Lacks what made the other Disney movies good

Rating: 3/10 (16 April 2014)

Between the years of 1989 and 1999, the Walt Disney Animated Studios were in a period of a renaissance where they created a long line of well-received animated films. Starting in '89 with the release of "The Little Mermaid" and ending in '99 with the release of "Tarzan", this period for Disney saw the creation of some of Disney's most well-known and popular films to date. The track record with the Disney films during this time period was mostly positive, with some minor slip-ups like "Hercules", none of the films were, in general terms, bad movies. That is until Disney released its sixth renaissance film "Pocahontas" in 1995. "Pocahontas" is a prime example of a film that lacks focus or what made the other Disney films enjoyable.
"Pocahontas"'s major flaw to it is that the film loses its focus from time to time, jumping to slapstick routines between a raccoon, hummingbird, and a dog for comic relief. The other Disney films had comic relief as well, whether Timone and Pumba from "The Lion King" or Mushu from "Mulan", but their comedic contribution to the film can be worked into the story to give an idea of their characters or deliver comedic relief. In "Pocahontas", time is taken out of the movie just for the trio of animal's slapstick routine that adds nothing to the story or develops their characters.
The film also lacks the fun and energy that the other Disney films had, making this film unmemorable. Both Pocahontas (Irene Bedard) and John Smith (Mel Gibson), lack any characterization and are the most generic and boring Disney characters I've ever seen put on screen. The villain of the film, Governor Ratcliffe (David Ogden Stiers) not only does not match up to the line of villains Disney has, but he is not a good villain in general. The other villains like Scar (Jeremy Irons), Shan-Yu (Miguel Ferrer), or Hades (James Wood) all had something that made them memorable, whether Scar's sinister planning, Hades' comedic charm, or the fear affiliated with Shan-Yu. Ratcliffe has no discernible personality or charm to his character and just elicits laughter towards him because of how poorly he is portrayed as a villain.
One thing Disney is most famous for is the songs created for its films. Songs from their films, like the films themselves, are some of the most well-known songs ever to be written for movies, from "Lion King"'s 'Hakuna Matata' to "Mulan"'s 'I'll Make a Man Out of You', they are songs that anyone who's seen the movie remember. Even if the majority of the songs in the movie are forgettable, there is usually at least one memorable song. With "Pocahontas", this is sort of the case, it has a slightly memorable song, but does not stand out much when compared to the other Disney songs.
"Pocahontas" is a film that lacks focus and all of the elements that made the other Disney films good. Every other Disney film in the renaissance period had something memorable about it, whether a character or a song, which "Pocahontas" does not have. It relies too much on the slapstick routine of a raccoon, hummingbird, and dog for comedic relief which takes away from the film, and its characters are bland and forgettable. In short, "Pocahontas" is the worst film from the Disney Renaissance and possibly one of Disney's worst movies.