Aladdin (Platinum Edition) • The Lion King (Blu-ray + DVD) • Mulan (2 Movie Collection Blu-ray + DVD) • Tarzan (Collector's Edition)

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

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 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. 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) 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 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. 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 third component of Disc 2 is Design, offering 13 sections mostly on the different characters of the film. Most of the characters are accompanied by a short featurette ported over from laserdisc and centering on comments from the supervising animator. The best of these pieces is "Creating Pocahontas" (4:20), in which the heroine's lead animator Glen Keane amuses an audience by comparing Disney's Pocahontas to a historical rendering of the real woman. He proceeds to sketch both Ariel and Pocahontas to illustrate the great differences in their design. 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. The Jungle Book (Platinum Edition) • The Fox and the Hound (25th Anniversary Edition) • Robin Hood (Most Wanted Edition)

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

The highlights of the bonus features (which offer roughly two hours of video) include a solid making-of documentary, extensive art galleries, and a worthwhile collection of deleted and alternate scenes. The new audio commentary is great and even the meager offering of extras from the prior DVD mostly resurface here by way of the two original music videos.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 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. 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.

While the film hits the right dramatic notes (at least most of the time), the comedic elements do not fare as well. These laugh-seeking segments, which are primarily carried out between Percy and Meeko to parallel the disagreement among the humans, are entertaining, but they feel out-of-place and forced. Then, on the other hand, there are moments when the film is being sincere where one can't help but laugh. There's also little depth to the villain; Governor Ratcliffe is a greedy, overweight baddie who hardly breaks the mold of caricature antagonist. The "If I Never Knew You" sequence between Smith and Pocahontas was part of the film in pre-release screenings, but the creative team decided to cut it on the basis that it was, in Schwartz's own words, "straining the attention span of younger viewers"¹ and slowing down the film near its end. The sequence itself was more or less completely animated, and was provided as a deleted scene on the deluxe laserdisc release. It even found its way to network television when Pocahontas aired on ABC's "The Wonderful World of Disney." 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.) 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).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. 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. Disney Movies featuring the Voice Cast of Pocahontas: Squanto: A Warrior's Tale • Newsies • Jungle 2 Jungle The three voices are distinct which makes it easy to distinguish who's saying what. While the commentary is very informative, it takes a welcome light-hearted tone. There are plenty of amusing anecdotes dispensed, particularly from Goldberg. There are also many astute observations about the film that viewers could easily miss, from stylistic choices to places where the filmmakers strove for authenticity to anomalies in Pocahontas compared to other Disney animation. The speakers give credit to the voice cast and animators at certain points, but it's far from a name-dropping session. Instead it's filled with insight and a strong and it's quite interesting to learn of some of the changes made to the film from test screenings (including the obvious mention of the now-undeleted song). The trio stops talking at the start of the end credits, but otherwise there are no other blank spaces in the active, nicely-paced conversation.

Theatrical Trailer #2 (2:50) employs the more common approach of montage and dramatic narration which proudly proclaims the film Disney's 33rd full-length animated motion picture. Both may transport you to that pre-release state of excitement there was ten years ago. Toy Story (10th Anniversary Edition) • A Goofy Movie (Gold Collection) • James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition) Pocahontas, the 33rd Disney animated feature by the studio's count, finally has a worthy DVD release in this top-notch 10th Anniversary Edition. Those in possession of the film's Gold Collection DVD have every reason to upgrade, for this two-disc set boasts far superior picture quality, a wealth of supplements, and a not unnecessary new cut of the film as an option. Even if most of the extras come from the nine-year-old deluxe laserdisc, they are substantive and full of insight. Last, there is a publicity gallery which houses 18 stills of poster art, notices for special exhibitions like El Capitan Theatre's Pocahontas Summer Spectacular and the New York Premiere in the Park, and the unusual Pocahontas fashion spread featured in the June 1995 issue of Harper's Bazaar. 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.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. Disc 2's menus are pretty cool as well. They again make use of instrumentals from the film (the main menu showcases a lyric-less "Just Around the Riverbend"), but their visuals are taken from classy-looking production art. Very nice. Comparing the two Pocahontas DVDs: With this new 10th Anniversary Edition, you not only get a transfer with higher resolution (since it's enhanced for 16x9 televisions), but also far more accurate colors and a tiny bit more picture. 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.