Pocahontas [DVD]

Product Information

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. 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.

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

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. 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. The main thing I did not like about the movie and did not mention above is the character of Grandmother Willow which is a giant willow tree with a women's face. Those scenes just made the movie weird. Pocahontas is the first Disney movie to be bases on a real life person even if the movie did interpret the events correctly. Pocahontas is an enjoyable movie to watch and gets an A+.Trotz allem handelt es sich immer noch um einen Disneyfilm. Das heißt, dass Zauber, Magie und liebevolle Charaktere natürlich auch hier wieder eine große Rolle spielen bzw. ihre Auftritte bekommen. Vor allem auf die Spiritualität der mit Mutter Erde verbundenen Indianer geht dieser Film verstärkt ein, was besonders in den Szenen verdeutlicht wird, in denen ein sprechender Baum namens Großmutter Weide auftritt. Und natürlich kommt auch der Humor nicht zu kurz, auch wenn man dazusagen sollte, dass er in diesem Film fast ausschließlich pantomimisch dargestellt wird, da dieser Teil des Films diesmal größtenteils von Tieren übernommen wird, die nicht sprechen können: Einem Hund namens Percy, einem Kolibri namens Flit und einem Waschbären namens Meeko. Ursprünglich war geplant, einen sprechenden Pfau zu Pocahontas' Freunden zu gesellen, allerdings wurden diese Pläne während der Produktion verworfen. Und so bekommt der Zuschauer hier eine reale und authentische Geschichte geboten, die alles besitzt, was einen Disneyfilm ausmacht: Liebevolle Charaktere, einen widerlichen Bösewicht, Spannung, Action, Humor, Zauber, Magie und natürlich eine ergreifende Liebesgeschichte, die hier dramatisch verläuft und mit zwei sympathischen Hauptfiguren punkten kann. 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 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. Two of the most substantial segments are deleted songs, which can be viewed with some audio commentary. "Dancing to the Wedding Drum" (1:57) offered a different introduction to Pocahontas, while "In the Middle of the River" (4 minutes) was a duet between Pocahontas and John Smith that was rejected in favor of "If I Never Knew You" which itself was ultimately discarded. Other noteworthy sequences include an alternate of the Englishmen's reprise of "The Virginia Company" following Thomas' rescue, Pocahontas learning how Englishwomen dress, John Smith escaping from captivity with some help from Pocahontas, and a transition into and reprise of "Just Around the Riverbend." The last listing in this menu holds a collection of short bits mostly involving Ratcliffe and Wiggins and mostly offering variations on existing moments in the film.

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

This is a great movie on every level. It appeals to kids, it appeals to adults and it also appeals to anyone who loves musicals with great songs. 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.le graphisme est extrêmement soigné, les couleurs sont sublimes, elles m'ont complètement ramenée dans les forêts d'érables du Québec, où j'ai eu le privilège de vivre. The last bonus feature listed on Disc 1's menu is a sneak peek for upcoming direct-to-video film Tarzan II. This preview (1:45) doesn't really belong in the bonus features section, since it has nothing to do with Pocahontas. Anyway, it promotes and attempts to legitimize this sequel. In addition to the footage from the regular sneak peek (seen elsewhere on the DVD), there are a couple of soundbites from Harrison Chad (the new voice of child Tarzan) and Phil Collins, who is shown recording music in the studio for the film.

Brother Bear (2 Movie Collection Blu-ray + DVD) • The Emperor's New Groove (New Groove Edition) • Lilo & Stitch (2-Disc Big Wave Edition)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. 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. 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. 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.

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.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.