Trivia and Quotes
Quotes
 . John Smith: We`ve improved the lives of savages all over the world.
Pocahontas: *Savages*?
John Smith: Uh, not that *you`re* a savage.
Pocahontas: Just my people!
John Smith: No. Listen. That`s not what I meant. Let me explain, uh...
Pocahontas: Let go!
John Smith: No, I`m not letting you leave.
Pocahontas: [jumps up into a tree]
John Smith: Look, don`t do this. Savage is just a word, uh, you know. A term for people who are uncivilized.
Pocahontas: Like me.
John Smith: Well, when I say uncivilized, what I mean is, is...
Pocahontas: What you mean is, "not like you."
Pocahontas: No! If you kill him, you`ll have to kill me too.
Powhatan: Daughter, stand back.
Pocahontas: I won`t! I love him, Father. Look around you. This is where the path of hatred has brought us. This is the path I choose, Father. What will yours be?
John Smith: [about Meeko eating his hardtacks] Is this bottomless pit a friend of yours?
Governor Ratcliffe: Wiggins, why do you think those insolent heathens attacked us?
Wiggins: Because we invaded their land and cut down their trees and dug up their earth?
Governor Ratcliffe: It`s the gold! They have it and they don`t want us to take it from them. Well, I`ll just have to take it by force then, won`t I?
Wiggins: [to Percy, waving a chicken leg] Who`s a good doggy, hmm? Who`s a good doggy?
[Percy rolls his eyes]
Wiggins: Fetch, boy!
John Smith: Come with me?
Powhatan: You must choose your own path.
Pocahontas: [pause] I`m needed here.
Grandmother Willow: What do you see?
Pocahontas: Clouds... strange clouds.
Wiggins: Do you think we`ll meet some savages?
Governor Ratcliffe: If we do, we shall be sure to give them a proper English greeting.
Wiggins: [holds up baskets of wine and cheese] Ooh, gift baskets!
Governor Ratcliffe: Oh, no. And he came so highly recommended.
Governor Ratcliffe: [taken away in chains, muffled] How dare you! Untie me at once! I`ll have your heads for this!
Wiggins: [tearfully] And he came so highly recommended.
Governor Ratcliffe: I`ve never been a popular man.
Wiggins: I like you.
Governor Ratcliffe: And don`t think I don`t know what those back stabbers at court say about me.
Wiggins: Oh, yes, all that talk about being a pathetic social climber who`s failed at everything he`s tried...
Governor Ratcliffe: I`m very well aware that this is my last chance for glory. But mark my words, Wiggins. When King James sees the gold these peasants unearths, success will be mine at last.
Wiggins: [gives Percy a bath] Hurry now, Percy. We must be all squeaky clean for the New World.
Thomas: [to Pocahontas, about John after being wounded] Going back is his only chance. He`ll die if he stays here.
John Smith: It`s just a handshake. Here let me show you.
John Smith: [holds out hand]
Pocahontas: Nothing`s happening.
John Smith: Uh, no, no. I need your hand first.
[they shake hands]
John Smith: It`s how we say "hello".
Powhatan: My daughter speaks with the wisdom beyond her years. We`ve all come here with anger in our hearts, but she comes with courage and understanding. From this day forward, if there is to be more killing, it will not start with me.
Kocoum: Nakoma, where is Pocahontas?
Nakoma: I... I haven`t seen her.
Kocoum: Pocahontas can`t keep running off. It`s dangerous out there. Tell her that. She listens to you.
Nakoma: [sarcastically to herself] Huh. Sure she does.
John Smith: Pocahontas, that tree is talking to me.
Pocahontas: Then you should talk back.
Grandmother Willow: Don`t be frightened, young man. My bark is worse than my bite.
Pocahontas: Say something.
John Smith: What do you say to a tree?
Pocahontas: Anything you want.
[singing]
Powhatan: This is what we feared. The paleface is a demon / The only thing they feel at all is greed.
Kekata: Beneath that milky hide, there`s emptiness inside.
Warriors: I wonder if they even bleed.
Warriors: [all] They`re savages, savages, barely even human. Savages, savages
Powhatan: Killers at the core.
Kekata: They`re different from us, which means they can`t be trusted.
Powhatan: We must sound the drums of war!
Wiggins: [has what looks like an arrow through the head] I... I...
[takes off arrow]
Wiggins: I made it myself.
Governor Ratcliffe: [singing] The gold of Cortez. The jewels of Pizarro / Will seem like mere trinkets by this time tomorrow / The gold we find here will dwarf them by far / Oh, with all you got in ya, boys / Dig up Virginia, boys.
