An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) - Jimmy Stewart, Thanks for the Memories

Jimmy Stewart Concludes his Own American Tail Out West with Fievel and Friends

Jimmy Stewart starred in an awful lot of Westerns, but almost all were serious studies of the human condition such as "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" or "The Shootist" (all right, "The Cheyenne Social Club" and "Destry Rides Again" did have their lighter moments). In Amblin Entertainment's "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)," Jimmy Stewart finally, in his last film, gets to act in a straight Western comedy. It may only have been a voice role in this animated feature directed by Simon Wells and Phil Nibbelink, but it was a great project for a great man to go out on.

Fievel owns this town now!

As viewers of "An American Tail" will recall, the Mouskewitz family left Russia to escape the fearsome Cossack cats. Unfortunately, life in The Bronx is not that much better as, unlike what the Mousekewitz family had heard in the Old Country, there are indeed predatory cats in the New World. The family members start imagining what it would be like to live different lives elsewhere in the States, with Fievel thinking about famous Western Sheriff Wylie Burp, while sister Tanya thinks about becoming a singer in a dance hall. Fievel's friend Tiger - the "good" cat that saved him in the first film - loses his girlfriend, Miss Kitty, because she thinks life will be better out West.

Fievel knows how to clear the streets

A nearby cat, Cat R. Waul, is on the prowl to round up all the local mice. He organizes a large-scale cat attack that drives the mice into the sewers. Having discouraged the mice, Waul then convinces them to board a train heading out West in hopes of a better life, but the train is a sham designed to trap the mice. Fievel, though, overhears the cats talking and figures out the plot. He is discovered and thrown off the train in the middle of the desert by Waul's minion T.R. Chula.

Fievel dancing

The remainder of the  Mousekewitz family settles in Green River, hoping that Fievel will find them again as he did when he got lost during "An American Tail." Chula, as part of the plot to kill all the mice, cuts off the town's water supply. When everyone panics, Waul approaches the mice and offers them a new life in a town where mice and cats will live in harmony.

Some of the Cat R. Waul scenes are very weird

Fievel, meanwhile, is lost in the desert along with Tiger, who has come out West as well. Tiger is captured by Native Americans, while Fievel is picked up by a hawk and dropped on the same village where Tiger is being held. Reunited, the two friends catch up, but Tiger stays with the natives, as they view him as a god because he resembles a rock formation. Fievel, though, heads out and finally makes it to Green River, determined to expose Waul for the evil fraudster that he is. The mice, though, won't listen to Fievel, who learns more of Waul's plan and confronts Waul. Fievel only escapes with his life because Tanya distracts Waul with her beautiful singing.

Fievel playing with his guns again

Waul sends Tanya to sing with Miss Kitty, and Tanya becomes a popular local singer. Fievel is chased by Chula but escapes, and then meets an old hound who turns out to be the famous Wylie Burp. Burp agrees to help the mice and trains Tiger to help him out. Tiger, Wylie and Fievel then return to Green River to settle things with Waul and the other cats, who have set a giant trap for all the mice. Fievel and friends successfully warn off the mice, but Chula takes Miss Kitty hostage. Tiger, upset at seeing his love threatened, and unleashes his "inner dog" and turns on the cats with a vengeance.

Fievel is a bit too exuberant

It is easy to read metaphors into practically every plot twist in "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West" and its predecessor, "An American Tail." You have the poor, put-upon immigrants  like the Mousekewitz family who stupidly grin (as in the picture directly above) and laugh and play music and do all the funny stereotypes of the poor but noble immigrant. Then, there are the evil inhabitants just looking to take advantage of the naive and trusting newcomers and get rid of them if possible. Of course, there also are a few "good" members of the enemy camp just to prove that there is nothing inherent about this malady of evil, it is purely a choice of the evil to be evil. It is comedy as parable, and don't think they didn't diagram this out to the nth degree in the script conferences. Clearly, this sort of divisive "us against them" strikes a chord with many moviegoers whose own ancestors were poor immigrants just looking for a fresh start in the New World. The fresh-faced mice are the steerage passages herded across the Atlantic like cattle, the cats are "the oppressors" however you choose to define that. The beauty of the animation is that each viewer can provide their own answers as to whom each side represents: perhaps the mice are Jews and cats are Protestants; or the mice are women and the cats are men; or the mice are just poor schnooks at the mercy of the rich who just happened to immigrate here before them. It is all nicely divisive and a pure moneymaker for people who don't even realize which of their buttons are being pushed. The references are so blatant that they either will make "An American Tale: Fievel Goes West" seem epic to each viewer, in accord with how they "know it really happened, or increasingly tiresome for the sceptical who see shades of grey instead of stark black and whites. The holier-than-thou posturing of the poor, terrorized mice and the "good German cat" who sides with the downtrodden against his own choosing-to-be-wicked kind will either make you cheer (for what?) or vomit with disgust at the dehumanization of people only doing what they were being told by what millenia of human struggle had boiled down to what is known as "society."

