Pocahontas (1995 film)
Pocahontas is a 1995 American animated musical historical drama film based on the life of Powhatan woman Pocahontas and the arrival of English colonial settlers from the Virginia Company. The film romanticizes Pocahontas's encounter with John Smith and her legendary saving of his life. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures.
Pocahontas
- Glen Keane
- Joe Grant
- Ralph Zondag
- Burny Mattinson
- Ed Gombert
- Kaan Kalyon
- Francis Glebas
- Robert Gibbs
- Bruce Morris
- Todd Kurosawa
- Duncan Marjoribanks
- Chris Buck
Jim Pentecost
- Joe Baker
- Christian Bale
- Irene Bedard
- Billy Connolly
- James Apaumut Fall
- Mel Gibson
- Linda Hunt
- John Kassir
- Judy Kuhn
- Danny Mann
- Russell Means
- David Ogden Stiers
- Michelle St. John
- Gordon Tootoosis
- Frank Welker
81 minutes[2]
United States
English
$55 million[3]
$346.1 million[1]
The film was directed by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Jim Pentecost, from a screenplay written by Carl Binder, Susannah Grant, and Philip LaZebnik. It stars the voices of Irene Bedard and Mel Gibson as Pocahontas and Smith, respectively, with David Ogden Stiers, Russell Means, Christian Bale, Michelle St. John, James Apaumut Fall, Billy Connolly, Joe Baker, Gordon Tootoosis, and Linda Hunt in supporting roles. The score was composed by Alan Menken, who also wrote the film's songs with lyricist Stephen Schwartz.
After making his directorial debut with The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Gabriel conceived the film during a Thanksgiving weekend. Goldberg, who had just finished up work as the supervising animator of the Genie in Aladdin (1992), joined Gabriel as co-director. The project went into development concurrently with The Lion King (1994), and attracted most of Disney's top animators. Meanwhile, Disney studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg decided that the film should be an emotional romantic epic in the vein of Beauty and the Beast (1991), in hope that like Beauty, it would also be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Screenwriters Binder, Grant, and LaZebnik took creative liberties with history in an attempt to make the film palatable to audiences.
Pocahontas premiered at Central Park on June 10, 1995, and was released in the United States on June 16, to mixed reactions from critics and audiences, who praised its animation, voice performances, and music, but criticized its story with its lack of focus on tone. The film's historical inaccuracies and artistic license received polarized responses. Pocahontas earned over $346 million at the box office. The film received two Academy Awards for Best Musical or Comedy Score for Menken and Best Original Song for "Colors of the Wind". According to critics, the depiction of Pocahontas as an empowered heroine influenced subsequent Disney films like Mulan (1998) and Frozen (2013).[4] The film was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, in 1998.
Plot[edit]
In 1607, the Susan Constant travels from London to the New World, carrying English settlers from the Virginia Company. The settlers, including Captain John Smith, talk of adventure, finding gold, fighting "Injuns" and potentially settling in the new land.
In the Powhatan tribe in Werowocomoco, Tsenacommacah, Virginia, Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan, fears being possibly wed to Kocoum, a warrior whom she sees as too serious for her own free-spirited personality. After having a dream about a spinning arrow, Pocahontas visits Grandmother Willow, a spiritual talking willow tree that alerts her to the arriving English.
The voyage's leader Governor Ratcliffe, who seeks only wealth and status, has Jamestown built in a wooded clearing and immediately has the crewmen dig for gold. John departs to explore the wilderness and encounters Pocahontas. At first, she speaks to him in Powhatan, but soon, he gains her trust. They quickly bond, fascinated by each other's worlds, and end up falling in love. After a fight between settlers and natives, Powhatan orders the natives to stay away from the Englishmen. Pocahontas, however, disobeys him and keeps meeting with John. Unfortunately, Pocahontas's best friend, Nakoma, discovers the secret relationship and warns Kocoum. Ratcliffe also learns of John's encounters and angrily warns him against sparing any Natives.
