Films are something that we all look towards for escapism – the action, the humour, the romance, the animation. Sometimes these can hold so much more meaning then just an image on a screen and create narratives and memories in our own lives. Welcome to the sister article to Music Memories where we take a look at some of these personal stories attached to films.

Film: Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
Original Release Date: 2000

As a late eighties / nineties kid there was one thing that was rife with Disney – they kept releasing sequel films. These were usually without the original voice actors, under financed and straight to VHS. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin are just some of the culprits with these awful sequels and another was Pocahontas.

The problem with these sequels was that they were usually not a good thing and ruined the original story. It’s not like sequel films that you have around now – these were bad. There is only one I can think of that was ok and that was Aladdin 3 when Robin Williams decided to return as the genie’s voice.

I cannot remember how old I was when I saw this but I wanted to because I Loved Pocahontas. As a kid you want the big happy ending, the big love story. Disney probably moulded me a lot in my life then I expected – this Journey To A New World came along took that love story it set up in the first film and murdered it.

The whole film and the plot is bad – completely contradicts everything that was set up in the first film – all so that means that it made you question what was the point of any of it.

I know that films like this were based loosely on history but the way the animation takes a Disney film and kills what was set up is really bad. Also the actors voices were different. Whilst history has a place in film, it did not in Disney in this case – i think if the second film was done better I may of accepted it and enjoyed it.

Facts about Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World

• Donal Gibson, the actor who voices John Smith, is the younger brother of Mel Gibson, who voiced the same character in the first film.
• Pocahontas and her bodyguard, Uttamatomakkin were never imprisoned at the Tower of London. In real life, she visited George Percy’s brother, Henry Percy, the Ninth Earl of Northumberland at that place and he mended her earrings for her.
• Most of the bear sounds are real, but one loud sound during the “bear baiting” sequence was actually an elephant.
• Loosely based upon the real-life Pocahontas’ trip to England.

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