Publisher: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Ages: five and up
Parental
Advisory:
None
On DVD, Pocahontas returns in Disney's excellent Pocahontas 10th Anniversary Edition. It's fun to have this animated classic back in a compelling two-DVD set.
Pocahontas tells the story of a free-spirited native-American woman who encounters English settlers that arrive on the shores of her village. Her chance meeting with Captain John Smith blooms into a "Romeo & Juliet" style romance that bridges the gap between the two clashing cultures.
The film includes the segment and song "If I Never Knew You," which was cut from the movie's theatrical release. While the segment is fun to view from a historical standpoint, the song is among the film's least memorable and it bogs down the movie. Of course, the song has strong competition as the film's music won 1995 Academy Awards for Best Original Musical Score and Best Original Song ("Colors Of The Wind").
The requisite "Making Of" documentary is relatively brief and offers more promotional footage than in-depth interviews and information. Among the most fascinating deleted scenes is one that shows the talking (tacky) turkey character that was wisely removed from the film. And the segment also shows that Percy the dog at one time had a voice. Rounding out the DVD are fun kid-oriented sing-along songs, set-top games and a Disney art project.
Pocahontas 10th Anniversary Edition is beautiful, involving animated film that is outstanding family fare. It deserves a place in any home DVD library.
5/6/05 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
