Pocahontas [DVD]

Product Information

Carried over from the Gold Collection DVD is the pop music video of "Colors of the Wind" (4:10) performed by Vanessa Williams. Close-ups and long location shots of Ms. Williams are edited together with a hearty amount of animation from the film. It's one of the nicer Disney pop renditions, and the video is an obvious but good inclusion. Close watchers will notice two oddities: the audio appears to be out-of-sync at a few points of the video and the credits in the bottom corner stay on for way longer than they should (half-a-minute at both the beginning and the end). It's the exact same way on the old DVD too.

Pocahontas: 10th Anniversary Edition DVD Review - DVDizzy Pocahontas: 10th Anniversary Edition DVD Review - DVDizzy

Songs: "The Virginia Company", "Steady as the Beating Drum", "Just Around the Riverbend", "Listen to Your Heart", "Mine, Mine, Mine", "Colors of the Wind", "Savages", "If I Never Knew You" The first bonus feature worth mentioning on the first disc is the one that will probably be viewed as much as any other. That is because it is the extended "10th Anniversary" cut of the film, which plays by default.The final part of the section is a Production Progression, also introduced by director Eric Goldberg. You can view a 37-second scene from the film (Pocahontas's big dive) in any of four stages of production (Storyreel, Rough Animation, Clean Animation, and Final Color). With the 'Angle' button, you can toggle between the different stages. This concept is not going to be unique to anyone who has a Disney animation DVD collection, but it would probably have been more effective with a longer clip. Then, the Virginia Company arrives. Pocahontas's desire for the new and uncertain seems a perfect match for John Smith and his longing to fit in somewhere. After initial confusion and fear, Pocahontas and Smith bond while sharing information about their very different ways of life. From conversations on culture comes the revelation of prejudices, but even stronger a friendship and a still greater connection. Pocahontas and Smith are in love, but they must meet in secret, both certain that the people around them won't understand. After all, the Englishmen and Indians are busy thinking of hostile ways to deal with each other. Pocahontas appeared to be the next great big Disney movie. Trailers for the film showcased a stunning, evocative musical number called "Colors of the Wind" and anyone with a Lion King videocassette was likely to be hooked.

Pocahontas (Disney Gold Classic Collection) [DVD] Pocahontas (Disney Gold Classic Collection) [DVD]

Rounding out this section is "The Making of 'If I Never Knew You'" (4:33), which is one of the only features newly created for this DVD (or rather DVD at large, since it has been available for some time outside of the US). In this piece, a number of the filmmakers second-guess their decision to omit the song in response to it being too much for audiences to take. Returning are Roy Disney, composer Alan Menken, directors Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg, and John Smith animator John Pomeroy. They uniformly offer praise for the song and excitement at its return, and there's some discussion of Mel Gibson's singing alongside Judy Kuhn. This fairly short piece doesn't really need to be any longer; it provides a history and both this and the returning song at its center are most welcome inclusions. Maybe the makers of Pocahontas were content to please moviegoers and those who enjoy Disney animation with their highly fictionalized account. Skeptics and historians may be unable to appreciate the film then and label it a misfire, but those who do not approach it as a history lesson can. Though not as universally satisfying as The Lion King or Aladdin (and the chronological comparisons won't cease anytime soon), Pocahontas is an artistic success, if not a faithful historical one. Next, director Eric Goldberg introduces a Storyboard-to-Film Comparison (1:00) of Pocahontas and John Smith's first meeting. The split-screen enables you to compare Glen Keane's storyboards with the scene as it appears in the final cut of the film.Thankfully, the original theatrical cut of the film is also here as an option, a wise decision enabled by seamless branching. If you'd like to view the theatrical cut, you may choose to do so by selecting the appropriate listing from the "Film & Audio Options" menu. The first feature on Disc 2 is one of many the disc ports over from Pocahontas' deluxe laserdisc release from last decade. It is, however, quite possible to enjoy the film as a fictionalized period romance/drama and there's plenty of appreciate on this level. Pocahontas is technically sound when considering the different elements of the production. With the exception of the award-winning "Colors of the Wind", the musical numbers of Pocahontas haven't really entered the pantheon of Disney's most memorable tunes, but the songs are almost universally rousing. "Just Around the Riverbend", Pocahontas's pace-changing "I want" solo early on, is a particular highlight and if you haven't seen the film many times or recently, you might pleasantly surprised by how well the songs written by Stephen Schwartz and composed by Alan Menken hold up. Furthermore, Menken's Oscar-winning score is solid and evocative. ( Pocahontas won the same two Oscars as The Lion King: Best Song and Best Score.) Next is the original "If I Never Knew You" music video (4:10) performed by Jon Secada and Shanice. Standing atop New York highrises in the night, the duo sings to each other, while animation from Pocahontas inexplicably covers buildings around the city. It would have been a crime not to include this video which presents the end credits version (a.k.a. until now, the only version) of this catchy love ballad in a distinctly mid-'90s fashion.

