The thirty-third animated feature to come from the Disney studio is also the first one to be inspired by an authentic historical figure. The duty to historical fact, however, has had the regrettable effect of diverting the course of the narrative away from imagination (which can lead who-knows-where) and toward nonstop instruction: on the evils of colonialism; on the superior spirituality of Native Americans as against gold-worshipping invaders from Europe; on the greater verifiability of the natives' religious beliefs (a talking tree trunk, etc.); on the sacredness of the earth; on the necessity of tolerance and understanding (if, anyway, we're going to have a happily-ever-after ending in which Indians and Anglos settle down to a peaceful and harmonious co-existence circa 1607). These, or some of these, or portions of some of these, are good lessons as long as you are eight years old or don't mind being talked down to as if you still were. The best fun in the movie -- and it was even better fun shown out of context as a promotional short -- is the kitschy show-stopper, "Colors of the Wind," when the self-described "copper-skinned" Indian maid breaks into Broadway voice to initiate the azure-eyed, flaxen-haired alien, John Smith, into the mysteries of Mother Nature ("Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the Blue Corn Moon,/ Or asked a grinning bobcat why he grins?"). That kind of fun, of course, is fun at the movie's expense. With the voices of Mel Gibson, Irene Bedard, Russell Means, Linda Hunt; directed by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg. (1995) — Duncan Shepherd
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