There is a lot that is creepy about the Cat R. Waul character

Don Bluth, who directed "An American Tail," is not around for this instalment, as he was busy working on his own projects in his studio in Ireland. The reason given was "creative differences." Thus, this film has a much different style than the first film, and in terms of animation, not as good. James Horner returns to do the score for "An American Tale: Fievel Goes West," and there are some interesting song choices, such as The Blues Brothers singing "Rawhide." Linda Ronstadt even sings a song. The soundtrack borrows from all sorts of classic westerns, giving "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West" a comfortable feeling for those who like films like "The Magnificent Seven." The song "Dream to Dream" has the feel of a patriotic standard, as if you should stand and put your hand over your heart every time it comes on, which either will inspire you or make you want to retch.

Cat R. Waul is a Messianic figure

"An American Tale: Fievel Goes West" has the disease of most sequels, and that a lack of originality. Once again, Fievel gets separated from his family who continue on without him, and once again he reunites with them without all that much trouble. The "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West" plot is reminiscent of practically every Western ever made, with the ranchers fighting off the cowpokes aided by the almost-but-not-quite-yet-over-the-hill-sheriff making things right. The one indisputable bright spot in "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West" is the addition of Jimmy Stewart, because once you hear that distinctive voice, you suddenly know that something interesting lies ahead. Stewart does not disappoing, but overall "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West" is a bit too by-the-book to be a classic of its own like "An American Tail" became.

Cat R. Waul is very ingratiating

"An American Tail: Fievel Goes West" is part of a cottage industry by Steven Spielberg's outfit.The television series "Fievel's American Tails" followed, as well as the direct-to-video sequels "An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island" and "An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster." Various video games were created out of the "An American Tail" series that have long since disappeared. This particular tale is oddly complicated in its sinuous tale of entrapment of the defenseless mice. That it makes no sense is beside the point, the mice are cute, and the cats are perfidious, go with that and you will love all the episodes of "An American Tail."

This is reminiscent of the end of other Westerns

Clearly, many people like these "An American Tail" characters and the situations in which they find themselves. Fievel and his "An American Tail" family represent the underdog, and everyone wants to think themselves an underdog, or worthy of that mantle because they are descended from underdogs even if now they are billionaires. The characters are voiced by the same amiable voice actors as in the first film, with some additions of low-key but popular actors who are very familiar to audiences: Phillip Glasser is Fievel, Dom DeLuise is Tiger, Cathy Cavadini is Tanya, Amy Irving is Miss Kitty, Nehemiah Persoff is Papa Mousekewitz, Erica Yohn is Mama Mousekewitz, and John Cleese and Jon Lovitz join as Cat R. Waul and Chula, respectively.

Jimmy Stewart gives it up

Fans of Jimmy Stewart will delight in his final bow in "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West." It is a fun animated Western with wit and style. The first film, though, did it all better, so that one is required viewing and "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West" is best left for a night when nothing else is handy and you just want to spend a little time with some old friends doing nothing special.

“Just remember, Fievel one man’s sunset is another man’s dawn. I don’t know what’s out there beyond those hills. But if you ride yonder… head up, eyes steady, heart open… I think one day you’ll find that you’re the hero you’ve been looking for." -Wiley Burp

Below is the trailer for "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West," and below that "Rawhide" as featured in the film.

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Thumbelina (1994) - This Animated Movie Soars through Paris

"Thumbelina" Courtesy of Don Bluth via Broadway

Don Bluth's "Thumbelina" (1994), from his studio Don Bluth Entertainment, is a terrific treat for children. The "Thumbelina" animation is top-notch, matching anything from Disney at the time, but the real draw is the score by Barry Manilow, who also sings over the end credits. Remaining fairly true to the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, "Thumbelina" is a wonderful treat full of dazzling colors, expressive characters who move in very life-like fashion, and a romantic lead who should captivate most children. "Thumbelina" is not an animated film for adults, like so many later Disney/Pixar efforts, which gives it a charming focus that make many adults keep it as a treasured childhood memory and which, no doubt, understandably clouds their present-day judgment about "Thumbelina." Whether you like it or not, though, will depend on how you feel about all the modern showbiz elements, which for some will elevate this to classic status, while others might get turned off in a hurry at this exercise in showbiz introspection.

