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Pocahontas (Disney)

Pocahontas (Disney)

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $26.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A JOY TO WATCH, A PLEASURE TO HEAR; POCAHONTAS IS A CLASSIC
Review: Brimming with lush animation and an Oscar-winning score, Pocahontas is an emotional tale of love, greed, communal hatred and sacrifice. Along the edge waters of Virginia, Pocahontas, the free-spirited daughter of Powhatan, watches as the mysterious shipload of settlers arrive led by the greedy governor Ratcliff and the courageous Captain John Smith. Along with her friends Meeko, a mischievous raccoon and Flit, a feisty hummingbird Pocahontas develops a strong friendship with John Smith which soon transforms into love. But when tension mounts between their two very different cultures, she must find a way to bring peace between the two communities.

The wonderful voice talent and Alan Menken's excellent music help in portraying the magic of this movie. Mel Gibson is exceptional as the speaking and singing voice of John Smith. Irene Bedard is good as Pocahontas and Linda Hunt is the perfect choice for the voice of Grandmother Willow. Christian Bale, Russell Means and David Ogden Stiers lend their respective talents as the voices of Thomas, Powhatan and Governor Ratcliff. The songs are very melodious and well-written (by Grammy winner Stephen Schwartz); the 'Colors Of The Wind' being a true masterpiece (which won the Oscar for the best song in 1995).

Although historically inaccurate, the movie is unique in its visual style and in the message it conveys to us about love and sacrifice. The emotional depth is something I have never before witnessed in an animated feature. There are scenes which will truly touch your heart. I am a full grown adult, yet tears sting my eyes every time I watch the end. I think the true beauty of the movie lies in the ending.

One more thing, the movie is certainly not for kids or for those who like fun-oriented animated stuff like 'Toy Story' or 'Shrek'. Although it does provide some humor and light moments, the plot is completely adult-oriented and revolves around communal harmony, which I do not think that kids will like very much. So if you are a real appreciator of emotional and artistic beauty and know the value of true love and sacrifice, go enjoy this movie. As for me, I think it is truly a timeless masterpiece.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: At LEAST they didn't put the Powhatan Indians in tipis,
Review: because that would have been COMPLETELY wrong. I'm decended from the Powhatans, and Disney got almost everything wrong. 1. Pocohontas should not be a 20-year-old made-up Barbie doll. She was 12 when the settlers came. 2. Turquoise comes from Rocky Mountain areas mostly. How would she have a turquoise necklace? 3. Willow trees don't talk. 4. The real John Smith had red hair.

However, this is a pretty decent movie if you think of it as just a cute Disney story about made up people in love, etc. The score is decent and the singers are wonderful.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great movie, but historically inaccurate
Review: Pochahontas as a movie is an exciting and romantic tale that stands up against racism and shows that people should not be called Savages just because their culture is different. That is a great moral to be taught in the 21st century, and many people need to be exposed to that. Meeko and Flit are two endearing characters that will always make you laugh! The voice acting is pretty good, and the animal is beautiful although simple. It's a wonderful movie, and my only beef is that it is no where near being historically accurate. This upset many Native Americans.
Now, let me tell you the real story of Pocahontas. She was about 12 and was pagan. She had no interest in John Smith, and John Smith had no interest in her. It was part of their culture to do "mock trials," so John Smith was never in any danger. They never fell in love. Pocahontas was kidnapped and taken to Europe and was converted to Christianity. She married John Raulf (sp?). She died from depression because she hated life in Europe.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bad Time, Good Movie
Review: Disney's Masterpiece "Pocahontas" was a good movie but was often over-looked or given bad ratings, and I believe this is simply because it doesn't fall in with classic Disney features. For example, the love story doesn't end happily.
However, I think the real determining factor of this movie is that it was next in line after "The Lion King." Who can live up to that movie? No Disney feature since has done as well.
I enjoyed "Pocahontas" and I would recommend the movie to anyone who's in for a good hour and a half of fun. The songs are enjoyable, the characters are fun, and it's also interesting to see the stark contrast between the English settlers way of life and the indians way of life.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A minor classic, but good anyways
Review: Pocahontas. Critisized for it's inaccuracies. Appraised for it's music. WILL EVERYONE MAKE UP THEIR MINDS!
To start with, I've always liked this movie. I've enjoyed it since I was 5. But I never fully grasped the intensity of it then. Don't take me wrong about that, this movie is not "emotionally scarring", or scary or anything like that. It's just that younger children won't understand it as well.
Down to business. The music and score are terrific. There are songs that are triumphant, lilty, serious, and chilling. The animation is great. It's almost all drawn realistically. The only characters that aren't drawn very realistically are the comic relief, Meeko and Flit. The love story in this movie is the strongest one of any Disney movie I can think of, so if you hate love stories, don't get this movie. As for the white men's attitude toward the Indians, that's just what people thought back then. There is some shooting of other people off-screen and with no blood. It was never really a big deal to me.
Now, a parent's guide. This movie is a good one to have around if any of you have girls around ages 5 or 6. The reason I said "girls" is that girls probably would like it more due to the whole "love story" thing. My little brother thinks this okay, but not great (He mostly likes Meeko and Flit and the "Savages" part).
DVD collector's guide. The picture quality on this DVD looks like VHS version and the widescreen is not 1:66:1 like it says.
But if you're a Disney collector, this is thought provoking enterainment, get it anyways.
Well, I think it's a good movie and hope you will too.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent entertainment, but not history!!
Review: Okay, so here we are, with Disney "spinning" the story of Pocahontas. Unfortunately,they have made this film to be something which it isn't. This is a legend of their own making, and it has nothing to do with history as it is written.

