Images of a Legend
POCAHONTAS RESCUES SMITH
1995, Walt Disney Studios
With Disney's release of the animated feature Pocahontas, a
new incarnation of her is now familiar to a vast worldwide audience.
Some critics have argued that Disney's "princess" is older than the
Powahatan girl John Smith would have encountered, that the romance
between them is fanciful, and that the depiction of her strays from
historical reality in other ways. If so, it is in keeping with a
long tradition. Like other artists, the writers and animators behind
the film integrate elements of fantasy with historical facts, and
they reflect cultural biases of their own time. They both capitalize
on her legend and pay tribute to her as an individual of unusual
energy and vision who influenced the course of history.