As a Native American, I found it freaking powerful as a young child to see someone on the screen who looked like me. Even if I'm mixed with white. But it was for sure amazing. But unfortunately, this movie really made my life hell. Since diversity wasn't a popular thing in Disney movies, people found it more likely to look at Native People in the present like they are legit fairy elves than actual living people because of the way it was depicted. I am not even kidding, because of the way the story of our people is told, not only in Disney but even in history classes to this day, we are treated like we just do not exist.

Here's something else you can be impressed by: The voice actress for Pocahontas wasn't just her voice actress. She also served as the model!

"I did not absorb anything from those classes." It's okay. Neither did the writers of this movie.

Original history of Pocahontas was very heartbreaking, she was kidnapped while being a young girl, (probably) forced to convert to christanity and marry John Rolfe Her original name was Matoaka She died at the age of 22 because of pneunomia (or smallpox), which she fell ill with during her stay in England where she was treated like a circus attraction (people from her village probably didn't treat her much better, her popular nickname "Pocahontas" meaned something like "annoying kid") It's sad how shallow Disney presented her history But for me this movie still has its magic, amazing music and inspiring story It was the reason I started to learning about native american history and mytology and now I want to become anthropologist ｡◕‿◕｡ And as a kid I also thought that I can climb trees the way Pocahontas did haha (Sorry for any mistakes, english is not my native language)

Kocoum was literally fine 😭 at the start he looked serious but then we see he’s actually quite nice and he cares about her.

The movie overall is just okay but it has literally one of the greatest endings in all of Disney. Alan Menken’s music elevates it so much.

As a mixed person, who is native, this movie truly was my first taste of representation. Like I saw people who looked like me. And I’ve always loved this movie. It just touched me so deeply as a kid. I could give a crap about the romance but seeing Native Americans, the colors, the music! The animation itself is what inspired me to become creative. The last 4 minutes of the film makes me cry every time. Alan Menken is a musical genius. And his ending score in addition to the scene of Pocahontas running along the tree line and the sails. It’s so beautiful.

the soundtrack is one of the best Disney ever made, it's a shame to be in a movie so historically wrong and disrespectful 😩

Pocahontas was the first female of color I saw in a lead Disney movie I loved her as a kid I didn’t understand the history until I got older and saw how problematic it is but the animation and music is top tier Disney

What's better? - A ship that will spend 2-6 months on sea, with the salty winds licking your wounds and the umidity proliferating bacteria, with low amounts of food, basically no medical supplies and a destiny that's basically a sewer Or - An arid Tipi, that's safe from the elements with plenty of healing herbs all around and hundreds of years of medical knowledge from plenty of people that have seen far worse than a bullet wound, plus a surplus of food and a beautiful place to be in general? Yep, the ship, definitely.

can we just appreciate sophia’s singing because oh my god

Wasn’t the voyage between London and Virginia like three months long back then? John Smith really had to lay there with a bullet in him that whole time. No wonder people thought he was dead in the sequel lol.

If it makes you feel better, the relationship between the 12 year old Pocahontas and the 40 year old John Smith was more like that of an uncle/niece relationship or a father/daughter. They spent a lot of time together, learning each other’s languages and she taught him and his men about the crops that thrives in the area. She also was helping them keep peace between her tribe and his group of explorers.

As a Native American I can tell you that they are indeed speaking a Native American language I also would like to point out that that in real life Pocahontas and John Smith were just friends in fact Pocahontas look at John Smith as if he were a pet after John Smith was shot and sent back to England Pocahontas was captured by the remaining English who had settled down in the New World she was imprisoned by them for 2 years until eventually she was set free also kocoum a real Native American and a lot of the Native American names that they used in this movie were real factual people also Pocahontas died when she was approximately 21 years old and she had given birth to just one son I personally love the movie Pocahontas despite all of its in accuracy I think it's still acknowledges hey we were here I also feel like one of those movies that can open up a conversation with people especially young people who don't know much about the real history behind America so yes I love Pocahontas the music I love the story and even though it's not completely accurate to what really happened I mean you don't get a lot of people criticizing Anastasia inaccuracies

I freaking hate colonialism and the fact that it still goes on, sometimes in hidden forms even today. Also just a kind reminder that a lot of European nations were under colonization of other European countries and because of that can relate to Native Americans, African nations etc, so much! What I'm trying to say is that it is not a white vs colored issue, but rather colonist vs native issue.