Later, John and Pocahontas meet with Grandmother Willow and plan to bring peace between the colonists and the tribe. While both parties spy on the couple, John and Pocahontas share a kiss. Furious, Kocoum attacks and attempts to kill John, but a young settler, Thomas, whose life John previously saved and who had been ordered by Ratcliffe to follow John, intervenes and kills Kocoum. John orders Thomas to leave before the tribesmen arrive and capture John, before retrieving Kocoum’s body. Enraged at Kocoum's death, Powhatan angrily berates Pocahontas of leaving the village and declares war on the English, beginning with John's execution at dawn.
After reaching Jamestown, Thomas warns the settlers of John's capture. Ratcliffe then rallies his men to battle, using this as an excuse to annihilate the tribe and find their nonexistent gold. That same night, Powhatan also orders his men to prepare for battle. A desperate Pocahontas visits Grandmother Willow and realizes the arrow from John's compass is the same spinning arrow from her dream, which leads to her destiny. Morning comes, and Powhatan and his tribe drag John to a cliff for his execution. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe leads the armed colonists to fight Powhatan's warriors. Just as Powhatan is about to execute John and start the war, Pocahontas intervenes and finally convinces him to end the fighting between the two groups and spare John's life. Both sides stand down, and John is released. Unmoved, Ratcliffe orders his men to attack anyway, but they refuse. Ratcliffe fires his musket at Powhatan, but John takes the shot to save him. Livid, the settlers turn on Ratcliffe and arrest him for hurting their comrade.
John is nursed back to health by the tribe but must return to England for his wounds to fully heal. Ratcliffe is also sent back to face punishment for his crimes against the settlement. John asks Pocahontas to come with him, but she chooses to stay with her tribe to help keep the peace. John leaves without Pocahontas, but with Powhatan's blessing to return anytime in the future. At the end, Pocahontas stands atop a cliff, watching the ship carrying John depart.
Three actors in the film have been involved in other Pocahontas-related projects. Gordon Tootoosis acted as Chief Powhatan in Pocahontas: The Legend (1995).[5] Christian Bale and Irene Bedard would portray John Rolfe and Pocahontas' mother, respectively, in Terrence Malick's The New World (2005).[6]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Following the release of The Rescuers Down Under (1990), director Mike Gabriel was eager to collaborate with veteran Disney story artist Joe Grant on a follow-up project that was vastly different from the animated adventure film. In April and May 1991, they first partnered on an adaptation of Swan Lake with both of them writing story outlines and creating conceptual artwork. Gabriel and Grant then submitted their outline for approval, but it was negatively received by the studio's live-action script readers.[7][8] Earlier, during Thanksgiving weekend, 1990, Gabriel had wanted to direct an animated musical set in the American West. At a relative's Thanksgiving dinner, while glancing through numerous titles in their bookcase, Gabriel struck on the idea of adapting the life of Pocahontas after finding a book about her. Following the cancellation of Swan Lake, Gabriel returned to the idea.[8]
Shortly after, Gabriel pitched his idea at the "Gong Show" meeting held by Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Peter Schneider, and Roy E. Disney. He had written the title Walt Disney's Pocahontas on an image of Tiger Lily from Peter Pan (1953) to the back of which he taped a brief pitch that read "an Indian princess who is torn between her father's wishes to destroy the English settlers and her wishes to help them – a girl caught between her father and her people, and her love for the enemy."[9] Coincidentally, Feature Animation president Peter Schneider had been developing an animated version of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, and observed several similarities between his idea and Gabriel's Pocahontas pitch; Schneider recalled: "We were particularly interested in exploring the theme of 'If we don't learn to live with one another, we will destroy ourselves.'"[10] Gabriel's pitch was quickly accepted, becoming the quickest story turnaround in Disney studio history.[11]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Timed with Pocahontas' 400th birthday, Pocahontas had a limited release in North America on June 16, 1995, playing in only six selected theaters in Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Detroit, St. Louis and Los Angeles.[116] The film grossed $2.7 million during its first weekend, standing at the eighth place in the box office ranking.[117] It beat the record set by The Lion King the previous year for the highest-grossing opening weekend on fewer than 50 screens, a record that has not been beaten.[118][119] The wide release followed on June 23, 1995, in 2,596 screens. Studio estimates initially anticipated Pocahontas earning $30.5 million, ranking first and beating out the previous box office champion Batman Forever (1995).[120] The figure was later revised to $28.8 million with Pocahontas falling second behind Batman Forever.[121] The final estimates placed Pocahontas narrowly ranking first grossing $29.5 million in its first weekend with Batman Forever falling into second place taking $29.2 million.[122]
