Pocahontas (Disney character)
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| Pocahontas | |
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| First appearance | Pocahontas (1995) |
| Created by | Carl Binder |
| Voiced by | Irene Bedard (speaking voice) Judy Kuhn (singing vocals) |
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| Notable aliases | Princess Pocahontas |
Pocahontas is the main character, title character, and protagonist of Disney's 1995, thirty-third animated feature, Pocahontas, and its direct-to-video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. She is also an official Disney Princess. She, as well as the events she goes through, are very loosely based on the actual historical figure Matoaka, who is more popularly known by the nickname Pocahontas. She was voiced by Native American actress Irene Bedard, and her singing vocals were performed by Broadway singer Judy Kuhn in both films. Judy Kuhn also reprises the role in the Disney Princesses' single and music video, If You Can Dream.
While she is based directly off of an actual person, she differs from her base in several ways.
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[edit] Background
[edit] Pocahontas
In Pocahontas, the setting is 1607 Virginia. A free-spirited, adventurous, head strong young woman, Pocahontas is the daughter of Chief Powhatan. One day upon her father's return home, he informs her that Kocoum the brave has asked to seek her hand in marriage, and take her place among her people. While Pocahontas has a deep love and respect for her father, and her people, she questions whether such a move would be the right path to choose. As she explains to her father, she feels that her heart is pointing her down a completely different path.
Upon consulting Grandmother Willow about her father's announcement, she also explains a strange reoccurring dream involving a spinning arrow. She and Grandmother Willow come to the conclusion that this arrow may be pointing her down her path. Grandmother Willow tells Pocahontas to listen with her heart to the spirits of the earth, water, and sky, and shortly after, Pocahontas notices what she perceives at first as "strange clouds".
These "clouds" are revealed to be not clouds, but the sails of a mighty ship, carrying many men the likes of which Pocahontas and her people have never seen before. Of these light-skinned visitors, one in particular catches Pocahontas' eye. She follows him around to a waterfall where he stops to drink, and as she attempts to sneak up closer, he confronts her with a gun. But upon seeing Pocahontas, he is stopped by her figure of beauty, and lays down his gun.
In fear, Pocahontas runs off, as the pale visitor chases after her asking her to wait. Finally, she does, but she cannot understand him at first. When she takes his hand, and listens with her heart as earlier instructed, the language barrier between her and him is broken. She introduces herself as Pocahontas, and he introduces himself as John Smith.
Over time, the two get to know each other, asking all sorts of questions about each other's people, lives, and different worlds. However, the conversation goes sour when John unintentionally reveals his prejudices towards Pocahontas and her people - he says that his people will teach them how to live a correct lifestyle in contrast to their current living, and refers to them as "savages". She attempts to leave him, but he stops her, so she climbs the near by tree. As John tries to follow her up, a branch breaks, and he falls to the ground, followed by being hit in the head with his own helmet.
Sympathetically, Pocahontas jumps back down, and explains to him the beauty and importance of nature and respecting the earth through song (Colors of the Wind). This causes John to see the ill of his thoughts and change his ways, and the two fall in love with each other. Upon hearing the war drums from back home, she leaves him immediately, despite not wanting to.
Later on while Pocahontas and her best friend Nakoma are out gathering maize to give to the warriors, who are arriving shortly, John Smith runs into them through the maize crops. Nakoma is shocked upon seeing him, and even more shocked when Pocahontas reveals that she knows him. Pocahontas asks her to cover for her while she goes away with John once more. He informs her that he just had to see her again. This is the point that John is introduced to Grandmother Willow, and she informs Pocahontas that he has a "good soul". Soon after, John's comrades Ben and Lon are heard looking for him. As he and Pocahontas hide, Grandmother Willow quickly scares them into running back to their camp. John then decides that it's best if he returns to camp immediately before they "send the whole camp out after him".
When Pocahontas returns home shortly after, she hears that her father is planning to attack John Smith's people. She asks her father if he would listen to one of the white men if he was willing to talk, but he does not seem to believe any such man exist, or that he would be willing to speak to him if he did, despite his saying otherwise. In the middle of the night, Pocahontas runs out toward the maize fields and is confronted by Nakoma, who tells Pocahontas that she won't cover for her again, and that she'll be "turning her back on her own people" if she goes back out there. Pocahontas explains that she's trying to help her people, not the other way around, and leaves. Pocahontas then meets up with John Smith once again at Grandmother Willow, and he tells her that his men are also planning on attacking her people. Pocahontas asks him to talk to her father, but he explains that talking won't help. Through a metaphor, Grandmother Willow persuades John to go with Pocahontas to talk to her father, and then they share their first kiss under the moonlight. Kocoum, who is in the nearby bushes witnesses this, as does John's comrade Thomas, who was sent to look for him. Kocoum then becomes enraged, and attacks John Smith. Pocahontas tries to pull Kocoum off John Smith, but he physically pushes her away, knocking her to the ground. She tries once again as Kocoum tries to stab John Smith's neck with a sharpened stone, but before she can break them up, Thomas shoots Kocoum. As Kocoum falls to the ground, he grabs Pocahontas' necklace (formerly belonging to her mother), breaking it into pieces, and dies. Shortly after, many Powhatan men find them, and take John Smith prisoner. Thomas runs back to camp to warn the others.