It just dawned on me while watching this that Disney took the real story of Pocahontas and turned it into a Romeo & Juliet plot.

They really did invest a lot of money into animating the hair in this movie, Pocahontas' hair is amazing

I looked up the actual historical events of Pocahontas. She did befriend John Smith after her father captured him. She also convinced her father not to kill him (although I don't think it was quite as dramatic as presented in this movie). She also was very influential in helping her tribe and the colonists get along (during her lifetime, anyways) Also, the romantic relationship with John Smith never happened. Her first marriage actually was to a guy named Kocoum. After he died she eventually remarried an English settler named John Rolfe. But she never had any sort of romantic/sexual relationship with John Smith. That was made up by Hollywood.

PRETEND THAT THIS WAS UPLOADED IN NOVEMBER LIKE I INTENDED IT TYTY 😘

Thanks for reacting to this movie, I get the whole historical inaccuracies but it's Disney and they have a habit of changing stories. They usually do it with fairy tales but Pocahontas was a real person. So this was more historical fiction that depicted English settlers taking over the lands of Native Americans. Plus it was funny that the creators wrote John and Pocahontas to be like Romeo and Juliet despite the massive age gap between the real people who I hope didn't engage in a romantic relationship.

I feel like not many people truly appreciate the masterpiece that is "If I Ever Knew You," the movie's end title song. It's one of my favorite Disney songs

The fact that the voice actor for Governor Ratcliffe, David Ogden Stiers, was also Cogsworth in Beauty & the Beast as well as the condemning priest in The Hunchback of Notre Dame prologue...mad respect. 👏😉

My big brother passed away when we were really young. "Colors of the Wind" was played at his funeral, and will always hold a special place in my heart.

Fun fact - Pocahontas is not her real name. Pocahontas is a nickname from her father to her that means scowling kitten

I'm not Powhatan (Wahunsenaca) so I can't confirm nor deny that the language is correct. I got a feeling they didn't care too much about getting the right tribes language for this movie though so it could even be Cherokee, I have no idea. Im a Mohawk Native with very little teachings into our ancestral language (thanks forced assimilation) But, fun fact, a lot of movies that depict ACTUAL Native Americans in movies usually just tell the actors to "Speak Native" in the script, so they speak sentences with stupid subtitles on the bottom that don't match at all. I forgot the name of the movie but I saw a movie where Native actors were calling the white cast and crew for not even knowing what they were saying. It was amazing.

I am not a fan of John Smith, but I can't stop laughing at how into it he was during Colors of the Wind.

Whenever I sing colors of the wind you can’t tell me I’m not Pocahontas hunni lol

As a history major I also never watched Pocahontas, but a I love the two songs the everyone knows, and the way that the colonizers would've had DIED ON THE SPOT, but they played like "this one guy got shot let's go back to the village" bruh do you know how long it takes for recharge a gun from that time ? They would've shot you with ten arrows by then. And don't let me started on the "love story" and the hate is bad let's be friends thing aaaaaa

I think the only historically accurate thing in this film was the fact that the dog was treated so well since Pugs used to be considered royal dogs 😅.

Pocahontas is always conflicting for me because it’s so aggressively colonial but also the only native rep we have that isn’t…uh, well you’ve seen the scene in Peter Pan I’m sure. I do really appreciate you pointing out the issues because Disney usually gets a pass on this sort of thing, which historically hasn’t been great.

Pocahontas was one of my first Disney films that I saw in theaters. I couldn't pronounce it because I was two so I called her hontas. I even had a pocahontas themed birthday party when I was two. I even had the cassette tape of the soundtrack to play in my Walkman. As an adult I know now how historically inaccurate it is but the music is still amazing. While it was one of first Disney films growing up I definitely loved the Little Mermaid and Hunchback more as a kid. I was in and out of the hospital a lot as a kid and my parents always gave me an Ariel toy each time I saw a doctor or went to the hospital so the little mermaid has a special place in my heart. And I related to Quasimodo because I was constantly bullied from a young age because of my vision and disability. Anyway I love your commentaries and singing and you always look gorgeous in your videos. I hope you are doing well and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

i mean at least disney had the decency to have her voiced by an actual indigenous woman

I think Pocahontas is probably the most beautiful princess in the entire franchise. And she's basically the only one who didn't have a "happy ending" which is really cool. And btw, you have an amazing voice!