By January 1996, the film grossed $141.5 million in the United States,[123] being the fourth-highest-grossing film in North America of 1995, behind Apollo 13, Toy Story, and Batman Forever.[124] Overseas, the film was projected to gross $225 million,[125] though foreign box office grosses eventually amounted to $204.5 million.[1] Cumulatively, Pocahontas grossed $346.1 million worldwide.[1] Although at the time it was seen as a commercial box office disappointment in comparison to The Lion King,[126] in January 1996, then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner contested in an annual shareholders' meeting that "Pocahontas is well on its way to being one of our most successful films of all time. It has equalled Beauty and the Beast's box office numbers domestically, and now it has taken Europe by storm and is playing well in every country in which it is being shown. Sales of Pocahontas merchandise have been phenomenal."[127]
Historical accuracy[edit]
Pocahontas' real name was Matoaka. "Pocahontas" was only a nickname, and it can variously be translated to "little wanton", "playful one", "little brat", or "the naughty one".[151] Pocahontas was around 10 or 11 at the time John Smith arrived with the Virginia Company in 1607, in contrast to her portrayal as a young adult in the film.[151]
Smith is portrayed as an amiable man; in reality, he was described as having a harsh exterior and a very authoritarian personality by his fellow colonists.[151]
Historically, there is no evidence of a romantic relationship emerging between Pocahontas and John Smith.[152] Whether or not Pocahontas saved Smith's life is debated.[153] A group of colonists led by Samuel Argall captured Pocahontas three years after John Smith departed for England; she converted to Christianity in Henricus and later married John Rolfe, who was known for introducing tobacco as a cash crop.[152]
Governor Ratcliffe did not return to England, but was killed by the Powhatan in 1609.[154]
Ebert criticized the film's deviations from history, writing "Having led one of the most interesting lives imaginable, Pocahontas serves here more as a simplified symbol".[131] Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic wrote that "The movie might have fudged some facts", but that this allowed it to tell "a compelling romantic story".[4]
Animator Tom Sito defended the film's relationship to history, stating that "Contrary to the popular verdict that we ignored history on the film, we tried hard to be historically correct and to accurately portray the culture of Virginia's Algonquins."[4]
Legacy[edit]
A live musical show titled The Spirit of Pocahontas was performed at the Fantasyland Theatre at Disneyland during the film's theatrical release.[155] A video game titled Disney's Pocahontas based on the film was released on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in 1996.[156] The film was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, titled Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, released on August 25, 1998. Bedard and Kuhn reprised their roles as Pocahontas' speaking and singing voices, respectively. Donal Gibson starred as John Smith and Billy Zane starred as John Rolfe.[157] Characters from the first film make cameo appearances in numerous episodes of the television series House of Mouse.[158] Pocahontas, alongside other Disney Princesses, briefly appeared in the 2018 film Ralph Breaks the Internet, with Bedard reprising the role.[159] Pocahontas also made a brief appearance in the 2023 live-action/animated short Once Upon a Studio, with Kuhn returning to do the character's singing voice.[160]
Critics have also discussed the influence of Pocahontas on other films. Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic argues that the strong and brave title character of Pocahontas influenced the portrayal of subsequent heroines of Disney animated films, specifically Mulan, Rapunzel, Merida, and Elsa.[4] Similarly, The Verge's Tasha Robinson wrote that Moana (2016) "draws on" Pocahontas in its portrayal of a woman buoyed by her culture.[161] According to HuffPost, James Cameron's Avatar (2009) is a "rip-off" of Pocahontas.[162] Avatar's producer Jon Landau has said that Avatar is akin to Pocahontas with the Na'vi aliens taking the place of Native Americans.[163] Cameron has said that he first conceived of Avatar in the 1960s, long before Pocahontas was released, but he has also said that Avatar does reference the story of Pocahontas, the historical figure. Kirsten Acuna of Business Insider wrote that, while Avatar may be based on Cameron's own ideas, it nevertheless takes inspiration from animated films like Pocahontas and FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992).[164]