The way the petals unfold is magical

Thumbelina is the child of a lonely woman in medieval Paris who only wanted a child to love. A good and sympathetic witch gave her a barley corn to plant, revealing Thumbelina in its petals (it sure looks like a rose, though). There is only one catch: Thumbelina arrives no bigger than a person's thumb. Thumbelina grows up - well, she arrives fully grown, so there's really no growing to be done - to be a lovely girls with flowing red/blonde hair on her mother's farm, and wants a man of her own, but there is nobody around her size. Or is there? Her mother comforts her with stories of tiny fairies who treasure girls like Thumbelina.

Hi, mama!

Thumbelina goes to bed and dreams of having someone to love, singing and dancing to show her feelings. Prince Cornelius of the Fairies notices her as he is flying by and pops in to visit. They spend the evening together, flying about on Cornelius' bumblebee, and both fall in love. At night's end, Cornelius returns Thumbelina to her bedroom and promises to return after clearing things with his parents.

Cornelius and his steed

Unfortunately, thuggish Grundel the Toad also notices Thumbelina that night and falls for her, telling his mother, Mrs. Toad, of his feelings. She kidnaps Thumbelina despite the best efforts of Thumbelina's dog, Hero. Cornelius returns, looking for his love, but Hero lets him know what happened. Mrs. Toad, meanwhile, who is a Spanish performer reminiscent of Carmen Miranda or, well, Charo (Charo actually voices the character), has taken Thumbellina to her lily pad and intends to have Thumbelina join the family singing group, "Singers de Espana," after Thumbelina, of course, marries her son.

I just want to sing and dance!

Thumbelina, naturally, is not too happy with this generous plan (although she joins in a nice Spanish song and dance with the Toads and does quite a nice job of it), and, after Mrs. Toad leaves, Thumbelina cries out for help. Jacquimo, a swallow (sort of a Maurice Chevalier type) who also serves as the story's narrator, hears Thumbelina and rescues her, telling Thumbelina to follow her heart home. Cornelius, meanwhile, asks his parents to delay the imminent winter frost to help his search, but they can only do that temporarily. Cornelius and Grundel then both set out separately to find Thumbelina.

They put him next to "sleazy" in the Dictionary

Thumbelina is captured on her way home by Berkeley Beetle (sort of a crazed Jiminy Cricket), who also loves Thumbelina and makes her perform at the Beetle Ball. Unfortunately, she does not fit in with the beetles and is kicked out for being "too ugly." This discourages her, but Jacquimo tells her that all she needs is Cornelius' love. Jacquimo, meanwhile, is injured by a fox who he asks for help, but Grundel has better luck, getting advice from Beetle to use Cornelius to help him track Thumbelina down. Grundel, though, has a better idea and simply strong-arms Beetle himself to help find Thumbelina.

Is that a cane you're holding, or are you just glad to see me?

It starts to snow, and Jacquimo falls into a honey pot after asking a bear for help, making him unable to fly. Cornelius also has trouble with the frost, falling from his bumble bee into a pond, where he is frozen solid. Beetle finds Cornelius in the ice and takes him to Grundel. Thumbelina has to find shelter from the storm in a shoe, where she is welcomed by Miss Fieldmouse, who tells her incorrectly that Cornelius died in the ice, but that she has a nice suitor in mind. Heartbroken, Thumbelina agrees to go and sing for Mr. Mole, who immediately falls in love with her and seeks her hand in marriage.

Mrs. Toad actually is kind of cool ¡ Ay Caramba!

Thumbelina finds Jacquimo and tells him she might as well marry Mr. Mole, even though Thumbelina does not love him, because she is alone in a hostile world. Jacquimo flies off to see what he can do, and a marriage ceremony is set up for Mr. Mole and Thumbelina. Both Cornelius, thawed by three young jitterbugs befriended earlier by Thumbelina, and Grundel show up, and there is a mad chase through the underground mole tunnels.

Like Snow White, Thumbelina is friends with all the little creatures like these jitterbugs

Thumbelina finds her way to the surface, where Jacquimo finds her and flies Thumbelina to the Vale of the Fairies which he has been able to locate. It is covered in ice, but Thumbelina's singing thaws the snow, and they just have to wait and see if Cornelius was able to escape from Grundel.