In my opinion, Thomas is the REAL hero of this movie! Yeah, he gets saved by John Smith once, and he goofs a bit during the first big fight with the natives, but he saved John Smith from Kocoum, goes back for help when John Smith is captured, he was the first to stand up to Ratcliffe, and leads the others against Ratcliffe when John Smith gets shot. Plus, he was voiced by the Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale!

6:13 I know this has been said before on this channel, but petition for Sophia Phan to sing in a Disney movie! 👏🎶

I was literally harmonizing with you for Colors of the Wind. That song is one of the saving graces of this movie

"Wasn't England back than like dreary and gray? There was like sewage everywhere?" - Sophia, 2022

As far as princes go I like

One thing that bothers me is after kocoum dies, poca is like "I won't get to see John again-" like girl our boy just died and u makin out with Johnny boy? that always bothered me. I wish she was immediately like we gotta stop this war, cuz its killin folks. idk this whole movie is a trip the more I see it lmao 🤣 rest in power kocoum

I have to say Disney was really gross with this movie once you see the real Pochahantas and John Smith and here’s one detail: She was a minor and he was an adult and she died from the Disease he brought to her homeland

“Just around the river bend” and “colors of the wind” are S-tier Disney songs 🥰

I used to watch this movie alllllll the time when I was a kid (I had it on vhs too lol.) I thought Pocahontas was one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen! I loved her hair and voice, and I wanted a blue necklace just like her mother's- it was so pretty. It's really disgusting how they rewrote John into being a better person :// And changing Pocahontas's age too :(( I had no idea when I was watching this back then- it's sad how much Disney turns tragedies into redemption stories for horrible white people

Colors of the wind is without a doubt, the best Disney song ever, I used to listen to it nonstop and sing it sooooo much and still do

I think savage and hellfire are the last time disney had actually BALLS to say things. Savage pictures exactly how both nation see each others as unhuman in the same way ( which mean they are actually the same ... simply humans lost in either hatred or greed ). Disney made such a good parallel between them with that song. People are often afraid of what they don't understand or don't know. But when you confront your fear and actually talk with those you used to be defiant about , you discover so much more. Culture. Language. Behavior. It's so nice. These days i really feel like people have forgotten that talk / peace was an option before war and bloodshed.

Now that you mentioned Hercules I would LOVE if you did a commentary about it!! the sound track is so good it was one of my favorite Disney movies growing up, I didn't realize it did poorly since I loved it so much haha

I personally loved watching this movie as a kid, and still do today. I always found the music, animation and voice cast really influential. Yes, I'm aware of the historical inaccuracies and I respect anyone who's not a fan of this film. I loved how Pocahontas was sweet, gentle, but at the same time, stood her ground and manage to convince others otherwise. John Smith is a bit of a block head, but I still liked that he changed his opinion after seeing the bigger picture. Also, I would pick this film over every live action movie. Fun Fact: Russell Means, the man who voiced Pocahontas' father, was very supportive of the movie.

I think the problem with this movie is how they want to make it a romance when the subject itself is soo wrong lol it’s not really John smith that is the red flag as much as the whole trying to make a Romeo x Juliet plot line for colonizers and the native Americans they oppressed 🙄

The conflict between Pocahontas, John & Kocoum reminds me of Romeo & Juliet with Kocoum being Tybalt and the war between the worlds being resolved with the inspiration of Pocahontas & John's bond

OMG! Your singing voice! Thanks for sharing it. The real Pocahontas was either 12 or 13 when the events depicted in the movie took place. Many stories before the Disney movie, positioned this relationship as a romance. It's doubtful that it actually was. Pocahontas was married to John Rolfe when she died in England.

I'm Native American, so I always loved this movie growing up (as well as Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Brother Bear)! They have major flaws for sure, but I still got to see myself represented and was amazed! I even remember having a huge crush on the Disney John Smith, haha.. I guess I think of it as him learning from Pocahontas, I mean he did become a better person by his time with her, cause he was pretty trash before that! 🤣

The easiest way to fix this movie is to NOT make it historically accurate. My favorite prince is Eric because he very much let's Ariel wear the pants (see second movie) and I'm game for a supportive husband. Flynn Rider is great, too. John Smith was ruined for me when I learned more about history as well as Mel Gibson as a person. However, you never realize how high Pocahontas's songs get until you get to the end. Girl, I STRUGGLE with Just Around the River Bend.

