Paint with All the Colors of the Wind

Rating: 5/10 (16 June 2014)

This is the movie, as a lot of you know, that many people said began the downward spiral of Walt Disney animated films...And I'd be lying if I said I don't see why. But, on the other hand, there are some really good things in this movie that I think are really underrated.
ANIMATION: This might be one of Disney's best looking movies. It should be, a film that is celebrating nature and becoming one with all creations of the Earth should have some good visuals; only these aren't good visuals - they're great! You never see the outlines on anyone or anything. The colors work really well together, and the style of how everything blends is great! I love watching the animation during the "Savages" number; isn't that what you'd expect to see from Disney?
SONGS/MUSIC: Obviously the songs are some of the best things in this movie. Here we get Alan Menken back, along with lyricist Stephen Sondheim. We all know and love "Colors of the Wind," which, again, is great to both watch and listen to. The lyrics and singer are great, but listen to the music in that song! The orchestrations are great! I mentioned "Savages" before, and that's a great antagonist song! I don't know if I'd call it a villain song. Radcliffe does manipulate the people to get what he wants, but everyone on both sides of the battlefield hate each other. The antagonist here is hate, and it's displayed perfectly in this song. I watched this movie recently and was reminded of the song "Just Around the Riverbed." It's nice, I guess. Again, the orchestrations are really good.
ROMANCE: The more I think about it, I really like the romance in this movie between Pocahontas and John Smith. It stems from something. You can see how they began falling in love with each other. Usually it's so easy for Disney characters to just meet and fall in love. Here, however, they spend time together. They talk, they learn about each other and their differences. I like that they're not working to fall in love, that's not why they're together. They are initially learning from the other person, and they fall in love in due time.
CHARACTERS: These aren't the most memorable characters, but they're not bad...not all of them, anyway. I find the animals annoying...Actually I only find the hummingbird and dog annoying when they're with the raccoon, so maybe it's just him. The other characters are OK, but what really surprised me was my interest in Pocahontas' character. If you read my review for "The Little Mermaid," you may be thinking, "You panned Ariel for rebelling! Why do you like Pocahontas?" Here's the thing: the first time Pocahontas' father told the village to stay away from the White men, Pocahontas was already with John Smith, so she technically didn't disobey that time. After that, though, her rebellion actually brought peace and harmony between two different groups of people. And her rebellion wasn't due to selfish ambition. It began with her curiosity of these different people, which led her to ask the question "Why are we segregated?" She was trying to put a stop to the war and discrimination between them. That's not only selfless, but also brave and responsible! And, yes, her actions did get someone killed, but imagine how many more people would have died if the war she tried to stop had taken place. Ariel? So long as she gets her Prince, what the crud does she care what happens? Pocahontas is a great character and role model!
STORY: I think this is what people take issue with the most. The story is old and boring - we've seen it too many times. This film isn't doing anything new or exciting with the tale of greedy White men conquering the Red people's land, so it's not that interesting. We know that tale, we know the story of Pocahontas, and we know what Disney's going to do to make us smile and live happily ever after. There aren't any surprises or nuances, so it doesn't really matter. There are only two things that shocked me...and they were stupid things. First of all, a tree can talk. What? Second of all, did you see the change in how Pocahontas could suddenly understand and communicate with John Smith? How does that work? How is it possible? You can't take a story about a real person and real events and mix it with fairy tale! The ending was changed, but that's something we can at least say is possible; we can go along with that because people can do that in reality. What ISN'T possible in reality is speaking in another language just because the leaves blow, or having your grandmother be a tree! What the crud!?
CONCLUSION: While the story doesn't grab me and most of the characters are bland and unforgettable, the animation, music, romance, and our main character are enough to keep me coming back and watching this movie all over again! Give Disney credit, delivering this message isn't as easy as one may think it is. In fact, kudos to Disney for doing it period, especially with the characters in this movie. I think this is supposed to make up for the racist Indians we got in "Peter Pan." If you love or like this film, I understand. If you don't like it, again I understand. Bottom line, hopefully we can acknowledge both the strengths and weaknesses of the movie. Surly we can all "paint with all the colors of the wind." BOOYIKA!