They fall in love after one song

Several things strike the viewer about "Thumbelina" early on: the animation is simply dazzlingly gorgeous, with the unfolding of the rose to reveal Thumblina being a stunning, iconic shot; the singing and dancing is pure Broadway, with no filter; and there is absolutely no doubt from the opening sequences how the story will end. All sorts of razzle dazzle is thrown in, with multiple plot twists and a parade of eccentric characters. In a way, it almost starts to resemble Disney's classic "Alice in Wonderland," though it has a more "real world" focus. "Thumbelina" also shows a few similarities to "Peter Pan," as Cornelius resembles nothing so much as a male Tinker Bell. Don Bluth clearly likes to borrow from the best.

Miss Fieldmouse is kind of hammy

You couldn't ask for a better voice cast. Jodi Benson, who is Ariel in "The Little Mermaid" and its two sequels, voices Thumbelina with an innocence that at times grates against her character's sudden changes of mind and knowing attitude while dancing. Gino Conforti does Jacquimo with a heavy French accent which really isn't all that necessary since, despite the fact the story supposedly is set in Paris, everyone else speaks in straight American tones, well, except for Charo and her clan, who are Spanish. Charo does an impressive job of voicing basically herself, and Carol Channing of all people really stands out as Miss Fieldmouse, showing she can still carry a tune with the best of them. Gilbert Gottfried as Berkeley Beetle, well, Gilbert is who he is, and you either like his nasally, out-there act or you don't, and there is a lot of it (too much for most people, probably) to like or dislike in this film. He certainly makes an impression.

Thumbelina and Cornelius chastely holding hands

The other voice actors are pleasant enough, Kenneth Mars also stops by from his role of King Triton in "The Little Mermaid" to voice Cornelius' father, while Gary Imhoff is blandly inoffensive (and his character pretty darn ineffectual) as Cornelius. Charo, Carol Channing, Barry Manilow - that list of veterans should give you a good idea where this film has its roots buried.

I hate it when this happens to me

Since this clearly is aimed at children, there is no point at listing all the reasons why an adult might start to lose interest in this about halfway through, once Thumbelina's parade of adventures with different, obviously unworthy, forest creatures as suitors begins. Even for children above a certain age, it might get confusing, with a succession of show-stopping tunes that, well, stop the show and interrupt the flow. In terms of the musical style, it is a cross between Manilow's jazzy "Copacabana" and Broadway's version of "Beauty and the Beast," with a few random '80s pop song touches thrown in for good measure.

Is her hair supposed to be red like Ariel? Or blonde like Cinderella? It keeps changing

Thumbelina also is at times difficult to understand. She clearly loves to sing and dance, and in fact is so good at it that one wonders where she studied advanced theater techniques. She has a fine time kicking up her feet with Mrs. Toad, Beetle and the others, pulling off elaborate cabaret numbers whenever the mood strikes. However, when she isn't hoofing it, Thumbelina suddenly reverts to being a helpless little girl, determined to find someone to marry, and fast. Naturally, everyone falls in love with her, which is every girl's fantasy, so little girls especially should like "Thumbelina." But why does Thumbelina's hair keep changing color?

Now Cornelius is definitely a red head

A modern attitude on a classic fairy tale character is interesting, but it also makes Thumbelina's contrariness seem odd, as if she is wrestling with both her inner "Hans Christian Andersen" and modern flightiness. If Thumbelina really is so in love with Cornelius, why is she getting up there and loving it up with her dancing and her varied suitors and all that? There is nothing wrong with having fun, but one minute Thumbelina is pining for her true love Cornelius, the next Thumbelina is about to get married to someone else, and Thumbelina's mindset just seems awfully fluid (one might be unkind and say "trampy") for a fairy tale character.

Now here they both are red-heads

"Thumbelina" is a wonderful tale if you appreciate the Broadway-style singing and the numerous wild characters. It can be a struggle to take it all in during one sitting, though, and that's coming from someone who really appreciates the music. A little judicious editing would have improved "Thumbelina" tremendously, along with a title character who did a little less singing and a little more thinking. It pains me to say anything negative about this sweet story for little children, and "Thumbelina" indeed is a wonderful, gorgeous film, so let's leave it at that. Best for very young children who will watch and listen to it while playing with their toys while not caring about the overly intricate plot twists and gaudy characterizations. They will absorb it all, and then someday rhapsodize about "Thumbelina" and how they don't make great animation like that any more when they hit their forties.

Below is the full movie.





2013

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Princess Mononoke (1997) - A Trip into Japanese Mythology

Princess Mononoke: Being Raised By Wolves Ain't So Bad

"Princess Mononoke" (1997), directed by Hayao Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli, is an animation classic that relates a story of demons and monsters. It is set during the late Muromachi era (the middle ages, when most Western fantasies are set) in Japanese history, but really exists outside of historical reference points as a pure fantasy. This is a fairy tale of supernatural beings fighting against humans who invade their territory to strip the forest's resources, so there are many aspects relevant to our own time. "Princess Mononoke" is Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki at their very best, which is quite good indeed.

