Pocahontas (1995)

After six years and five films, the Disney Renaissance finally hits a pothole. I’m sure Disney had the best of intentions with its first film adaptation of historical figures. It’s colorful and contains a pair of memorable songs, but the rest of it is underwhelming at best.

The greedy Governor John Ratcliffe sets sail with a team of British men to settle the New World and dig unheard of riches in the gold he believes they will find there. Upon reaching Jamestown Colony, Captain John Smith encounters the beautiful Pocahontas, daughter of the Powhatan tribe. Pocahontas is coming of age and trying to determine what she wants from life. A suitable warrior from her tribes makes his intentions known but she finds herself drawn to the English invaders, Smith especially. An uneasy coexistence between the tribe and the settlers quickly dissolves into violence, thrusting Pocahontas and Smith into dangerous situations.

I’ll start with the good, because it will be brief and anyone out there who is a die-hard fan of this film can stop reading after this paragraph. There are two moderately memorable songs in this film- “Just Around the Riverbend” (of which I can only remember the title words being sung) and “Colors of the Wind” (which I vaguely remember from my childhood, but barely). It’s also got a few cute animal characters that provide comic relief. There is also some sweet romance thrown in to boot.

Now for the problems. I noticed in Aladdin that Disney was simplifying portions of the animation, characters in particular. The animation in Pocahontas more often than not looks closer in quality to Disney’s television cartoon shows than recent big-screen offerings. Often times there is very little depth to what audiences are looking at. This results in less of an immersive experience and may have left some leaving the theaters feeling a bit cheater. Then again, it might have looked fine on the big screen. On my 27” CRT? Not so much.

The characters are also problematic. Pocahontas doesn’t seem to carry the film as much as John Smith does, rendering her the weakest Disney Renaissance female lead to date. The comic relief comes in the form of cute animals that chase each other around but lack personality. Finally, John Ratcliffe is one of the weakest villains Disney ever put on screen. His only claims to power are his nobility and stature attained in England. In the New World, these qualities are meaningless. He is a fat, greedy, pompous jerk with a superiority complex. He exhibits no actual power or threat to anyone. The more subtle villain here is colonialism.

This brings me to the elephant in the room: Pocahontas is jarringly inaccurate in its portrayal of most of the Pocahontas legend. Usually, the ‘Disney Treatment’ means lightening things up and adding an overabundance of heart-warming moments. Between the revisionist history that portrays the Native Americans as largely innocent victims to the colonialist machine, and the goofy pseudo-spiritual elements even Native Americans complained about, it’s a wonder this film was allowed to proceed.

Overall, Pocahontas is a film of extremes. A few rich songs collide with TV-quality animation. Aspects of the story are oversimplified, exaggerated, and completely made up seemingly at will. I hope my daughter never wants to watch this film because I shudder to think that she might believe it is in any way accurate. As entertainment, Pocahontas is probably Disney’s equivalent of a lowest-common-denominator popcorn flick. The story sucks if you know your history but the rest of it is candy-coated so well that the kids won’t really care.

RATING: 3.25 out of 5

Beauty and the Beast* (1991)

If the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences felt that they owed Disney some Oscar love after the triumph that was The Little Mermaid, they didn’t have to wait long for a chance to pay it forward. Fitting the same mold as Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast combines lush animation and Broadway-esque spectacle to form a real treat for the eyes and ears. For me, The Little Mermaid reigns supreme over all of the Disney Renaissance films, but Beauty and the Beast stands strong as one of Disney’s all-time greats.

Long ago an uncaring young prince and his subjects are respectively transformed into a hideous beast and various pieces of décor by an enchantress, doomed to remain that way unless the prince can find love before his 21st birthday. Several years later, the lovely Belle takes residency at the Beast’s castle in exchange for her eccentric father’s freedom. As she learns to understand her captor, Belle’s father seeks help in rescuing his daughter. A cocky sportsman named Gaston, who is determined to marry Belle, takes up the challenge of acquiring two trophies at once.

While The Little Mermaid was about love at first sight and teenage rebellion, Beauty and the Beast focuses on empathy, lust, misunderstanding, and jealousy. With these weighty topics as its foundation, it amazes me just how well the filmmakers navigate these potentially perilous waters. This film could have been an overly dramatic mess and very un-Disney. Instead, those foundational elements come through only as undertones, almost unnoticeable at times amidst all the Technicolor fun.

The animation in this film is excellent. Backgrounds are rich and foreground elements are full of detail. The craftsmanship is evident just about everywhere you look. This film also employs a CGI/traditional animation hybrid for several signature scenes. Since I do not remember how well the effect looked at the time, I can only comment on how dated and obvious the effect looks now. It was an attempt to add depth and the illusion of multi-plane camera work to the film. The effect now feels somewhat disjointed and even distracting, and is, for me, this film’s Achilles’ heel.

Enough cannot be said about the characters and music of this film. Traditionally, those two aspects have been the lifeblood of Disney animated flicks. The characters here all possess colorful personalities and have an air of authenticity about them. The way the servant characters interact with each other is brilliant; you really feel like they’ve known each other forever. My only minor beef lies with Gaston. He’s a little too much at times with his cocksure swagger, but the character has to be. It’s not necessary for the laughs that his machismo generates, but if we were forced to take him seriously, Gaston would drag the film into some dark territory.

The music by itself is terrific. Combining the show tune songs together with elaborate and witty on-screen antics, you create something fresh, unique, and memorable. That is the legacy of this film. It’s not as pulpy or solely kid-friendly as other Disney near-hits, but it never loses touch with its core audience. Great Disney movies don’t just appeal to kids; they appeal to families. This one has classic family entertainment written all over it.

RATING: 4 out of 5