Next, a multi-language clip reel (3:33) presents "Colors of the Wind" in over a dozen different tongues. Each language change is noted by a caption which also credits the foreign market singing voice of Pocahontas. Among others, the song is heard in German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Mandarin, Japanese, Portugese, Icelandic, French Canadian and Polish. Oh yes, and English too.To discuss the visual intentions of the film, the supervising animators of several lead characters contribute some comments, including Glen Keane (Pocahontas), John Pomeroy (John Smith), David Pruiksma (Flit), and Ruben Aquino (Powahatan). Touching upon the film's music are lyricist Stephen Schwartz, composer Alan Menken, and end credits performer Jon Secada. There's even a few snippets from earlier Disney animated classics which puts the film in some kind of context. The 10th Anniversary version restores the musical sequence "If I Never Knew You", a touching duet sung by John Smith and Pocahontas the night before Smith is to be executed. It also adds a reprise of the song near the end of the film, where Pocahontas and Smith exchange two lines. When Pocahontas was released to theaters in June of 1995, "If I Never Knew You" was present only as a pop version end credits tune performed by Jon Secada and Shanice. The melody of the song, however, turns up throughout the Oscar-winning score by Alan Menken as a recurring instrumental theme for the film. The last section The Release provides something that for some reason has mostly vanished from Disney DVDs in the past couple of years: trailers for the feature presentation. There are actually not one but two theatrical trailers offered here! Taking a cue from The Lion King (which smashed records using the powerful "Circle of Life" opening as its trailer), Pocahontas' first preview (3:30) showcased the "Colors of Wind" sequence in more or less its entirety. Brother Bear (2 Movie Collection Blu-ray + DVD) • The Emperor's New Groove (New Groove Edition) • Lilo & Stitch (2-Disc Big Wave Edition) Aladdin (Platinum Edition) • The Lion King (Blu-ray + DVD) • Mulan (2 Movie Collection Blu-ray + DVD) • Tarzan (Collector's Edition)

In addition, there are animation tests included for a number of characters, each featuring rough pencil animation and running 15 to 30 seconds long. Tests are provided for Ratcliffe, Grandmother Willow, Meeko, Flit, Thomas, Kekata, and mostly interestingly Redfeather, a talking turkey character deleted from the film (or who somewhat morphed into Meeko). Starting off the Music section, appropriately enough, is the 7-minute featurette "The Music of Pocahontas." This straightforward piece lends insight on the film's songs. Reflections come from producer James Pentecost and the composer/lyricist (lines blurred) team of Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Footage of Menken and Schwartz collaborating together and Judy Kuhn recording Pocahontas's songs in the studio rounds out this satisfying, self-contained featurette. Voice Cast: Irene Bedard (Pocahontas), Mel Gibson (John Smith), David Ogden Stiers (Governor Ratcliffe, Wiggins), John Kassir (Meeko), Russell Means (Powhatan), Christian Bale (Thomas), Linda Hunt (Grandmother Willow), Danny Mann (Percy), Billy Connolly (Ben), Joe Baker (Lon), Frank Welker (Flit), Michelle St. John (Nakoma), James Apaumut Fall (Kocoum), Gordon Tootoosis (Kekata) As far as set-top games go, "Follow Your Heart", the one included here, is incredibly simple. The narrator (Grandmother Willow) asks a question and you select from the bank of nine pictures the appropriate character or object. The premise is simple, but the character profiles that follow each correct answer are kind of neat, though one wishes they didn't make use of grainy video that looks like the old DVD.The Jungle Book (Platinum Edition) • The Fox and the Hound (25th Anniversary Edition) • Robin Hood (Most Wanted Edition) The second menu selection, Production, opens with an Early Presentation Reel (3:45). As (now bald) producer James Pentecost explains in a new introduction, this 1992 reel makes use of concept art and an early demo version of "Colors of the Wind" to preview the film for those within the company. You can also view the reel with audio commentary that focuses on "Colors of the Wind." Note the intended Fall 1994 release date.