An insult to American History

Rating: Null/10 (5 October 2003)

Having grown up less than 50 miles away from the site of the original Jamestown settlement, I was initially excited about seeing Pocahontas. After all, I'd been going on field trips to Jamestown since I was 5, and we'd been taught the history all our lives. So yeah, I was excited. Then I saw it. Even at age 11, I knew it was a horrible film. First of all, I didn't understand why a 12-year-old girl had been given the body and measurements of a Barbie doll (bust: 78, waist: 6, hips: 42). She was no grown woman, she wasn't even a teenager, yet Disney saw fit to Barbie-ize her. And John Smith wasn't this wonderful, gorgeous, benevolent hero type. He was actually known to be very cruel and strict with his men.
I realize that this is a children's movie and Disney is more out to entertain than educate, but I thought it was a bit insulting to the history of the story. I mean, if they wanted a Native American/Colonial romance story, couldn't they have made up fictional characters? They made everything ELSE up. Maybe somebody should make a film about Michael Eisner or Roy E. Disney falling in love with a real-life 12-year-old and having a romance with her... I bet nobody would find THAT entertaining for children.
Also, getting away from the gross historical inaccuracies, I didn't like how they concentrated so much publicity on the fact that Mel Gibson voiced Smith. Yeah, so he's a big-name movie star. Get over it. They did the same thing to Robin Williams for Aladdin and it got them into trouble... I guess they just never learn... I also just thought the quality of the film itself wasn't as good as previous Disneys had been. The music was very good, I'll admit that, but the rest of it was just kind of bland. Perhaps I was just biased against it from the get-go.
I just thought this film showed a complete lack of respect for the REAL people portrayed in it... What's Disney going to do next, a jolly jaunt about the Salem Witch Trials? Turn Rebecca Nurse into a voluptuous 16-year old and make her fall in love with a young, handsome, non-crushed Giles Corey and have them help everyone to escape the jails (and gallows) and live happily ever after? Ugh, I shouldn't even say it, they'd probably DO it.
And on another side note, I don't think any of the people who made Pocahontas have ever actually BEEN to that part of Virginia, otherwise they'd know that there is NO waterfall like that ANYWHERE around there.