Pocahontas: [singing] You can own the earth and still / All you`ll own is earth until / You can paint with all the colours of the wind.
Grandmother Willow: Come closer, John Smith.
[she inspects him]
Grandmother Willow: He has a good soul. And he`s handsome, too.
John Smith: Oh, I like her.
Pocahontas: I knew you would.
Pocahontas: Lately, I`ve been having this dream and I think it`s...
Grandmother Willow: Oh, a dream! Let`s hear all about it!
[animals begin to chatter excitedly]
Grandmother Willow: Quiet!
[a squirrel crawls over her face, which she blows away; the animals continue to chatter]
Grandmother Willow: QUIET!
[all falls silent; a frog croaks, Grandmother Willow glares at it, making it gulp and hide under its lily pad]
John Smith: [about Percy and Meeko] You see what I mean? Once two sides wanna fight, nothing can stop them.
Pocahontas: [Percy and Meeko circling around her] C-Come here, both of you!
John Smith: It`s all right! He`s a friend! Bad! Bad dog! Sit!
[Meeko snatches Flit and straightens his beek to be sharp like a sword. He begins to fence off Percy]
Pocahontas: What are you doing? Meeko!
John Smith: Percy, get back here! What are you doing? Stop that!
Grandmother Willow: All right! That`s enough!
[Percy stiffens up and faints]
Grandmother Willow: It`s enough to make your sap boil.
John Smith: Look, we don`t have to fight them.
Thomas: John, what`s gotten into you?
John Smith: I met one of them.
Ben: You what?!
Thomas: A savage?!
John Smith: They`re not savages. They can help us. They know the land. They know how to navigate the rivers.
[Meeko pulls out an ear of corn and gives it to John]
John Smith: And look, it`s food.
Lon: What is it?
John Smith: It`s better than hardtack and gruel, that`s for sure.
Wiggins: I like gruel.
Governor Ratcliffe: [takes the corn and throws it on the ground] They don`t want to feed us, you ninnies! They want to kill us! All of us! They`ve got our gold, and they`ll do anything to keep it!
John Smith: But there is no gold!
Ben: `No gold`?!
Governor Ratcliffe: [sarcastically] And I suppose your little Indian friend told you this.
John Smith: Yes.
Governor Ratcliffe: Lies! Lies, all of it! Murderous thieves--there`s not room for their kind of civilized society!
John Smith: But this is their land!
Governor Ratcliffe: This is my land!! I make the laws here! And I say anyone who so much as look at an Indian without killing him on sight, will be tried for treason and hanged!!
Pocahontas: We don`t have to fight them! There must be a better way.
Powhatan: Sometimes our paths are chosen for us.
Pocahontas: But maybe we should try talking to them.
Powhatan: They do not want to talk.
Pocahontas: But if one of them did want to talk, you would listen to him, wouldn`t you?
Powhatan: Pocahontas...
Pocahontas: Wouldn`t you?
Powhatan: Of course I would. But it is not that simple. Nothing is simple anymore.
Grandmother Willow: Now then, there`s something I want to show you. Look.
[dips her vine in the water in which glowing ripples begin to form]
Pocahontas: The ripples.
John Smith: What about them?
Grandmother Willow: So small at first, then look how they grow. But someone has to start them.
John Smith: They`re not gonna listen to us.
Grandmother Willow: Young man, sometimes the right path is not the easiest one. Don`t you see? Only when the fighting stops, can you be together.
[Pocahontas smiles]
John Smith: Alright, let`s go talk to your father.
[Pocahontas and John hug each other]
John Smith: Pocahontas...
Pocahontas: [hugs him] I`m so sorry.
John Smith: For what? This? I`ve gotten out of worse scrapes than this. Can`t thing of anything right now, but...
Pocahontas: [tearfully] It would`ve been better if we never met. None of this would`ve happened.
John Smith: Pocahontas, look at me. I`d rather die tomorrow than live a hundred years without knowing you.
Nakoma: Pocahontas?
Pocahontas: I can`t leave you.
John Smith: You never will. No matter what happens to me, I`ll always be with you, forever.
[Pocahontas leaves]
Lon: [Lon and Thomas are gazing at the new world for the first time] It`s incredible!
Thomas: And it`s all ours. I`ve never seen anything like it!
Ben: [approaching] It could look like Ratcliffe`s knickers for all I care, so long as we get off the stinking boat!
Governor Ratcliffe: [Thomas is staring after John Smith, who has just snuck off to see Pocahontas. Ratcliff appears behind him and pushes him out the fort] Follow him.