Prince Ashitaka

A demon attacks an Emishi village, which is defended by a prince, Ashitaka. The demon, a boar god corrupted by an iron ball in its body, curses Ashitaka, who gains superhuman strength and abilities as a result, but who also eventually will die from the powers. Ashitaka seeks advice from the local oracle, who tells him that a cure may exist far away, in a western town. Ashitaka sets out, and along the way he meets Jiko-bō, an itinerant monk. Jiko-bō ("Jigo" in the English translation) says that the Deer God, or Forest Spirit, may be able to help him.

San

Nearby, in Iron Town, a wolf pack led by the wolf-goddess Moro attacks. San, a human girl, rides one of the wolves. Ashitaka finds two injured Iron Town men and San with the wolf pack, but the wolves all ignore him and leave. He helps the wounded as best he can and sees the Forest Spirit.

The Forest Spirit

Back in Iron Town, Ashitaka meets Lady Eboshi, who founded the town by cutting down the local forests in order to mine iron ore. The forest gods are unhappy with her incursion, and the town is full of outcasts such as lepers who make weapons for Eboshi to use against the forest gods. It was Eboshi and her weapons who turned the boar god into a demon, leading to Ashitaka's own predicament. San, Eboshi explains, is also known as Princess Mononoke (which roughly means "angry spirit") and was raised by the wolves with which she rides, determined, like the wolves, to wipe out all people.

Lady Eboshi

Princess Mononoke slips into Iron Town in order to assassinate Eboshi, but Ashitaka stops her and knocks her cold. Ashitaka carries the unconscious Princess Mononoke back out into the forest, but on the way he is shot by a villager and wounded. Princess Mononoke awakens and, not realizing what has happened, decides to kill Ashitaka, but he prevents that by praising her beauty. Princess Mononoke then takes Ashitaka out into the forest, where the Forest Spirit cures him.

San the assassin

The battle between demons and humans comes to a head, with the wolf pack and boars planning to attack Iron Town. Eboshi decides to try and kill the Forest Spirit first. Jiko-bō encourages her because he intends to give the head of the Forest Spirit to the Emperor in exchange for protection from the local warlords. The severed head of the Forest Spirit, it is said, will make the owner immortal.

San and her pack

The boar god is shot by the villagers, and Jiko-bō then has the men disguise themselves in its skins in order to get the other boar to take them back to the Forest Spirit. Princess Mononoke tries to stop them, but is unsuccessful. Eboshi and the villagers finally reach the Forest Spirit, who at the last moment transforms into the form of giant, and confusion reigns as Eboshi battles the Forest Spirit, with only one clear winner possible.

San on her wolf

The characters are very well-drawn in this exciting tale. Ashitaka is young and determined, but he is not the standard sword-waving hero of animation. Lady Eboshi is a strong ruler, but a little too narrow-minded about what she wants and her means of obtaining it. She is willing to place her own and her comrades' lives at stake in order to fulfill her dream of a prosperous town. She is an atypical heroine because she champions commerce and development at the expense of ecology and harmony with nature - or, in other words, she is the greedy capitalist pig of the story.

San pondering her next move

As with many Disney feature film animation projects (Studio Ghibli is known, to its distaste, as the Disney of Asia"), "Princess Mononoke" was in development for decades. It is primarily hand-drawn animation, with some computer graphics thrown in. Digital paint also is used. Computers were just being introduced for anime, so "Princess Mononoke" was a breakthrough film in Asia. For the English dub, the voice actors are: Ashitaka, Billy Crudup; Princess Mononoke, Claire Danes; Lady Eboshi, Minnie Driver; Jiko-bō, Billy Bob Thornton; and the boar god, Keith David, who also narrates.

San the warrior-ette

The film plays out as if it were an American Western. Miyazaki always has had a Western orientation, and this easily could have become a tale about a frontier town battling invading native Americans. There is, of course, a distinct Japanese orientation nonetheless which won't be understandable for many Western viewers, but which gives "Princess Mononoke" added depth for domestic Japanese fans. "Princess Mononoke" was a true labor of love for Miyazaki, who personally edited over half of the film's animation cells. The great success of "Princess Mononoke" in Japan convinced Miyazaki not to retire, and he later did "Spirited Away" and some other works. Miyazaki's attention to detail led to a huge number of different colors - 550 - being used in "Princess Mononoke."

All bow before the might boar god!

