Pocahontas was The Walt Disney Company's 33rd animated feature film. The film was first released on June 16, 1995.

It is based loosely on the encounter between the colonists of Jamestown, Virginia with the native Powhatan tribe, and in particular presents a highly romanticized account of the meeting between Pocahontas and John Smith. It is a musical; the songs have music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.

The film starred the voice acting of Mel Gibson as John Smith, Irene Bedard and Judy Kuhn as Pocahontas (speaking voice and singing voice, respectively), and David Ogden Stiers as John Ratcliffe as well as his footman Wiggins. Before his death, comedian John Candy had recorded a large amount of material for a turkey character who was to be Pocahontas's sidekick. Executives perceived the character to lighten the tone of the film excessively, and the turkey was replaced with the characters Meeko the raccoon and Flit the hummingbird.

Many at Disney had high hopes for the movie while it was in production. Then-studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg regarded Pocahontas as a more prestigious project than The Lion King, and even believed that it had a chance of earning an Academy Award nomination for "Best Picture", as Beauty and the Beast had.

Upon release, however, Pocahontas was criticized by many for presenting stereotypical images of Native Americans, and by others for presenting a ludicrously distorted version of the historical events on which it was based. Given the quality and popularity of the films which preceded it – The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and especially The Lion King – it is perhaps inevitable that Pocahontas would be found wanting, both critically and commercially. With hindsight, the film can be seen as marking the end of the late-80s-to-mid-90s "renaissance" of Disney animation.

It was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, in 1998.

Real historical figures who appear in the film

• Pocahontas
• John Smith
• John Ratcliffe
• King James I (briefly)

External links

• Pocahontas at The Internet Movie Database
• The Big Cartoon DataBase entry for Pocahontas

See also

• List of Disney animated features