Thomas: [standing to attention] Yes, governor.
Governor Ratcliffe: I want to know where he`s sneaking off to.
Thomas: Yes, sir.
Governor Ratcliffe: And if you see any Indians,
[tossing Thomas a rifle]
Governor Ratcliffe: shoot them.
[Thomas looks at the rifle uncertainly]
Governor Ratcliffe: Oh, and Thomas? You`ve been a slipshod sailor and a *poor* excuse for a soldier. *Don`t* disappoint me again.
[Thomas walks off, looking hurt]
Thomas: [Thomas aims at Kocoum and closes one eye] Both eyes open...
[he opens both eyes, fires and hits Kocoum in the chest]
Thomas: [looking at Kocoum`s body after shooting him] Is he...?
Pocahontas: You killed him...
Thomas: I thought that...
Pocahontas: [Pocahontas rushes at Thomas] Get away from him!
John Smith: [John Smith holds her back] Pocahontas, it wont help! He was only...
Pocahontas: [shouts] He killed him!
John Smith: [they hear other Indians approaching] Thomas! Get out of here!
[Thomas hesitates]
John Smith: [yells] Get out of here!
Governor Ratcliffe: [after Powhatan has released John Smith] Now`s our chance! Fire!
Thomas: No!
Governor Ratcliffe: What?
Thomas: They let him go!
Ben: They don`t want to fight!
Governor Ratcliffe: It`s a trick, don`t you see? *Fire*!
[no-one moves. Ratcliff grabs someone`s gun]
Governor Ratcliffe: Fine! I`ll settle this myself!
[he aims at Powhatan]
John Smith: [seeing Ratcliff] No!
[he pushes Powhatan away and is shot in the stomach]
Thomas: John!
[John falls. Thomas turns on Ratcliffe]
Thomas: You shot him!
Governor Ratcliffe: He... he stepped right into it! It was his own fault!
Governor Ratcliffe: You there, where`s Captain Smith?
Lon: Well, he`s...gone.
Ben: [knowingly] Aye, your singing must`ve scared him off!
Governor Ratcliffe: Well, then go get him, for heaven`s sake!
Lon: What if we run into the Indians?
Governor Ratcliffe: That`s what guns are for. Now arm yourselves and get moving!
Thomas: [as a bugle is being played] John, you better get down here! The governor`s coming ashore!
John Smith: [blows an attacking Flik away from his face] Alright! I`m leaving.
Ben: [Captain John Smith has just jumped off the ship during a storm to save Thomas] Smith! Are you crazy?
Pocahontas: [singing] You think I`m an ignorant "savage" and you`ve been so many places; I guess it must be so, but still I cannot see if the savage one is me. How can there be so much that you don`t know? You don`t know.
Lon: [singing] We shot ourselves an injun, or maybe two or three...
Ben: [kicks him] Alright, you howling nutter! Get to work!
Lon: Come on, Ben, it`s just a little fun.
Ben: [sarcastically] Oh, sure, we`re having loads of fun. Right, look at us--no gold, no food, while Ratcliffe sits up in his tent all day happy as a clam.
Governor Ratcliffe: [in his tent] I`m doomed! I should be wallowing in riches right now, and I haven`t found as much as a speck!
Nakoma: Pocahontas!
Pocahontas: Nakoma!
Nakoma: Don`t go out there. I lied for you once. Don`t ask me to do it again.
Pocahontas: I have to do this.
Nakoma: He`s one of them!
Pocahontas: You don`t know him.
Nakoma: If you go out there, you`ll be turning your back on your own people.
Pocahontas: I`m trying to help my people.
Nakoma: Pocahontas, please. You`re my best friend. I don`t want you to get hurt.
Pocahontas: I won`t. I know what I`m doing.
Nakoma: Pocahontas, no!
[Pocahontas runs off]
Lon: This place gives me the creeps. Savages could be hiding anywhere.
Ben: Aye, well if you spot one, don`t ask questions. Just shoot.
[they pass Grandmother Willow who trips them with hot root]
Ben: Watch your feet, you big oaf!
Lon: It wasn`t me, it was the tree.
Ben: [sarcastically] Oh, of course, the tree just felt like lifting its roots. And--
[Ben and Lon see that Grandmother Willow moved her roots down]
Ben: [afraid] Let`s get out of here.
Lon, Ben: [Grandmother whips them both with her vines] OW!!
Ben: Run!!
Lon: But what about Smith?
Ben: He`s a big lad. He can take care of himself.
