Coming from someone who actually does enjoy the Golden Films, I found their Pocahontas not just the weakest of the four Pocahontas animations I've seen(this, Disney's, Burbank Animation Studios' and Jetlag's), but also one of Golden Films' weakest. Though I don't say worst, Tarzan of the Apes and The Jungle King are contenders for that dishonourable title(I didn't care all that much for Anastasia either), but for the gems from Golden Films, look no further than Thumbelina, Little Mermaid, Pinocchio and Night Before Christmas. This Pocahontas is not all bad though, there are two good characters, Pocahontas who's beautiful, beyond her years and genuinely cares for those who love her and the white eagle who is very wise. The title song is memorable, and the classical music choices are again fun to spot and good for introducing children to the style. Night on Bare Mountain for my tastes was too obvious in use this time around, but there are many other times where the classical music is very effectively used, the use of The Flying Dutchman Overture with the ships coming in was very fitting.
However, the animation has been much better before and since this. The colours are rather over-saturated, the backgrounds are bright but have no sense of life to them and the character designs are both stiff and clichéd. The rest of the characters I didn't care for, the yellow bird I felt was unnecessary and sometimes annoyed me with his commentaries even in serious scenes, while the chief and John Smith are not developed enough to make us really care for them and the villain is little more than a stereotype. The writing has its thoughtful moments with the eagle, but often is corny and doesn't flow well, while the storytelling never does have much sense of conflict and Pocahontas and John Smith's relationship is never really strong enough to believe in it. The voice work is mixed, Pocahontas has her passive moments but is mostly sincere and kindly, while the eagle has a soothing, benevolent sort of voice. However, the villain is not menacing enough, almost effeminate in some places, while John Smith has moments but overall inexpressive, the yellow bird is annoying and I just didn't see the point of him and the Chief is not distinguished enough. All in all, not terrible but at the end of the day I just didn't care for it. 4/10 Bethany Cox