As the plot makes clear, "Princess Mononoke" is all about the environment and the contaminations wrought by man as he invades hitherto pristine wilderness areas. Miyazaki battled to prevent identity stereotypes from obscuring his ecology-laden message, thus making Eboshi a female and the saviors of the forest males. Eboshi, though, is certainly not all bad, as she embraces outsiders from normal society in Iron Town and has a welcoming attitude to people who elsewhere would be shunned. However, Iron Town itself is considered sort of an outcast from the rest of the country, which is ruled by a corrupt government.

Forest spirits

Everybody seemed to love "Princess Mononoke" upon its release, and it was a huge success at the Japanese box office. It hasn't translated well elsewhere, though, perhaps because of the use of heavy Japanese symbolism and mythology which obscures the universality of "Princess Mononoke"'s message. "Princess Mononoke" is a great film, one of the best of 1997 of any genre, even if poorly understood and almost unknown outside of Japan. "Princess Mononoke" is a difficult film to watch for many because what might seem obvious to a Japanese viewer must be interpreted and figured out by someone not familiar with basic Japanese history and myths. "Princess Mononoke" is not like "My Neighbor Tortoro" or Kiki's Delivery Service, i.e., not a simple tale  for children, who likely will be put off by the seemingly pointless battle between townspeople and demons and the wavering allegiance of Ashitaka between Eboshi and Princess Mononoke. People who take the time to watch and understand "Princess Mononoke" tend to like it a lot. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time and patience to do that with a little-known anime "classic."

The beheaded forest spirit

"Princess Mononoke" is somewhat of a cultural sensation in Japan, with all sorts of fantasy art depictions of the princess who rides a wolf and so on, so it is worth understanding if you have any interest in modern Japanese culture. Almost every Japanese that you meet will be familiar with the film and probably have their own interpretation. Bear in mind that "Princess Mononoke" is very long, at 2 hours and 14 minutes, and it can take several viewings for Western viewers to get past the Japanese tropes and really appreciate the story. Even then, viewers of the Japanese version will just say that the only "true" version is the one in the original Japanese because of all the alterations ("dumbing down") done in the English dub. In any event, it is well worth the effort to get to know this film, just have a little patience and expect a very different kind of fable.

Below is the original (English dub) trailer of "Princess Mononoke" from Studio Ghibli:


2013

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Pocahontas (1995) - A Real Disney Movie Princess

Pocahantas, A Disney Movie Controversy

In its 33rd animated feature, Walt Disney Feature Animation finally got around to creating a film that wasn't pure fantasy, but instead was about a real, known historical figure (one could make the argument that Arthur in "Sword in the Stone" and that "Robin Hood" were real people, but very little is known about them and there is no direct proof that they were more than popular legends). Pocahontas was very real and even traveled to London, England, where she died, which is kind of like one of us going to the Moon. Naturally, this Disney movie "Pocahontas" (1995), directed by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg, takes some liberties with the story, but by and large "Pocahontas" is based on actual records and accepted folklore about this true American Princess.

The geometry of the animation is impressive

It is 1607 in the New World, and a group of English settlers has arrived to start life anew there. They are led by Governor Ratcliffe (David Ogden Stiers) and Captain John Smith (Mel Gibson), and the voyage across is rough. During a storm, Smith saves a young man, Thomas (Christian Bale), from drowning. Eventually, they make it across, and Ratcliffe builds a fortress in a clearing.

Disney DVD artwork is just jaw-dropping

Meanwhile, nearby is a Native American tribe led by Chief Powhatan (Russell Means). His daughter, Pocahontas (Irene Bedard), is rumored to be wed to Kocoum (James Apaumut Fall), a grim warrior who does not interest Pocahontas. Pocahontas is friends with the animal world, and her close companions are  Flit the hummingbird (Frank Welker) and Meeko the raccoon (John Kassir). Together, they go and see Grandmother Willow (Linda Hunt), a spirtual entity, for advice. Grandmother Willow tells Pocahontas about the Englishmen.

Yes, every Disney movie needs a villain....

Smith enjoys exploring the countryside, unlike the other settlers, and while doing so he runs into Pocahontas. After spending time together, the two fall in love. Unfortunately, the other natives fight the settlers, and Chief Powhatan forbids his people from associating with the English. Pocahontas disobeys her father and continues seeing Smith, introducing him to Grandmother Willow.

Pocahontas on top

Kocoum finds out about Pocahontas' relationship with Smith and attacks him. Thomas, watching nearby, kills Kocoum instead. Chief Powhatan declares war on the settlers and decides that his captive Smith will be executed at sunrise.

