#grade 6 black butler nostalgia

[boyblundering]

black butler in 2024 😼😼😼👊👊👊

[mearnsblog]

“Pocahontas” (1995)

I have a bit of a funny relationship with "Pocahontas." Unlike all previous Disney movies, I definitely remember when this came out, and it was a big deal. Disney had produced hit after hit after hit, and there wasn't much to indicate that they'd be slowing down. Even after its somewhat disappointing critical reception, "Pocahontas" was still super popular. My kindergarten actually put on a mini-production of it at the end of the year*, and subsequently, the movie soundtrack my mom bought became one of the most frequently-played CDs in my room growing up.

*I played Kocoum. No, they didn't have me die in it, though in hindsight, that'd be hilarious. "Guess what, kids? Andrew's going to die in this scene!" Instead, they just had me arrest John Smith to get him into captivity or something like that. Not as interesting.

All that nostalgia aside though, one thing is evident: the story of Pocahontas should probably have not been made into a Disney film. Perusing the history of Disney canon, "Pocahontas" is pretty much the only one to be based on a real person. Given the colonists' shoddy history with Pocahontas and the Powhatan, this seems ill-advised and would likely not be attempted nowadays.

The Powhatan and Pocahontas herself suffered poor fates, and while it's nice that Disney portrayed them as having been thrown into an awful situation by the English invaders, to make a cutesy movie with all that lingering as the elephant in the room is honestly in poor taste. In one sense, it's throwing an emoji on the overall story of a tragedy, especially since we don't know if the positive climax in this situation -- Pocahontas saving John Smith -- even happened. There are so many wonderful Native American stories out there that they could've turned into a Disney film and represented their people in a much better fashion.**

**Pocahontas being the first non-white Disney princess is not nothing, and should be acknowledged. There's no doubt that Disney has struggled with representation over the years, and including someone like Pocahontas in their many branding efforts is important.

But, well, that's the '90s for you. What's done is done. So with all that being acknowledged as a caveat, is the fictional story any good?

Eh. A major weaknesses of "Pocahontas" is that it's relying too much on its leads (one of whom is voiced by human garbage Mel Gibson), and neither is that compelling. Think about the other great Disney movies of this period. They all had tremendous side characters who could not only carry some of the emotion of the movie, but also add to the story. I did like the "Looney Tunes"-esque comedy of Meeko, Percy, and Flit, but they don't measure up to the members of the household in "Beauty and the Beast" or the supporting cast of "Lion King." The same goes for the human side characters, who are at a bit of drag in comparison to, say, Sebastian and even the Sultan. They're fine, just not stand-outs.

Ratcliffe does check the boxes of an evil villain having a smashing time being a bastard, and you can tell that David Ogden Stiers (the former voice of Cogsworth) loves doing the back-and-forth dialogue between Ratcliffe and his butler all on his own. "Mine, Mine, Mine" is musically mediocre, but also pure lol. Once again, while he's not as good a villain as others of this period, he's at least on par with the similarly named (and animated) Ratigan from "Great Mouse Detective."

Despite my love of the soundtrack when I was little, I'd only grade it about a B. "Just Around the Riverbend" is a good, fast-paced hopeful ballad, and "Colors of the Wind" is a decent enough lead hit, even if the lyrics don't make much sense after the beginning. I also like its audio-only placement at the very end of the movie. Between that and the "Virginia Company" opening, the team did an excellent job of setting some stakes and going all-out with a grand finale. (So much of the movie's problem is its middle; the decision to not have Pocahontas go off to England with John was actually quite daring for the time, and I respect it.)

The rest of the songs aren't that good, and the less said about the heavy-handed "Savages," the better. The implication that the Powhatan were getting as bad as the settlers is... not great.

It's possible that the string of incredible Disney movies in a row has taken the shine off of "Pocahontas" in a way that I might not have noticed had it been thrown in the middle of a more mediocre stretch. However, I think I'm rating it correctly. Despite strong moments here and there, its entire premise is flawed, and it just leaves a lot to be desired.

Meeko forever though.

Best song: “Just Around the Riverbend”

Updated ranking

1. “Beauty and the Beast” (review) 2. “The Lion King” (review) 3. “The Little Mermaid” (review) 4. “Cinderella” (review) 5. “Sleeping Beauty” (review) 6. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (review) 7. “Aladdin” (review) 8. “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (review) 9. “The Jungle Book” (review) 10. “The Great Mouse Detective” (review) 11. “Fantasia” (review) 12. “The Rescuers Down Under” (review) 13. “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” (review) 14. “Alice in Wonderland” (review) 15. “Lady and the Tramp” (review) 16. “Pinocchio” (review) 17. “Robin Hood” (review) 18. “Oliver & Company” (review) 19. “Pocahontas” 20. “The Rescuers” (review) 21. “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” (review) 22. “Bambi” (review) 23. “The Aristocats” (review) 24. “Dumbo” (review) 25. “Peter Pan” (review) 26. “Fun and Fancy Free” (review) 27. “The Fox and the Hound” (review) 28. “The Sword in the Stone” (review) 29. “The Three Caballeros” (review) 30. “Make Mine Music” (review) 31. “The Black Cauldron” (review) 32. “Saludos Amigos” (review) 33. “Melody Time” (review)