The Art of Pocahontas

The story of the creation of Pocahontas of the inspiration and imagination that a brilliant team of filmmakers brought to a project that presented a unique set of artistic challenges is the story told in The Art of Pocahontas. Never before has the vision underlying a Disney film been so thoroughly illuminated from the earliest presentations of concept art and story ideas through the final animation work. The cornerstone of The Art of Pocahontas is of course the art itself: over 400 beautiful color and black-and-white illustrations detailing every aspect of production: concept art that took the first steps of establishing the Arcadian mood of the film; character sketches that chart the gradual refinements and animation of the leading figures; storyboards that with a few brilliant strokes of pencil or charcoal express the drama of Pocahontass story; and the stunning background art idyllic landscapes composed of strong vertical and horizontal elements modeled after the natural beauty of the Virginia countryside. In The Art of Pocahontas we hear the voices of the films director producer art director composer lyricist scriptwriters background artists and animators describing their contributions to the project: the early scouting trips to Virginia to research Native American culture and period detail; the visual brainstorming that helped define the look of the film; the preparation of a script that would be true to the spirit of Pocahontass life and legend yet present her story in a new way to a worldwide audience; the design of the key human characters of Pocahontas and John Smith as well as featured animal players and the magical Grandmother Willow; the song development process; the preparation of background art that would be faithful to the fierce beauty of the American landscape yet have its own style; and the production of the special environmental effects of wind and water crucial to a film so thoroughly rooted in the natural world.