In the first draft of the script, the character of "Grandmother Willow" was written as a male character, who was the spirit of the river, "Old Man River". The song "Just Around the Riverbend" was written for this character to sing. Gregory Peck was offered the role, and as much as it pained him to do it, he turned it down, because he felt the title character needed a motherly figure, to which to turn, for advice. Soon the filmmakers agreed with him, and the character was changed.
The Disney executives had all of the secondary animal characters, such as Meeko and Flit, lose all of their dialogue in order to make this movie a bit more serious.
This movie's release on June 23, 1995 was also the 400th anniversary of the real Pocahontas' birth.
Animators working on this movie regarded it as being one of the hardest movies ever produced by the studio. The complex color schemes, angular shapes, and facial expressions meant that this movie was in production for five years. The hard work paid off, however. Pocahontas 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.
In their quest for authenticity, the Disney studios hired mostly Native American actors and actresses 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 this movie for its historical inaccuracies, and stereotyping of the Native American people. However, actor and Native American activist Russell Means (who provided the speaking role and physical inspiration of Powhatan) has referred to this movie, in particular the opening, as being the "single best representation of American Indians(sic) that Hollywood has ever done."
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