Film
Produced at the same time as The Lion King, but for the producers it was supposed to be the point because it was more serious and committed. For the first time, a Disney Classic was inspired no longer by a fairy tale or a novel but by a real-life story, albeit toning down most of its rough edges according to the Disney canon. Historically, in fact, there is no record of a love story between the protagonists John Smith (a Briton who landed in the New World) and Pocahontas (still a child at the time), but Disney's main intention was to tell a Romeo and Juliet-style story and it was necessary to tweak the age of the protagonist to push the romantic pedal. Like the Shakespearean tragedy, Pocahontas also suffers from the lack of a traditional happy ending, but gave us one of the most poetic and beloved endings to this day. One of the strengths of the feature film is the soundtrack, which won two Academy Awards, as well as the song Colors of the wind composed by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.
Art
Grandmother Willow teaches us that there is something strongly spiritual in trees. This is well known by Andrea Gandini, a young Italian artist who carves tree trunks into beautiful faces like those of the Disney character. What makes him unique and absolutely special is his ability to skilfully give a human identity to wood, which thanks to him can communicate something. A sort of wood street artist who transforms urban waste into real works whose message is clear and direct: art can flourish in public places, even in the most unexpected ones. Trees and their waste are often regarded as rubbish, but he sees them as great wealth that must be exploited and gives them a face, a heart, a soul. His works can be admired (also) walking through the streets of Rome, as the sculptor creates them everywhere, according to his own creative flair and does not always reveal their location.
As already mentioned, Pocahontas was the first Disney feature film to be based on a historical fact that actually happened: the story of the meeting of the Indian princess Pocahontas (c. 1595 -1617) and the English settler John Smith (1580-1631). In reality her name was Matoaka, Pocahontas was nothing more than her nickname (according to some it meant 'little shameless girl' or 'spoilt child'). She was actually the daughter of the Powhatan chief, a confederation of tribes that inhabited the Atlantic coast of Virginia. We do not know much about what Matoaka looked like aesthetically, but we can get an idea from the portrait done by Simon van de Passe in 1616. The difference is remarkable, compared to the design readapted (for obvious reasons) by the skilled hands of draughtsman Glen Keane, who tells us of her as a beautiful young woman, very brave, resourceful, respectful of nature and her people. The real story is a little different from the one we grew up with and, perhaps, we would prefer to remember it. For those who want to, however, can delve into it in the links below.
External Links
Watch Pocahontas on Disney +
Portrait:
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