In John Smiths defense when he and Pocahontas met…… He saw her as a threat cause she was tailing him in the middle of the forest. If I was alone in the woods and felt followed id get my gun out too

While I agree with you about Kokuom, if they wanted a better love interest for Pocahontas that was a settler, maybe Thomas (if he isn’t married). Bear with me here. Their storylines could intertwine. Thomas would realize he would not be a man by killing a bunch of people and Pocahontas can have the same scenes she did with John Smith but with someone with less flags. Thomas was fighting with his conscience the entire film. I am not saying I ship the two, but I can picture it. Honestly, i wanted Pocahontas’s friend with Kokium. She appreciated and trusted him.

I love the soundtrack.. everytime I sing colours of the wind .. I am a 🌟

YOUR VOICE SOUNDED SO PERFECT FOR THAT SONG TvT

All historical inaccuracies aside, I love this movie!

I love your movie commentaries! Especially those of nostalgic childhood movies! And your makeup looks amazing, like always *___*

Honestly when I was little seeing Pocahontas, I was really happy to see people like me! But the story just isn’t true and it does upset me that Disney took this from the true horrible story and ran with it. Not even referring to her real name, Matoaka, they easily could’ve made a movie about a young girl. Idk maybe if they remade it and made it accurate. Also they first brought diseases over when they first met the Taino in the Caribbean then when they came over to try and take over my nation which was once apart of a great empire that traded with many other tribes and nations. Also don’t even know why she chose Smith over Kocoum he’s fuckin hot 😮‍💨😭

Knowing how Disney works nowadays I can totally see them attempt a live action remake, only they make a big deal about staying more true to the original, historical source material. Then when the movie comes out it'll still end up as a trainwreck composed of different concepts from both history and the original animated movie, none of it executed very well, and it ends up pleasing no one.

Every time the colonists sing in Savages I cringe but whenever the Native Americans are singing I'm just nodding along like "they're right and they should say it."

"POCAHONTAS WAS 12" - Snow White was 14 and the Little Mermaid was 16. Back in ye olden times, age of consent wasn't really a "thing".

I'm looking to see who else mentioned Judy Kuhn's vocals. We love a Broadway legend!

k but the fact that when I was younger, I had a huge crush on John smith💀 Like, of all the disney princes??

acknowledging matoaka in the first 40 seconds :) thats how ya do it. i didnt have a lot of native rep growing up so i felt really bittersweet about this movie after learning her story. theres so many good songs

A movie that I’d LOVE for you to watch is, “Thumbelina” it’s such a fun and entertaining yet bizarre love story and the soundtrack is just MWAH ✨💕

I used to watch this movie every time I got sick in middle school and high school (which was a lot, yay for chronic illness), and I only just now realized Pocahontas “learned” English by the grandma spirit telling her to listen with her heart

Random fact As a little kid during the song I herd cabbages instead of savages

You have such a gorgeous voice!! Loved your singing at 5:10

I do agree that the historic issues with this movie should be addressed, & how it doesn't portray Native American culture well, and Pocahontas is over-sexualized. However. To claim that makes it a terrible movie isn't true. Because the point of Pocahontas is to teach children to: A) Not be racist, because B) It leads to violence and needless suffering, and C) Appreciate people who are different from you, and D) Nature is wonderful & we're all responsible for taking care of it. Is it perfect? No. But this movie leads me to write stories which are more diverse, explore cultures and people vastly different from me, and taught me that violence is not the answer. And the songs are so singable. For some reason my brain wants to compare this to Zootopia (probably because that also deals with the issues of racism) and while I also like that movie, I think the racism was too obvious and on the nose. But maybe that's because I'm older and the message is too obvious for me? The issue of racism in Pocahontas is both obvious and a main point in the story, yet for me it's also a natural element in the story it was trying to tell.

Interesting Fact: First Lady Edith Wilson (nee Bolling) was President Woodrow Wilson's wife. She was also a direct descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. The generational impact of Pocahontas is amazing, even from her unfortunately short life.

Fun fact: The Virginia guy with the black hair is voiced by the same actor who voiced Fergus in "Brave"-Billy Connelly

At the same time as the Virginia Company is building a settlement in the Powhatan area, the Spanish have already claimed much of the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Central America, and what is today Southwestern USA, California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. and New Mexico. Hope you learned something from this comment.

This movie seems more like a fanfiction inspired (idk if I can call it based) by the real story of Pocahontas

not me clapping after every song she sings along to like she was giving me a personal concert lol. You have such a beautiful voice! And I can tell how much you care about these songs when you sing them!

