John Smith

**John Smith** is the deuteragonist of Disney's 1995 animated feature film, *Pocahontas*. He is a renowned English explorer that took part in Governor Ratcliffe's expedition to Virginia, where he would meet and fall in love with Pocahontas. Smith is very loosely based on the actual historical figure of the same name.

## Background

John Smith is a handsome, young, English explorer, adventurer, and soldier who is shown to already be a legend when he first appears, as Thomas mentions that there are "amazing stories about him." He is well known for his exploits as an explorer, not to mention his success at fighting savages.

### Personality

At the beginning of the film, Smith initially assumes that the voyage to the New World will be the same as the other voyages he has taken. By the end of the film, though, many of his views about the natives have changed thanks to Pocahontas.

At the beginning of the film, John is shown to have some prejudiced views regarding Native Americans, as he believes them to be savages. Despite these views, he is regarded for his courage and heroism. An encounter with Pocahontas and getting to know her and so much she teaches him changes his opinions, and he comes to believe that the natives can help his people. He is also shown to be selfless, as he was willing to take the blame for Thomas when he kills Kocoum. This is also demonstrated when he risks his own life to save Thomas from drowning during a storm.

John also shows that he can also be caring, as he takes Thomas under his wing and becomes his best friend. He also shows this as he teaches Thomas things he knows about shooting and sailing. Throughout the film, he shows the same loyalty to Thomas as Thomas shows him.

### Physical appearance

John Smith was a slender and muscular young man who had fair skin, shoulder-length light blond hair with fringes on each side, and blue eyes.

In *Pocahontas* and its sequel, he wears a conquistador uniform consisting of a medium blue conquistador armor, a light blue long-sleeved button shirt with the sleeves are folded into cuffs, blue pants and dark blue boots with folded sleeves. He was also worn a satchel and a musket. He initially wore a blue helmet to match his outfit in the original film. His primary outfit appears in different shades of blue.

When he was captured by Chief Powhatan and was nearly executed, John's medium blue conquistador armor was removed and his light blue button shirt was loose and his boots from his primary outfit became black. When he is about to return to England after saving Chief Powhatan from getting shot from Ratcliffe, John's button shirt was open to show his chest while covering with white bandages due to the gunshot wound he sustained.

At the end of the sequel, John now wears a dark blue sleeveless tunic with gold trim with a white long-sleeved collared shirt, blue pants, and black traditional shoes and gray socks.

## Trivia

* Smith is the first Disney Prince to wear a hooded cape.
* Despite the events depicted in *Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World*, most media, including the *Disney Princess* franchise, still keep John Smith as Pocahontas' official love interest, completely ignoring John Rolfe.
	+ This is perhaps because the original film and the Disney Princess Franchise was made by the Walt Disney Animation Studios, while the sequel was made by Disney MovieToons, later known as Disneytoon Studios.
* His uniform appeared as all-blue in the original film and its sequel, but in merchandise, his long-sleeved shirt is white, his armor breastplate is silver, his pants are blue and his boots are black.
* He wears an armor breastplate and helmet which looks like a Spanish conquistador. This could be an allusion to how the English settlers in the 17th century feared that the Spanish might overtake them in establishing the American colonies.
* John Smith was one of the few Disney characters who didn't need two separate actors to do his singing and speaking. Mel Gibson did both the speaking and the singing.