Pocahontas and Chief Powhatan

Thomas, who got away, warns the other settlers. Ratcliffe, convinced that the tribe is hiding a fortune in gold, assembles the men to go and wipe it out. Meeko gives Pocahontas a compass which leads her to Smith rather than where she intended, which is fate. Pocahontas manages to deter her father from killing Smith, but Ratcliffe shows up and shoots at the chief, hitting Smith instead. Smith is not killed, but at that point it is unclear whether he ever will be with Pocahontas, the one that he loves.

It's nice to see a little affection, relatively rare in Disney movies

The music by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz in "Pocahontas" is its main draw. It won two Academy Awards and had a successful soundtrack, winding up triple platinum. "Colors of the Wind" is a fine song indeed, and the recording by Vanessa Williams went top five in the United States. While not a traditional fairy tale princess, Pocahontas has all the trappings of a Snow White from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," as she lives in the forest, is friends with the animal creatures who love and admire her but do not speak (marking this as a "serious" film), and is pursued by a really cute man who would do anything for Pocahontas. The message is the same as in every other Disney movie fairy tale, that love conquers hate and greed, and haters get their just desserts.

Pocahontas having some fun

The quality of "Pocahontas" is impeccable. The animation is gorgeous, with lots of pretty blues and browns, earth tones that are tastefully presented in a complex color scheme that has many angular shapes and clear facial expressions. The English ship in particular is a thing of beauty. Disney movies were on a roll after "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and The Lion King," and "Pocahontas" flowed seamlessly from those films. Mel Gibson was riding high, so having him as a lead was as good a selling point as having Robin Williams in "Aladdin." The film made a lot of money upon release, $346 million worldwide, and continued the Disney Renaissance that had begun with "The Little Mermaid." However, executives were not satisfied with the take, having presumed all along that this was a sure-fire hit that was better than "The Lion King."

Pocahontas' face is very well drawn

"Pocahontas" never quite ascended into the true pantheon of Disney movie classics like the aforementioned hits. The reasons are complex and open to debate, and include a rather thin and perfunctory storyline by Carl Binder, Susannah Grant and Philip LaZebnik - I mean, really, Ratcliffe obsessed by gold, you couldn't do better than that? - and a lack of truly engaging characters beyond star-crossed lovers Pocahontas and Smith ("Peter Pan" had Tinker Bell and a corny villain, for instance, and "Pocahontas" has nothing similar). Bending over backwards to make certain characters appear either too noble or too evil, without faults/redeeming qualities all around and merely acting like robots programmed in a certain way ("good" or "bad") may look good on paper, but plays poorly as drama. This Disney movie falls squarely into that trap, and the pity is that it didn't have to be that way - if Disney had actually embraced their critics during production, it might have been surprised that those critics wanted the characters to be people and not totems. Brushing them off, however kindly or reasonably or whatever else you want to say, was disaster for "Pocahontas."

Pocahontas spying on Smith

The bottom line, though, appears to be that this Disney movie overstepped the company's social bounds. The Disney movie "Pocahontas" just makes a lot of viewers who over-analyze Disney movies uncomfortable. For one thing, they make Pocahontas too cute for words, which isn't realistic, and warp her truly noble act of kindness in saving Smith's life into a "haha, now I have a boyfriend!" moment. It is one thing to make films about non-existent princesses and talking mice and cute kissing dogs, it is quite another to venture into the real world and take historical characters to use as heroines, heroes and villains. To make the point, imagine a Disney movie about noble slaves or concentration camp prisoners or something like that and you can predict with reasonable accuracy the resulting furor. Beyond that, Disney movies have a history with Native Americans that is dubious, to say the least. In "Peter Pan," the natives are portrayed in a humorous but ultimately stereotypical fashion, and that is one of the few criticisms that have stuck to that otherwise exceptional Disney movie. Tackling that area again, even with the purest and most honorable of intentions, especially when done without clearing everything completely with the offended parties, was a huge error in judgment. If you are going to venture into political territory (not wise for a Disney movie), you have to be prepared to be political. It is not difficult to interpret some small fraction of the angst about "Pocahontas" as really being stored-up resentment about "Peter Pan" and some portrayals of Native Americans  in other Disney movies of the past, and a tiny bit of some folks just wanting a piece of the action and to be shown a little personal respect - and heck, so would I. But the reasons don't matter - this was their territory, and Disney was the interloper.

