Animated epic narrative

Rating: 9/10 (16 February 1999)

What will happen when British fortune hunters in the period of colonization arrive in the New World and are faced with "wild and fierce" Indians? "Pocahontas" wants to give the answer to this question. It shows two totally different worlds opposing each other, and misunderstanding on both sides - concerning language and ideology.
The Indians in this movie are not described as the bad ones, but the Whites are not the good ones either.
Both groups comprise sinister characters as well as such characters that walk through their world with open eyes and without any prejudice.
On the Indians' side, this character, of course, is the chief's daughter Pocahontas, who falls in love with the British captain John Smith. And this captain,
in my opinion, is the most interesting characters of all in this movie. How he changes from a man who doesn't care much about the "wild" to an enlightened person makes the movie some epic narrative, a work also for adults.
The fact that it's not only a story for children is strengthened by the animated violence shown here which is not characteristic for Walt Disney. For example, a young Indian is killed by British gun fire.
One last word about the voice talents: Great work! I loved the different accents of the British. And by the way: Have a look at the faces of the characters. Never before have I seen such a perfect coordination of voices and mouth animations.