Pocahontsa never felt like that to me. In fact, I can\'t help but feel it handled the race themes better.
You keep saying that, but I\'m hard-pressed to believe that Pocahontas even handled race themes well, let alone better. I admit, it\'s been a very long time since I\'ve seen that movie, but I distinctly remember \"the white man\" being portrayed as irredeemably evil and selfish with the exception of John Smith, at least until the very end. Don\'t even get me started on the numerous historical inaccuracies, the Native Americans having mystical spiritual powers, or the song \"Savages\". The whole thing is about as stereotypical and uninspired as you can get. Honestly, I think it would have benefited more from having it\'s own original fantasy setting like Zootopia instead of trying to (badly) replicate New World colonization.
Actually, I've only said it at most, thrice; and I didn't even know this was your review until after I posted my comment. Furthermore, the only white man that was actually portrayed as irredeemable was Ratcliffe. Not to mention that whatever magic power the Native Americans have in the movie is actually pretty limited. You're ignoring that Pocahontas is not meant to be historical fact, so really what do you expect? It's not a factual documentary. Then there's this quote, "It's a beautiful movie and it's grounded in truth. My people are going to benefit for decades." - Russell Means, a prominent member of AIM (RIP)
I said it\'s been a long time since I\'ve seen it. I\'m only going off what I recall. But I know for a fact that there was plenty of controversy surrounding it, regardless of what any one person or group says. If it\'s all the same to you though, I would really rather the comments of my Zootopia review not be completely sidetracked by one offhand remark I made about a totally different movie.
Well duh, sensitive topics often do stir controversy. And Zootopia might be heading in that direction as well. Look up \"zootopia controversy.\"
Oh believe me, I\'m well aware of it. XD
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My New Favorite Disney Movie
I'll admit upfront to not being the biggest fan of Disney in recent years. The only movie of theirs that really left a big impression on me recently was Wreck-It Ralph back in 2012. So when I first went to see Zootopia, I wasn't expecting too much. I was certainly expecting it to be good, just not great. Certainly not utterly freaking amazing like it actually turned out to be.
First of all, serious props to the animation team. Not only does the city of Zootopia look awesome, but you can tell just how much work went into constructing this place for its animal denizens. They could have easily went the lazy route of making a generic city that just so happened to be populated by animals, as so many other works have done. Instead, they went the extra mile of actually making this world believable and accommodating of it's extremely wide range of lifestyles. It's one of those movies where I constantly want to pause just to look at everything.
But this is only the surface level. In actuality, the city of Zootopia harbors some surprisingly well-written issues on prejudice, probably the most realistic take on these issues I've seen from a kid's movie. The prejudice in Zootopia is presented, much like in our world, as this darker part of society, that no one really wants to talk about, but is always around, just waiting for an excuse to spiral out of control. It's not entirely subtle about it, which is forgivable given the target audience, but it's also not constantly in your face or heavily biased towards making any one side look worse (I'm looking at you, Pocahontas).
This extends to our protagonists as well. Nick Wilde is a victim of this prejudice, having accepted what he's "meant to be" and becoming rather cynical as a result. On the opposite spectrum is Judy Hopps, an idealistic dreamer who fights against what society tells her she can and can't do. At the same time, she herself is influenced by her own prejudice, which is merely hinted at for a while until it suddenly comes out at the worst possible time, making a very believably flawed hero. Needless to say, Nick and Judy's interactions are the best part of the movie, having some of the best chemistry between two characters I've ever seen.
If there's one criticism I do have, it's the villain, and not because of the Disney cliche of the twist villain that's become so prevalent lately. For this genre, a twist villain is not only justified, but pretty much required. My problem is the severe lack of focus this villain gets post-reveal. They really could've done with a more fleshed-out backstory, or at least an epic final chase scene. The gambit Nick and Judy pull to come out on top is brilliant and satisfying, but I would've liked just a little bit more.
Still, that's only a minor blight in what I consider a nearly flawless movie. Definitely a must see for Disney fans, and even for those who aren't, because you might just have the same experience as me.