Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World

• Directed by Tom Ellery and Bradley Raymond
• August 25, 1998

Voice Cast

• Pocahontas-Irene Bedard (Judy Kuhn singing)
• John Rolfe-Billy Zane
• Captain John Smith-Donal Gibson
• Governor Ratcliffe-David Ogden Stiers
• Meeko-John Kassir
• Chief Powhatan-Russell Means
• Flit-Frank Welker
• Grandmother Willow-Linda Hunt
• Percy-Danny Mann
• Nakoma-Michelle St. John
• King James-Jim Cummings
• Queen Anne-Finola Hughes
• Mrs. Jenkins-Jean Stapleton
• Uttamatomakkin (often called “Uti”)-Brad Garrett

Pocahontas journeys to England to negotiate for peace between her people and the English.

I went into this completely blind and maybe a little hesitant. Beyond “Colors of the Wind” in heavy rotation on the radio back in the day, my exposure to Pocahontas was my first view of it for here and I had only seen Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World languishing in discount bins or at used retailers. As Direct-To-DVD I imagined it could not be that good. I was even thinking it might be like Atlantis: Milo’s Return in that it was stitched together from episodes of a series that never made it to TV.

While it was a story unto itself rather than a Frankenstein of unused elements, it was not great. Not terrible but not great. This is much less a love story in comparison to its predecessor and much more a Disney film about political plotting that is also very family friendly. Governor Ratcliffe is attempting to manipulate the situation having convinced King James that John Smith is a traitor and once Pocahontas shows up is trying to make her look like a fool so he can send a British armada to the New World to look for gold which as history tells us really isn’t where the English control.

Is it just me or does King James look like the Burger King? I couldn’t help but make that association the moment I saw the character. As an individual King James is portrayed as foolish and easily manipulated by Ratcliffe and that kind of gag would certainly help to drive the message home.

Ratcliffe’s plan relies not only on fibbery but on general racism and maybe even gender bias rather than everything being crafted. He assumes that because Pocahontas is a woman and not British that she will be unable to overcome the petty inconveniences he throws in her way. That leads into some elements of female empowerment as well as doing the right thing against impossible odds. Not too unusual for a Disney film, but much more pronounced here than elsewhere.

Pocahontas is much more a forthright and bold personality than she was last time. She takes charge, but there are moments (generally in the action segments where) she defers to the male characters. Then again, if she had taken charge of the action this certainly would’ve contributed to Ratcliffe’s plot of making her look like a savage. At least from a logical perspective.

The story of Journey to a New World is a little over an hour and that’s to its benefit as it keeps things tight. They set up the scenario, give enough of a recap of previous events, and get things going pretty quickly. I do wish they had given more time to building the romance between Rolfe and Pocahontas.

The last movie’s Loverboy John Smith does not feature much in the story other than to bookend things. John Rolfe is the romantic partner of Pocahontas now. The two falling in love feels like just because and not a progression of the story. I know this is aimed at kids (and there marriage is historical fact) but that does not mean you cannot get SOMETHING. They felt more like friends than anything else.

Controversial to some as this might be to some but I think the animation is better looking here than in the original. It could have used some polish (shadows and such) but is generally much more appealing. Cannot quite put my finger on what it exactly is.

The original music is surprisingly good though there nothing as catchy as “Colors of the Wind.” They didn’t put forward a halfhearted effort in that department. And more importantly, they aren’t there just to have songs. Those songs inform the narrative or generally move the story forward.

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World is a good follow up to the original film. Not great but good. If you enjoyed the first one, you will certainly enjoy this.