The third component of Disc 2 is Design, offering 13 sections mostly on the different characters of the film. Most of the characters are accompanied by a short featurette ported over from laserdisc and centering on comments from the supervising animator. The best of these pieces is "Creating Pocahontas" (4:20), in which the heroine's lead animator Glen Keane amuses an audience by comparing Disney's Pocahontas to a historical rendering of the real woman. He proceeds to sketch both Ariel and Pocahontas to illustrate the great differences in their design. Disc 2's menus are pretty cool as well. They again make use of instrumentals from the film (the main menu showcases a lyric-less "Just Around the Riverbend"), but their visuals are taken from classy-looking production art. Very nice. Toy Story (10th Anniversary Edition) • A Goofy Movie (Gold Collection) • James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition) The last section The Release provides something that for some reason has mostly vanished from Disney DVDs in the past couple of years: trailers for the feature presentation. There are actually not one but two theatrical trailers offered here! Taking a cue from The Lion King (which smashed records using the powerful "Circle of Life" opening as its trailer), Pocahontas' first preview (3:30) showcased the "Colors of Wind" sequence in more or less its entirety.

Pocahontas: 10th Anniversary Edition DVD Review - DVDizzy Pocahontas: 10th Anniversary Edition DVD Review - DVDizzy

Voice Cast: Irene Bedard (Pocahontas), Mel Gibson (John Smith), David Ogden Stiers (Governor Ratcliffe, Wiggins), John Kassir (Meeko), Russell Means (Powhatan), Christian Bale (Thomas), Linda Hunt (Grandmother Willow), Danny Mann (Percy), Billy Connolly (Ben), Joe Baker (Lon), Frank Welker (Flit), Michelle St. John (Nakoma), James Apaumut Fall (Kocoum), Gordon Tootoosis (Kekata) The three voices are distinct which makes it easy to distinguish who's saying what. While the commentary is very informative, it takes a welcome light-hearted tone. There are plenty of amusing anecdotes dispensed, particularly from Goldberg. There are also many astute observations about the film that viewers could easily miss, from stylistic choices to places where the filmmakers strove for authenticity to anomalies in Pocahontas compared to other Disney animation. The speakers give credit to the voice cast and animators at certain points, but it's far from a name-dropping session. Instead it's filled with insight and a strong and it's quite interesting to learn of some of the changes made to the film from test screenings (including the obvious mention of the now-undeleted song). The trio stops talking at the start of the end credits, but otherwise there are no other blank spaces in the active, nicely-paced conversation. Also contributing to the film as a whole is the affecting imagery. It's not considered a milestone in animation, but the winning visuals of the scenic pre-civilization America are pretty impressive. The artwork feels right for the period epic tone the film strives for, and this is all the more true with this substantially improved DVD transfer. Perhaps with the exception of when the film employs pop music video style editing in its climactic scenes, Pocahontas makes wise choices in pacing and style. A mostly pastel palette, contrasted with bolder and deeper colors at moments of heightened drama, Pocahontas boasts a pretty unique look that works well. Disney Movies featuring the Voice Cast of Pocahontas: Squanto: A Warrior's Tale • Newsies • Jungle 2 JungleThe final part of the section is a Production Progression, also introduced by director Eric Goldberg. You can view a 37-second scene from the film (Pocahontas's big dive) in any of four stages of production (Storyreel, Rough Animation, Clean Animation, and Final Color). With the 'Angle' button, you can toggle between the different stages. This concept is not going to be unique to anyone who has a Disney animation DVD collection, but it would probably have been more effective with a longer clip. Next, a multi-language clip reel (3:33) presents "Colors of the Wind" in over a dozen different tongues. Each language change is noted by a caption which also credits the foreign market singing voice of Pocahontas. Among others, the song is heard in German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Mandarin, Japanese, Portugese, Icelandic, French Canadian and Polish. Oh yes, and English too. Two of the most substantial segments are deleted songs, which can be viewed with some audio commentary. "Dancing to the Wedding Drum" (1:57) offered a different introduction to Pocahontas, while "In the Middle of the River" (4 minutes) was a duet between Pocahontas and John Smith that was rejected in favor of "If I Never Knew You" which itself was ultimately discarded. Other noteworthy sequences include an alternate of the Englishmen's reprise of "The Virginia Company" following Thomas' rescue, Pocahontas learning how Englishwomen dress, John Smith escaping from captivity with some help from Pocahontas, and a transition into and reprise of "Just Around the Riverbend." The last listing in this menu holds a collection of short bits mostly involving Ratcliffe and Wiggins and mostly offering variations on existing moments in the film. As far as set-top games go, "Follow Your Heart", the one included here, is incredibly simple. The narrator (Grandmother Willow) asks a question and you select from the bank of nine pictures the appropriate character or object. The premise is simple, but the character profiles that follow each correct answer are kind of neat, though one wishes they didn't make use of grainy video that looks like the old DVD.