Trivia
A song titled "If I Never Knew You" was cut after children in test audiences found it boring. At the time, it was almost fully animated, with the exception of color. For the film`s 10th anniversary DVD release, the animation was completed and the song inserted back into the film, as well as a short reprise in the final scene.
Actress Irene Bedard, who provided the voice of Pocahontas, was also the physical model for the animated character.
When ABC aired Pocahontas (1995) in 1997, they showed the cut music scene for "If I Never Knew You", sung by Mel Gibson and Judy Kuhn. The animation was just the black-and-white pencil sketches (no color).
The Europeans using matchlock muskets was a nice touch. This is exactly what mariners would be using at the time, as the wheellock was too delicate and expensive and the snaphaunce (forerunner of the flintlock) was still too new and unreliable for general use (especially at sea).
This is one of Disney animated movies inspired by a true story, the other being Mulan (1998).
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# The Disney executives had all the secondary animal characters, such as Meeko and Flit, lose all their dialog in order to make the film a bit more serious.
Animators working on the film regarded "Pocahontas" as being one of the hardest films ever produced by the studio. The complex color schemes, angular shapes and facial expressions meant that the film was in production for 5 years. The hard work paid off, however. Pocahontas herself is now frequently cited as being one of the most beautifully and realistically animated characters in the Disney canon, her fluid movements mainly being attributed to rotoscoping.
The film`s premiere was a huge event in Central Park. With over 100,000 people attending, it holds the record for the largest movie premiere.
In their quest for authenticity, the Disney studios hired mostly Native American actors to do the voices. They also employed Native American consultants and had a session with a real shaman. Despite these efforts, prominent Native American activists issued an open letter condemning the film for its historical inaccuracies and stereotyping of the Indian people.
The first film to feature Mel Gibson singing.
"Pocahontas" was put into production at the same time as The Lion King (1994). Much of the animating talent at the studio opted to work on "Pocahontas" as they saw it as more of a prestige production than the latter film.
The animation style is of a more flat and geometric appearance, first employed by the studio back in 1959 on Sleeping Beauty (1959) and in 1961 on One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). It would be a style that was re-used on Hercules (1997) (1997) and, to a lesser extent, on Mulan (1998) (1998).
"Colors of the Wind" was the first song written for the production and helped define the tone and direction of the film.
John Pomeroy was the supervising animator for John Smith and watched a number of `Erroll Flynn (I)` movies to get the movements of the character down pat. Once the look of Smith was finalized, 14 other animators were drafted in to make him come to life.
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# At the time, Disney cartoons traditionally featured a show-stopping musical number. Previous examples would include the "Kiss the Girl" segment from The Little Mermaid (1989) (1989), "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast (1991) (1991) and "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin (1992) (1992). This proved to be problematic however with "Pocahontas" as the story didn`t really lend itself to such an ornate production number. Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken penned several songs, of which the leading contender was a song called "In the Middle of the River", but it was eventually dropped when it was decided that the song simply didn`t fit within the dramatic context of the story.
John Candy had provided a large amount of voice work into a character named "Redfeather", a turkey, and Pocahontas`s sidekick. However after Candy`s death in 1994, the concept was scrapped.
The world premiere was staged at Central Park, NYC, on June 10, 1995. 70mm prints were projected on three enormous screens, and the sound was offset by twelve frames to accommodate the vast seating area.
Originally the animal characters had dialogue, just like in previous Disney features. This was dropped when the filmmakers pushed for a more realistic treatment of the story. One character, a turkey named Redfeather, was dropped entirely.
Many at Disney had high hopes for the movie upon initial release. Then studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg regarded it as a more prestigious project than The Lion King (1994), and even believed that it had a chance of earning an Academy Award nomination for "Best Picture", following in the steps of Beauty and the Beast (1991). However, the movie was less successful commercially than was hoped. Because the film dealt with more adult themes and tones, it did not appeal to younger children as much as earlier Disney hits had.
In the very first draft of the script the character of "Grandmother Willow" was written as a male character who was the spirit of the river, the character was named "Old Man River". The song "Just Around the Riverbend" was written for this character to be sung. Gregory Peck was offered the role and as much as it pained him to do it, turned down the role because he felt the title character needed a motherly figure to turn to for advice. Soon the filmmakers agreed with him and the character was changed.
Howard Ashman was going to write lyrics for the songs of this film as soon as he finished writing lyrics for the songs in `Aladdin (1992)`, he died before he could finish the lyrics for the songs in Aladdin, so there for did not write any lyrics for any of the songs in this film.
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Mel Gibson
(as John Smith)
with Irene Bedard
(as Pocahontas)
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