So Pocahontas falls for a guy whose implied to have killed several of her own people and almost gets shot by him? Being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble. -Mufasa

I used to absolutely love this movie and thought it was gorgeous as a kid. Now that I'm older, I can see how problematic it is. But at the same time, even though it's not a very accurate movie and poorly represents the culture it was portraying, it has an important message. Hatred because of someone's skin color will only lead to bloodshed. It's a never-ending cycle and I think that message in general is really important, especially today. Edit: Also respecting the land we live on. I think that's a very relevant thing today too.

you would be PERFECT to voice and do the singing of a disney princess!!! you sing so beautifully and your voice is so cheerful.

8:29 OMG that is a childhood MEMORY

I was 5 when this movie came out and even then I was like, "How would she know English?!" I think it was the first movie that made me realize not all movies are great lol

the singing is immaculate

I always love your reactions, this was no different. I'm white, but I grew up in a reserve town in northern Canada. While a lot of my friends saw some issues with Pocahontas as well as Brother Bear for the majority of them Pocahontas was their favourite Disney lead. Similar to how so many of my ginger friends have Ariel as their favourite Disney Princess because they could see the physical similarities and it brought them joy. A lot of my friends make memes with pics from Pocahontas and really love that it existed even though it sucked in historical accuracy form and gave a stronger mythic element to real people. It still meant a lot to almost all of them and it was the most requested rewatch at slumber parties (we even had Pocahontas look alike contests together, which I failed miserably at 🤣 one girl always won as she legitimately looks like a live action version of the animated Pocahontas). Different Indigenous Nations absolutely deserve larger than life movies made by people in the nations. Stories they genuinely want to tell. But stories like this one and Brother Bear were important in opening certain doors and starting conversations. As a kiddo my dad got me the animated hero classics that had the more accurate story with her real name. It was very sad, but I knew it. He also bought me real and imagined biographies on her, other young people of different cultures, races, etc. I cannot recommend enough having that kind of story access available for kids who want to immerse themselves further into the stories if anyone has kids who love stories. 💙 It definitely opens up the empathy channels to constantly step into the perspective of people with different lives, economic, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality.

ok I am SO glad you mentioned that your VHS had if I never knew you because mine did as well so that's how I know about and remember it (it's still my favorite song because Allen Menken is ABSOLUTELY INSANE.) and before I even got to the part when you mention it, I listened to it AND watched the scene and was so confused because apparently the dvds don't have it.... must be a vhs thing I guess. also I ADORE your voice!!! girl you should do more musicals so we can hear you sing because you ARE a Disney princess!!!!! UPDATE: Human Again is my FAVORITE I'm so mad it isn't in the original version !!!!

I grew up with a big willow tree on my grandparents farm. Naturally, you have to play Pocahontas when you have that! I called it Grandmother Willow too

For the longest time, I had a crush on John Smith and when I found out later the voice actor was Mel Gibson I was like 🤮

I love your videos and your makeup it gives me cherry blossom vibes Your singing reminds me of Disney Princess it's angelic

STOPP I LOVE YOUR SINGALONGS TO NO ENDDDD 😭💕

the fact Disney took the tragic story of a child who got taken from her home and abused over her life until dying at the mere age of 20 and said "Lets romanticize it" is disgusting.

Sophia acting like we don't come here for the singalongs. You seriously have a great voice, plus your humor always has me 💀💀.

“was is Hercules or Pocahontas that ended the renaissance era?” it was Tarzan

GIRL...your voice is so pretty

Fun fact: Christian Bale is Thomas, the guy who fell overboard

Your singing voice is amazing girl!

Wow under 100 views gang. I have a very complicated relationship with this movie because I grew up with it and have a lot of nostalgia for it, but it's riddled with issues and historical inaccuracies. But it's as one of my favorite KZfaq channels, CinemaTherapy, always says: watch with your brain turned on. 💖

Sophia your voice is so beautiful! I'm cryingg

the extreme aggressiveness in your reaction blows my mind

When I was 3 I was obssesed with this movie but when I heard about the real story ... :I

This whole movie is just that one clip of Schmidt from New Girl going, "A white man? No!" 😂

She said I CAN SING 🎤 YAAAAAS GIRL THOSE VOCALS 😍✨🌟⭐️💫

YOUR SINGING IS SO BEAUTIFULLL!!!!!

17:57 magical grandma tree ability lmfao 😂😂😂😂