Pocahontas (Disney Gold Classic Collection) [DVD] Pocahontas (Disney Gold Classic Collection) [DVD]

Then, the Virginia Company arrives. Pocahontas's desire for the new and uncertain seems a perfect match for John Smith and his longing to fit in somewhere. After initial confusion and fear, Pocahontas and Smith bond while sharing information about their very different ways of life. From conversations on culture comes the revelation of prejudices, but even stronger a friendship and a still greater connection. Pocahontas and Smith are in love, but they must meet in secret, both certain that the people around them won't understand. After all, the Englishmen and Indians are busy thinking of hostile ways to deal with each other. In addition, there are animation tests included for a number of characters, each featuring rough pencil animation and running 15 to 30 seconds long. Tests are provided for Ratcliffe, Grandmother Willow, Meeko, Flit, Thomas, Kekata, and mostly interestingly Redfeather, a talking turkey character deleted from the film (or who somewhat morphed into Meeko).Two sing along songs are preserved here for "Colors of the Wind" (3:20) and "Just Around the Riverbend" (2:15). Colorful lyrics grace the screen allowing you to sing along (as if you couldn't without them). These clips are clearly taken from an older Sing Along video, so the only value here is sentimental. The audio is flat and not perfectly synched, and the video is pan-and-scan and grainy. You'd be better off watching the respective scenes from the film (Chapters 15 and 6), and turning on subtitles, if you'd like. Still, it makes sense to include existing material from previous mediums. Theatrical Trailer #2 (2:50) employs the more common approach of montage and dramatic narration which proudly proclaims the film Disney's 33rd full-length animated motion picture. Both may transport you to that pre-release state of excitement there was ten years ago. Aladdin (Platinum Edition) • The Lion King (Blu-ray + DVD) • Mulan (2 Movie Collection Blu-ray + DVD) • Tarzan (Collector's Edition) Next, director Eric Goldberg introduces a Storyboard-to-Film Comparison (1:00) of Pocahontas and John Smith's first meeting. The split-screen enables you to compare Glen Keane's storyboards with the scene as it appears in the final cut of the film. It is, however, quite possible to enjoy the film as a fictionalized period romance/drama and there's plenty of appreciate on this level. Pocahontas is technically sound when considering the different elements of the production. With the exception of the award-winning "Colors of the Wind", the musical numbers of Pocahontas haven't really entered the pantheon of Disney's most memorable tunes, but the songs are almost universally rousing. "Just Around the Riverbend", Pocahontas's pace-changing "I want" solo early on, is a particular highlight and if you haven't seen the film many times or recently, you might pleasantly surprised by how well the songs written by Stephen Schwartz and composed by Alan Menken hold up. Furthermore, Menken's Oscar-winning score is solid and evocative. ( Pocahontas won the same two Oscars as The Lion King: Best Song and Best Score.)

Brother Bear (2 Movie Collection Blu-ray + DVD) • The Emperor's New Groove (New Groove Edition) • Lilo & Stitch (2-Disc Big Wave Edition) The first feature on Disc 2 is one of many the disc ports over from Pocahontas' deluxe laserdisc release from last decade.The highlights of the bonus features (which offer roughly two hours of video) include a solid making-of documentary, extensive art galleries, and a worthwhile collection of deleted and alternate scenes. The new audio commentary is great and even the meager offering of extras from the prior DVD mostly resurface here by way of the two original music videos.