Not only a childhood favourite of mine but also my sister's favourite Disney film with good music and beautiful animation

Rating: 9/10 (24 May 2014)

I remember seeing this in the cinema with my mother and my sister when we visited my grandparents in London back in 1995 when I was eight and my sister was four going on five. While I enjoyed this film for the most part as a child, I didn't like the ending because I was worried that John Smith was going to die and I remember telling my late grandmother how sad the ending was. Last Christmas I was trying to work out what the favourite Disney films of mine and my relatives were and while my top three are 'The Little Mermaid,' 'Oliver and Company' and 'Peter Pan' (this would probably be in my top ten), my mum's favourite is 'The Little Mermaid (in spite of me thinking her favourite was 'Beauty and the Beast')' and as per the summary of this review, my sister's favourite is this one despite me mistaking it was 'Cinderella.' This week, I re-visited this film twice; once with my mother when she recorded it from Channel 5 (although I only watched it from 'Colours of the Wind,' one of the best songs here, on that occasion) and today whilst renting the DVD. When finishing the viewing of this film, it was as good as I remembered albeit some forgettable scenes and songs due to not having seen this for a while.
The best aspects of this film are its animation and music. The animation is up to Disney's usual standards with the character designs of the native Americans being completely different from those of the English settlers in this film and any other Disney Renaissance film character; picturesque backgrounds; and some beautiful, warm uses of colour, particularly the leaves that blow around Pocahontas and the sunrise/sunset scenes. As for the music, most of the songs are more memorable than the incidental music. Not only did I like 'Colours of the Wind' but also 'Just Around the River Bend,' 'Mine, Mine, Mine,' 'Steady as the Beating Drum' and 'Savages,' which are also good. While the incidental music was initially forgettable, it had its moments of charm, beauty and tension and I liked the instrumental reprise of 'Colours of the Wind' towards the end. I have just learnt that the song 'If I Never Knew You' was not featured in the original theatrical release of this film but it is lovely nonetheless. The film ran at a fast pace throughout and while a lot of people say the story is historically inaccurate in parts, it is still engaging and carries some valuable messages about cultural diversity and choosing one's own path, although the scene where Pocahontas and John Smith introduced each other didn't go anywhere. I also liked the opening and closing shots looking like sepia tone sketches, which was a new and different way to depict them instead of using the traditional storybook method. Pocahontas and John Smith are both kind-hearted characters, Nakoma, Kocoum and Powhatan are supportive, Grandmother Willow is gentle and encouraging, John Ratcliffe is gluttonous and menacing while Percy, Meeko and Flit are all cute and comical. The voice acting is very good, although I wasn't sure if Mel Gibson as John Smith was meant to sound British or American but I liked Billy Connoly's voice for Ben, David Ogden Stiers as Ratcliffe and Irene Bedard, while not one of the world's best-known voice actresses, as Pocahontas as well as Judy Khun providing her singing voice.
To conclude, this is one of Disney's most unique films with a heartfelt story, a good soundtrack on the whole and a valuable message. 9/10.