A mature animated Disney feature, and a beautiful film

Rating: 7/10 (9 November 2007)

This is somewhat unique, for a number of reasons. Perhaps most importantly, it is, as my summary states, mature. Gone are the talking animals, the show-stopping musical number(as were a staple of the Disney cartoons of the time), and the themes, the tone, is more serious. This is the only Disney animated feature actually based on a true event. There is still humor that the children can laugh at, and it's still much more simple and easy to take in than a lot of entertainment, but this has things for the grown-ups, as well. This seems to have lead to it being somewhat overlooked and less popular with kids. Another difference is how realistic the look is. The characters, the movements, faces, everything, it all looks far more real than other animated pieces. The animation is magnificent. The colors are used well, and quite subtly, in key sequences. The acting is good, and Bedard and Kuhn, the speaking and singing voice of the title character, respectively, are both excellent. Gibson isn't a bad singer, and he fits the character of Smith, both in attitude and voice. The majority of the actors lending their voices to the Indian characters are actual Native Americans, which is definitely an impressive and note-worthy detail. The music is great. Characterization is nicely done. For a film that's about an hour and fifteen minutes, sans credits, we know more about these people, and understand them better, than you'd expect. The plot is well-written, but of course it is a fictional recounting of the actual story(this is Disney, after all). The pacing is marvelous, it never really drags. The DVD extras are a mixed bag... not all are well-produced or aesthetically appealing(or even introduced properly). The multi-language reel, though, is well-cut and well-done, both idea and execution get high marks... although as much as I dislike Danish dubbing, I'm not sure that I was as relieved as I was insulted that the Danish voice was not part of it; the Swedish and Norwegian were! Also, the interactive adventure can amuse, and may inform. I recommend this to anyone willing to watch Disney, especially the more mature audiences. 7/10