It so happened that I didn’t watch this cartoon when I was a kid when it was new, and I didn’t get to it until 26 years after it came out. The fact that "Avatar" was insolent from here, said everyone who is not lazy, but I did not even expect that it would be to this extent. It turns out that not only the general plot was copied, but some scenes were almost frame-by-frame. However, "Avatar" stole not only from here, but also from the story "Call Me Joe" and the cartoon "Atlantis".
In general, Pocahontas is a rather strong work, but this power is in simplicity. There is no famously twisted plot here, there is a kind of “Shakespeare according to the scheme”: the characters are presented for a long time, the plot space is prepared for them, and then you know how many plot moments happen? Two! An Indian bridegroom dies and love saves people from war. That's basically the whole story.
There are two things that I personally would take away. Song numbers and stupid animals. These are for me constant points in all such cartoons, and since childhood. I remember perfectly well that I wanted to watch big exciting beautiful stories, but they were like splinters sticking out pets, songs that were not created for me. I hated it when I was 8. I'm not the only one? Let’s be honest, it speaks directly about how the Spaniards plundered the New World, how the Europeans killed some other savages, how the Indians slaughtered some other tribe. And here in such a cartoon suddenly raccoon fighting with a dog for fun, to songs ... And Pixar is probably suckers, since no one sings in their cartoons, and all the animals are revealed plot characters, not fillers for scooping the 2+ audience. If you cut that nonsense out, we would have a perfectly normal, beautifully drawn drama with an almost adult plot. But the authors had to ruin everything.
In addition, a number of other shortcomings:
- John says he's seen hundreds of new countries. There are hundreds of countries on Earth. If he had, when would he have seen them? He's under 30.
Pocahontas jumps harmlessly into the water from a half-kilometer height.
- The language barrier was broken by “Listen with your heart.” What a decision!
Hummingbird is a bloody immortal cartoon, she's been hit 10 times so hard that nothing should have been left of her.
- Ratcliffe wants to find gold in Virginia. Why would he even think it was there? Is that how they search for him, just digging up the forest?
The only way to save John is to return to Europe. But this is a wooden ship, not a spaceship, it needs to sail for 4 months. Obviously, with a serious wound, he would not have reached the help of English doctors.
By the way, cartoons in some way based on real events. Pocahontas and John Smith existed, and she also saved him from execution. However, in reality, much was completely wrong. She was 12 years old at the time, and there was no special love there, although there is an opinion that they did spend the night. Later, Pocahontas actually visited England with her husband. She also died of illness at 22. Captain John Ratcliffe also existed, but the real one was more of an inept and bad leader than a villain, and was not looking for any gold. When he bore his own and the Indians with many mistakes, the latter executed him with particular cruelty. So he wasn't in any sequel anymore.