'Pocahontas' – 3 Part Assignment
             1. How accurate was the Walt Disney version of the story of Pocahontas?
             The extraordinary life and free spirit of a remarkable Native American heroine is celebrated through magic storytelling animation in Walt Disney Pictures' 33rd full-length animated feature, "Pocahontas." This animated feature was the first from the studio to be inspired by actual historical events and converted into a very colourful musical adventure for the whole family to enjoy .It presents the gripping tale of a courageous, kind and dynamic young Woman who "listens with her heart" to help her choose which path to follow in life.
             Disney's version of the Pocahontas story takes a romantic and entertaining view of her interaction with the English sea captain, John Smith, more so concentrating on him being her love interest, rather then a friendship as expressed in historical sources. It captures the spirit of the young Pocahontas as being very free-spirited. It conveys how the Indians had a lot of interaction with nature and spirituality. Even as to convey the value of nature and spirit in the Indians lives by using the Old Grandma Willow tree as a symbol of this.
             The settings in the film are accurate: both James Fort and Powhatan village are portrayed authentically, according to historical and archaeological knowledge. London, the Virginia wilderness, and the ship Susan Constant were also included both in the past and in the cartoon. John Ratcliffe was indeed in charge of the colony when John Smith was captured and released by Powhatan. And last but not least, John Smith wrote that he was saved from execution by Powhatan, when Pocahontas threw herself between Smith's head and her father's stone club.
             However, the rest of the movie is just fiction:
             · The physical appearance of Pocahontas and John Smith in the movie are obviously manipulated to please modern tastes of the children. They didn't l...