I have researched this "true" story of Pocahontos, and there are many "holes" in this wonderful cartoon depiction. And let me say that it is a wonderful little picture, with the animals - sort of a Native American "Cinderella" story, but it stops right there.

Pocahontas did not have a love interest in Captain John Smith, nor did Captain Smith have the voice of Mel Gibson or look as handsome as was depicted in the animated film. Secondly, this little girl was about 14 years of age when she begged to have Smith spared, and not some raving beauty which the cartoon shows. Then there's the matter of John Rolfe, her real husband, and the one she married. And the fact that she "converted" to Christianity is never mentioned in this cartoon, but maybe the story tellers missed this, which is hard to do, because it was a major factor in her life.

She also died and had one son - Thomas Rolfe, but unfortunately, the sequel of Pocahontas shows her coming back to the New World, which she never did.

If you like entertainment, this isn't bad, but if you want the real history, get a good book, or visit some of the historic sights in Virginia - there you will find the real, honest to goodness story. Disney doesn't have the goods on this one!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the best animaion movie
Review: "pokahontas"- my favorite movie of "walt disney"- the best company of animaion movies in the world.....
i like this movie because is base on true story that happaned to pokahontas

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Political correctness, historical gormlessness -- Argh!
Review: ---
Yeah, it's Disney. Yeah, it's something in front of which brain-dead yuppies are supposed to be able to seat their larvae so as to keep the little weasels from messing with daddy's Sharper Image catalog while mommie goes through her aerobics routine, trying to wipe out those stretch marks. Yeah, it's yet another one of those Great Amurrican Myths that we're all supposed to internalize, about the beautiful Injun princess and the handsome young English soldier. Yeah.

Of course, the image doesn't get maintained once you take the kids on that week-end trip to the Jamestown historic site and they discover that the Tidewater stomping grounds of the Powhatan Confederacy consists of flat alluvial plains with no cliffs or picturesque waterfalls off which to make impressive dives, that Pocahontas was only the young lady's nickname (meaning "playful" or "little wanton" in Algonquinian), and that no matter what's just around the river bend, you wind up in the Chesapeake Bay.

You'll find that it grits in your wife's craw as you explain to your grandkids that when John Smith and Pocahontas met in 1607, he was about 27 and she was perhaps 10 or 12 years old, that they were friends but never fell in love with one another, and that her role in "saving" John Smith's life was part of a ritual of mock execution-and-rescue traditional among Algonquin tribes at the time. Big romance, right? Yeah.

"All this stuff in the movie is made-up Disney mush," you explain. "The English came here expecting to set up farms and develop a self-sustaining colony after an earlier attempt at Roanoke had failed because of a horrible drought. They were after land, not gold, and if you think everything ended up peaceful and happy with everybody getting along together, you've got another think coming."

Yeah, but it's *Disney*. Yeesh.

---

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Terrific Disney
Review: Pocahontas has a beautiful love story and powerful message that kids can learn something from. The songs, and instrumental score are beautiful, and ranks as one of my favorite disney scores ever. My only complaint is that the picture quality of this dvd is not very good. I wish that it didn't look so grainy. However the sound is top notch.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bad picture quality
Review: What's up with all the grain on the picture? Even my VHS copy has clearer picture quality. This DVD must have been rushed because it's obvious Disney did not put in their best efforts on this film.
On the other side of things, this is one of the last Disney movies that held the style and class of other films such as "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty And The Beast." The songs are beautiful and timeless. The animation is spectacular. This is a wonderful movie, despite it's history is FAR from accurate. I'd give this DVD 5 stars if it wasn't for the inexcusable poor picture quality.


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