Pocahontas is one with nature

It is difficult indeed to see how "Pocahontas" could have made its title character more sympathetic, but that is not what the detractors are worried about, apparently. Rather, they claim that the English are portrayed in too favorable a light, despite the fact that the main villain is one of the English (and that villain, incidentally, was completely fictional aside from his name and presence, as Ratcliffe had nothing to do with Pocahontas). Like it or not, when you try to tell someone else's story, the people who feel it is theirs are going to want to tell it themselves or at least have it told their way - or not at all. This Disney movie went ahead anyway, without catering to anyone's desire to alter it to fit their agendas, with the predictable results that it was called inaccurate (which absolutely is true for any number of reasons, including the fact that Smith looked like a goat) and offensive (difficult to see that except in an agenda-driven point of view, but everyone is entitled to their opinion). Kocoum had absolutely the correct attitude about the invaders in a sense - the English were going to take everything once they got established and kill and enslave practically everyone - but that is not something that ever is going to change, no matter how much you find watered-down depictions of those times "offensive." If you want realism, incidentally, Pocahontas almost certainly would have been topless throughout this Disney movie, so if you are are going to hop on that bandwagon, think it all the way through through. Finally, if you want to carry a four-hundred-year-old grudge, don't expect the world to hold a four-hundred-year pity party for you.

The ship with sails set

It is no surprise that subsequent Disney movies were about "safe" subjects like "Hercules" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Atlantis: the Lost Empire" (no pressure groups involved with those topics, whew) and they weren't nearly as good. The Disney Renaissance momentum evaporated like Mel Gibson's career. "Pocahontas" was a game changer for Disney movies, and not in a good way. The curse of becoming as big and powerful (in a social-message sense) as Disney movies have become over the decades is that everybody starts examining their messages minutely because of their cultural impact. You see the same thing happening more recently with Disney movies like "Tangled" and its attempt to attract boy viewers as well as girls. Disney movies are excellent, but once you get into the realm of identity politics, you are asking for trouble, and this Disney movie found trouble, for sure. When you sanctimoniously ban "Pocahontas" from your house, though, bear in mind that kids aren't worried about politics and realism and also have an inquiring mind. Don' be surprised if you child loves the idea of an actual American princess with long, flowing hair and rushes to start researching the names he/she hears in "Pocahontas" on Wikipedia. Kids inherently love history that speaks to them (as long as it's not in a textbook), and anything that gets them excited about that is good - and "Pocahontas" just might spark that flame.

Things turn out well when people love each other

"Pocahontas" is a fine Disney movie if you just watch "Pocahontas" as a fictional story based on historical truth, technically superb and entertaining. The movie "Pocahontas" is all fairy tale, not reality. Unfortunately, few people want to watch a Disney movie that they know is considered offensive by some others, it destroys the whole fairy tale suspension of belief. If you are sensitive about the portrayal of people of different groups or controversy about such things interferes with your enjoyment of works of art, give "Pocahontas" a pass, otherwise, enjoy.

The trailer is below:




2013

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The Good Dinosaur (2014) - Dinosaurs Never Went Extinct, by Disney/Pixar

The Good Dinosaur (2014) - Coming Soon from Disney/Pixar

"The Good Dinosaur" (2014), directed by Bob Peterson and Peter Sohn for Pixar, is an animated feature film scheduled for release on May 30, 2014 (18 July 2014 in the UK). Enrico Casarosa is working up the story and John Walker is producing.

John Lasseter gave details about the film's plot:

"They are kind of cartoony but they are dinosaurs; they are not walking around with clothes on or anything like that, they still are kind of dinosaurs. We focused on mostly the plant-eaters, not the carnivores… Their society becomes more of an agrarian society, meaning farmers. They become farmers. It’s a very funny story about a certain way of life that a young dinosaur has trouble fitting into and he ends up going on this quest. He kind of messes up and he has to put everything right by going on this quest and on that quest he meets this our character that is an outcast from his society too and so the two of them form this bond and it becomes this unique kind of story…"

Concept art for "The Good Dinosaur"

Meanwhile, Director Bob Peterson said:

"It's time to do a movie where you get to know the dinosaur, what it's really like to be a dinosaur and to be with a dinosaur".

Peter Sohn said:

"The title is deceptively simple. It has more meaning than it seems."

The Good Dinosaur

Nothing is know about "The Good Dinosaur" aside from those comments. Apparently, the premise of "The Good Dinosaur" is what would the world be like if the asteroid that may have destroyed life for the dinosaurs missed the earth completely? There no doubt is some additional plot, perhaps something about one dinosaur standing up for humans or something like that, which would make it like "Planet of the Apes." As it is, some of the artwork makes it look like "Jurassic Park."

"Jurassic Park 4" now is scheduled for release two weeks after "The Good Dinosaur," on June 20, 2013, so it should be a great summer for dinosaur lovers!

2013

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