POCAHONTAS. Directed by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg; written by Carl Binder, Susannah Grant and Philip LaZebnilc; produced by James Pentecost for Walt Disney. Animated, with voices of Irene Bedard, Mel Gibson, David Ogden Stiers and Russell Means. Rated G.
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This has been a summer of milestones in the Amen household. My oldest has started driving and my youngest has decided she's too old for Disney movies. I had to see Pocahontas by myself.
I think my daughter, at 11, would probably have liked the movie, in all fairness. But not as much as the considerably younger crowd that thoroughly enjoyed the showing I attended. The biggest reactions were to the comic animal characters that all Disney movies have. Here they are hummingbird, raccoon and bulldog. They are cute, but their entertainment value is strictly limited to the early elementary set.
The story of Pocahontas and her people's "first contact" with European settlers has much wider appeal, even though the script does play fast and loose with historical accuracy. Perhaps as a result of this fiddling the narrative has a very weak ending. But prior to that, it's engrossing enough.
Beautiful animation is of course a hallmark of Disney cartoons, but it looks a little different here. The background isn't drawn with the same detail we've come to expect in these features. Apparently, this was done on purpose, to highlight the characters more clearly, but I'm not sure I like the change.
The characters are well-drawn and well-acted, though, and are the best thing Pocahontas has going for it. The lead character herself is a wonderful, free-spirited girl who obviously has no problem being both strong and beautiful—a really great role model for the little girls in the audience. John Smith has the advantage of Mel Gibson's voice, which is quite an advantage—he's almost as sexy just to listen to as to look at!
And the minor characters are an all-star ensemble, too. Stiers is perfect as the villainous leader of the settlers, and Means is especially convincing as Powhatan, the chief and Pocahontas' father. Linda Hunt, as a wise willow tree (it's the truth!) and Christian Bale as a settler eager to prove himself, are other familiar voices that create interesting characters.
I read a lot before seeing Pocahontas about its supposed political correctness, but I didn't find it so terribly p.c., after all. The Native Americans, until Pocahontas' interterence, are just as set on destroying the settlers as the settlers are on returning the favor. And once the settlers discover that their rapacious leader has been exploiting them in his lust for riches, they get rid of him in satisfyingly democratic fashion and settle down to cooperate with the natives.
The main thrusts of the story, with its flaws, are that individuals can make a difference and that love is better than hate. Even though the way it plays out in Pocahantas is less than completely satisfying, it's hard to quarrel with lessons like that.
July 19, 1995