The Powhatans get the impression that John killed Kocoum. Chief Powhatan declares that at sunrise, John will be executed, and that the execution is to be followed by an attack on the rest of the European settlers. When Pocahontas tries to explain otherwise, he expresses anger toward her for disobeying his orders for everyone to stay in the village and away from the white men, saying that she has shamed him, and that it's her fault that Kocoum is dead. Nakoma then reveals to Pocahontas that she was the one who sent Kocoum after her. Pocahontas is sadden, saying that she'll never see John again, but then Nakoma takes her to the hut where John is being held prisoner. She goes inside and surprises John, and says that it would have been better if they'd never met. John says that if he dies the next day, it'll have been worth it, and he'd rather die then live a hundred years without knowing her. When Nakoma says it's time to leave, she says she can't leave John, and John says "You never will; no matter what happens, I'll always be with you, forever.", which is followed by both the Native Americans and the Europeans preparing for battle against each other.
Pocahontas goes back to Grandmother Willow and tells her that John Smith is to die and sunrise. Grandmother Willow tells her that she needs to stop them, and to remember her dream. Pocahontas says that she was wrong, that she followed the wrong path. Meeko then looks through a pile of junk he has stashed in a tree, and finds the compass that he earlier took from John Smith (and broke). He gives it to Pocahontas, and she sees the spinning arrow...the arrow from her dream. She then realizes that her path was pointing to him, and the compass arrow spins around rapidly and stops, pointing in the direction of the cliff where they are taking John to be executed. She then runs after them, calling out to the forces of nature to help her reach them in time. When she finally sees them, John's head is down against a rock, and Powhatan has his club raised, about to drive it into John's head. Pocahontas then runs, and right before the strike, shields John with herself, saving his life.
Powhatan then asks her to stand back, but she says that if he wants to kill John he'll have to kill her too, because she loves him. She tells him to look around and see where the path of hatred has brought him and her people. Powhatan then feels the spirit of the wind, and explains his admiration of Pocahontas' wisdom, understanding and courage, and that if there is ever to be further violence, that it won't start with him. He then releases John Smith. John and Pocahontas then embrace each other in relief.
Meanwhile, the Europeans are down the cliff witnessing the entire thing, and Ratcliffe orders them to open fire. The men refuse, stating that they let him go and clearly don't want to fight. Ratcliffe then grabs a gun from one of the men and aims at Chief Powhatan. Just before firing, John pushes him out of the way and is hit by the bullet, and falls to the ground. The men then take Ratcliffe's gun, tying him up and gagging him.
Soon after, many of the Europeans have prepared to leave at the coast, and are loading cargo onto the ship. Pocahontas then shows up with several other members of the tribe carrying maize they have gathered for the men to have on their voyage home. She then comes to John Smith, who is lying wounded. She gives him some sap from Grandmother Willow's bark to help to ease the pain. Her father then covers him with one of his chieftain robes and tells him that he is always welcome among his people. John Smith then asks Pocahontas to come with him back to England, but she explains that her place is there with her people. He says then that he'll stay instead, but she says crying, that he has to return due to his wounds that they have no way of treating. He says that he can't leave her, and then she says to him, like he said to her earlier on, "No matter what happens, I'll always be with you, forever". They then share a lengthy kiss, and the men carry him onto the ship. The ship then raises its anchor, and the ship sails off. As it is leaving, Pocahontas runs as fast as she can to a cliff overlooking the ocean. When she gets to the cliff, the spirit of the wind gusts over her and into the sails of the ship. Pocahontas waves goodbye in the Powhatan fashion, and John waves back in the Powhatan fashion like Pocahontas showed him to earlier when the two first met, as the ship sails away into the sunset.
[edit] Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
In Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, Pocahontas goes to London as a diplomat to stop a potential attack upon her people being ordered by King James in a plot by Ratcliffe. There, she is accompanied by John Rolfe (the man she would go on to marry in real life), and slowly develops a romance with him. In the end, she is reunited with John Smith, but explains to him that they "no longer follow the same path", and parts ways with him. Successfully exposing Ratcliffe, who is then arrested by order of the King, Pocahontas and John Rolfe get on a ship going back to Virginia together, and kiss as the ship sails off into the sunset.
[edit] Fantasy and Reality
Many significant differences exist between Pocahontas and her real-life counterpart:
- Their appearances vary greatly (a center of complaints from some Native Americans).
- The age of Pocahontas in 1607 at the time of John Smith's arrival was much younger (closer to 10 or 11 according to accounts), and the age gap between the two was much larger.
- While the real Pocahontas saved John Smith's life from her father, there was no romance involved. With their ages being what they were, a romance would be irregular and unlikely.
- The real Pocahontas was not an only child; her father, Chief Powhatan, had an estimated fifty wives and an undetermined number of children.
- While she did indeed go to London in her lifetime, it was as a hostage, not as a diplomat.
- Pocahontas married John Rolfe in real life. However, this was against her will. He took an interest in her while she was a hostage, and took her as his wife (no romance involved). Her name was changed to Rebecca Rolfe (she was the first Native American to be baptized). When she did go to England, Ratcliffe had already been dead for three years, therefore making a reunion and controversy between the two impossible. Her going to England did however allow peace between the Europeans and Powhatan people for many years, which was the basic point of her going there in the film as well.
[edit] Trivia
- She is the first Disney protagonist to be based directly off of a real person, and her story based on factual events.
- She is featured in Disneyland's nighttime fireworks stage show Fantasmic!
- She is parodied in the Dexter's Laboratory episode, Way of the Dee Dee. Dressed similarly to Pocahontas, Dee Dee runs through her backyard with a sunflower background strikingly similar to the one seen in the movie and says to Dexter, "But can you see it? Can you smell it? Can you feel it? Can you sing with all the colors of the rain?", a brief spoof of Colors of the Wind.
- Figure skater Michelle Kwan once participated in the World Figure Skating Championships dressed as Pocahontas to songs from the film, and won the gold with the performance.
[edit] See also
- Pocahontas (the real person)
- Pocahontas (the film)
- Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (the direct-to-video sequel)
- Disney Princess (the popular franchise which Pocahontas is a part of)
