but watch Lion King and Alladin and see the strong characterization of lovable characters like Timon and Pumba and Abu.

     Pocahontas and John Smith's relationship is charming enough and the story is adequate outside of the flawed and weak characters. 

    As for family-friendliness, its very family-friendly but there is violence and if you are concerned about historical accuracy this film takes a lot of liberties so its not that great as an educational film in my opinion. 

    Despite its flawed characters and weaker story, I love this film's visuals and soundtrack and give it an 8.5 out of 10.

Popular posts from this blog

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Review

       Disney's original animated film Snow White is a stunning masterpiece, whimsical and fun, but with its share of darker moments. It is a timeless classic that is as enjoyable today as it was in 1937 when it first released in theaters. The dwarves are fun and funny and oozing with music and charm. Snow White is charming, sweet, and wholesome. It is movie for all ages young and old. I would give it 10 out of 10.
Read more

Disney's Lady and the Tramp Review

     This beautiful and charming film,  Lady and the Tramp, is yet another absolute masterpiece.     In my opinion this might be the best dog-centric animated film of all time and is an amazingly fun and endearing time with charming characters especially the leads, the adorable and sweet Lady and the rambunctious yet good-hearted Tramp.      The spaghetti/ Bella Nota segment deserves special mention as it's absolutely iconic and heartwarming.       It is mostly family-friendly but there is a scene that briefly implies the death of a dog in the pound as one of the characters says the dog "is taking the long walk" which might be too upsetting to tender-hearted young children.       Overall,  this is one of Disney's most adorable,  heartwarming,  and frankly best films so far and another 10 out of 10.
Read more

Disney's Melody Time Review

     Disney's Melody Time is another fairly average Disney package era film but I enjoy it more than Fun and Fancy Free,  mostly because it lacks anything as obnoxious as the terrible puppets. But it lacks cohesion and is a collection of charming small shorts with two segments that in my opinion clearly stand out as the more interesting and engaging parts of the film.       Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill segments are fantastic shorts with good songs and fun stories. I wish that the film was composed of only these two and they were expanded. I feel like the other shorts aren't nearly as good, though I also liked Blame it on the Samba if only because it was good getting to see Donald Duck and Jose Carioca from Three Caballeros again.       Overall this is a very family-friendly film but parents might be concerned of smoking in the Pecos Bill cartoon and a scene of Native Americans in the same feature that might be considered racist by som...
Read more