I fully agree. Pocahontas deserves more love.
Some people clearly don’t understand the character like some of us do.

I agree with you on most aspects. I actually found it a little difficult to write about Pocahontas (hence why it came on a Friday vs a Tuesday/Thursday), especially after I wrote this earlier this year: https://rotoscopers.com/2013/04/22/opinion-pocahontas-a-disclaimer/

It was extremely difficult to give a balanced idea of who Pocahontas is, because I’m the kind of person who likes to look at both sides of the coin. And now that you mention it, it WAS because there wasn’t all that much to her. She has some great traits, sure, great music, etc but yeah, not much character.

about my opinion on Pocahontas, the film itself was a bit boring, tho it does have magical and beautiful moments in there. what I dislike was the characters. Pocahontas turned bland after meeting john smith. the villain was too weak of a Disney villain. they felt, lifeless for some reason. and I don’t really like the voice work. pocahontas’ voice seemed to have little emotions, making her pretty bland, which is one of the reason that makes her unpopular.
and the jokes aren’t even that funny.

I don’t disagree with you on the concept of “trying too hard” for Disney but this was definitely a challenging film. When dealing with a fairy tale there’s more wiggle room for “suspension of disbelief” even if there’s a moral or social message woven into the story because the fantasy element gives the audience entertainment and comfort. But “Pocahontas” was based on real events that, for the sake of an animated family film, had to be altered. It’s hard to enjoy a film when the moral comes in and sits on your chest, which other animation studios have done as well.

Disney made some drastic changes with “Hunchback of Notre Dame” as well but I suspect they got away with it more than “Pocahontas” because Victor Hugo’s novel, though a gothic horror, was completely fiction. So the changes Disney made fit into the adjusted story they were trying to tell. I hope the Rotoscopers do “Hunchback” so we can discuss a compare and contrast how to tackle a difficult story. “Prince of Egypt” was a tremendous feat but Dreamworks pulled that one off quite well, I thought, given the foundation of a story from the Bible.

I think Pocahontas was the reason people started complaining that Disney was losing its charm by being too “politically correct”. I never agreed with that sentiment.. except in the case of Pocahontas. To me, the film and character feel hollow. All these great messages, lovely colors and music but still, the characters and story lack genuineness. Pocahontas jumps off cliffs and canoes down whitewater rapids to show off her wild spirit, and yet, she feels so lifeless.

Jasmine was a pretty hard act to follow, as she set the bar pretty high for princesses, especially for princesses of color, and Pocahontas just didn’t rise to the occasion. Sorry but I was unmoved. Now Mulan on the other hand, was everything Pocahontas wasn’t. Mainly, a character who felt REAL.

Okay, Pocabashing complete. 😀

She is the least visible princess for sure, probably because her angularity sticks out from all the other princesses who have softer visuals. Even Mulan and Merida!