Pocahontas

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Michael

Ok, I've tried to watch this one a few times before and I could never get through it. The first time I decided I should give it a go I rented the dvd and it was scratched and couldn't get passed the first 20 minutes. The second time I started it immediately after watching Terrance Malick's The New World and the cutesy creatures really annoyed me for ruining what I thought was also going to be a very serious story, considering all the stuff that I had just seen. And when that willow tree started talking I turned it off in disgust.

Time to try again. Well, like Hunchback, I have no idea why anyone thought this was a good story to tell with Disney Animation. It's not exactly a pleasant one and they have to tamper with it so much to make it palatable that it barely resembles the story I knew, which normally would be ok but in this case it's history they're rewriting.

One thing is for sure, the animation is quite stunning, they've gone for a very stylised look this time, much more like the flat Sleeping Beauty look for the background, and very stark colours for their lighting. And they've gone for a very realistic human animation, very tricky subtle stuff and impressive work.

Out of the songs, well, the two I knew from the film, Colours of the Wind and Just Around the River Bend were the only two that stood out. They are pretty cool.

Well I made it to the end this time. It's a beautifully produced animation, telling a slightly warped version of a story I've seen told much better.