Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: Mulan (2020)

 Disney Movie Challenge Bonus

Mulan (2020)

Mulan is the latest of Disney’s live action remakes and the last one I will likely review for this blog.  Notable for many reasons mostly because it was due to come out a few weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic hit and was delayed 6 months.  When it finally came out it premiered in theaters and on Disney+ Premiere Access.  As a guinea pig for the Premiere Access it showed people were willing to spend extra money to get first run films at home.  Whether the experiment was a success or not is still to be determined, but they must have felt pretty confident about it since they released their newest film Raya and the Last Dragon the same way.  

Even prior to the chaos caused by the pandemic the movie had a troubled production.  As with Aladdin Disney felt pressure to have an ethnically correct cast and director.  Starting in 2010 Disney began trying to get a cast and crew together.  Noted director Ang Lee was asked to direct but turned it down.  Eventually Disney went with New Zealand director  Niki Caro who previously directed the acclaimed Whale Rider.  While they failed to find an Asian director the cast was prominently Asian.  Chinese Actress Yifei Liu was cast as Mulan and other notable Asian actors were cast including Donnie Yen, Gong Li, and Jet Li (Ming-Na Wen the voice of Mulan from the animated film also had a small cameo).    

The basic story sticks pretty close to the animated film.  To stop her father from having to go to war she pretends to be a man and enlists herself.  There she must not only learn how to be a warrior but also how to hide she is a girl and her true talents.  The details of the story are a bit different.   It is shown early that Mulan is special and revealed that her Chi allows her to be a powerful warrior.  Also, the invading army uses a witch to help win their battles.  It is in a battle with the witch that Mulan finally unveils exactly how powerful she is.  Once the troops know she is a woman she is kicked out of the army and left alone.  But seeing that the invading army is not defeated she heads to the Impereal City to warn everyone about the invasion.  

The biggest difference from the animated film is the elimination of the songs and Mushu the dragon sidekick.  In an effort to make the movie more realistic it was decided that both of these aspects would take the viewers out of the suspension of disbelief.  Oddly enough the addition of the witch and this story about Chi took away from the realism for me.  They also changed Mulan's love interest to a new character so she wasn’t falling in love with her superior officer but with a fellow enlisted man.  While they took the songs out of the movie they did incorporate the music as part of the score.  

The best part of the film is the action.  There are some really cool action scenes that reminded me of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon which is a movie I love.  Unfortunately the film falls flat with the character development.  I think the Chi explanation of Mulan’s powers takes something away from her as a character.  The romance in the film never feels fully earned.  I didn’t realize till almost the end that it was supposed to be a romantic interest and just felt like it was a friendship.  

Overall: Some cool action, timeless story, and good acting. Unfortunately the story doesn’t entirely work and the romance aspect feels forced.  I was happy that there was no Mushu in the movie since I found him pretty annoying.  

Disney Movie Challenge: Mulan (1998)

 Disney Movie Challenge

Mulan (1998)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 59 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Raya and the Last Dragon in 2021. 

As far as the later half of the Disney Renaissance goes the movie that gets the most talked about is Mulan.  This not a princess “Princess Movie” is actually a fun action movie.  When Disney originally started developing the film it was going to be a more traditional rom-com, but someone at Disney realized it will be better if they make it more closely follow the Chinese legend of Mulan.  

The movie starts with Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) trying to fit in as the typical Chinese girl by learning all the traditional roles in hopes the Matchmaker will match her up with a good man.  But despite all she does everything goes wrong and she is told she is a dishonor to her household.  When the Huns attack China the Emperor (Pat Morita) declares that each family will send one man to fight in the army.  Mulan’s father who was injured in a previous war is the only man in the house and agrees to go to war.  Mulan doesn’t want to see her father go off to war secretly cuts her hair, steals his armor and pretends she is a man to fight in the army.  The ancestors want to send the "Great Stone Dragon" as a protector but instead of waking the dragon Mushu (Eddie Murphy), a small dragon, destroys the Stone Dragon. Mushu decides to go himself to earn the respect of the ancestors.  With Mushu's help Mulan begins training with other soldiers and tries to keep her identity a secret.  Once on the battlefield she proves herself worthy but when the troops find out she is a girl they kick her out of the army.  But when she realizes the Hun army isn’t defeated and still getting ready to attack she heads to the  Imperial City to protect the Emperor.  

For the longest time I didn’t know this was a musical.  While it technically is a music it doesn’t feel like the musicals of the early Renaissance era.  That might be because for the first time in almost 10 years the music wasn’t done by Alan Menken.  In this one the score was done by another legend Jerry Goldsmith known for movies like Patton, The Omen, Alien, and Gremlins.  There were also 5 songs in the movie and they were written by Matthew Wilder (best known for the 80’s song “Break My Stride”) with lyrics by David Zippel.  None of the songs are as memorable as previous Renaissance films, and while the score seemed to have some odd choices overall it was pretty good.  The ending song "True to Your Heart" by 98 Degrees definitely makes the film feel very 90's.

As a fan of action films this movie hit the sweet spot for me.  Great action good story, and who doesn’t love a good underdog movie. Mulan doesn’t start out as a great fighter; she trains with the rest of the recruits and learns how to become a warrior.  She proves herself worthy and we see her struggle for he success. The love story, while thin, somehow works.  My biggest complaint (and unpopular opinion) is that Mushu drags the story down.  While Eddie Murphy's energy works really well for Donkey in Shrek I find the Mushu mostly annoying and an unnecessary distraction to the story.

Overall: A fun action and adventure movie.  I feel the movie would be better without Mushu who is just annoying.  Also confused why they consider this a Princess movie since Mulan is not a princess?

Random Facts:

To help promote the film McDonald’s released a special Szechuan sauce for its Chicken McNuggets.  This became a gag in the cartoon Rick and Morty and the demand for the sauce was so great that McDonald’s released it again.  

Stephen Schwartz was originally hired to write music and songs for the movie, but after Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney for Dreamworks he hired Schwartz to write the music for Prince of Egypt.  Disney then cut ties with him and the 4 songs he wrote for Mulan were discarded.

Mulan was the first ever Disney Film to get released on DVD. The film almost got a PG rating because it used the term cross dresser. Christina Aguilera had her first hit with the song Reflection from the film.

Disney Movie Challenge: Hercules (1997)

Disney Movie Challenge

Hercules (1997)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

After facing criticism for themes of racism in Pocahontas and murder, lust, and discrimination in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney decided to go back to making family friendly lighthearted comedies with Hercules.  The story of Zeus’ son isn’t quite like how the Greeks told it (they took out the part that Hera is Zeus’ sister and that Zeus tricked a mortal into having sex with him and Hercules is the result of their tryst) but it’s what you expect from a Disney film.  

The movie starts with Zeus and Hera having a birthday party for their baby Hercules.  But uninvited guest Hades shows up and makes a scene. Hades is determined to take over Mount Olympus and after consulting the Fates decides the only way to have that happen is to kill Hercules as a baby.  Hades has his two sidekicks, Pain and Panic, kidnap Hercules and give him a poison that will kill him.  But due to their incompetence they don’t give him all of the poison and it takes away his immortality but leaves him with his god-like strength.  Not being immortal gets him kicked out of Mount Olympus because apparently you have to be immortal to live there.  Abandoned to Earth an elderly human couple adopts him.  Feeling like he doesn’t fit in he eventually learns that he is a descendent of the Gods and to regain his place on Mount Olympus he must prove he is a true hero.  He heads out  to find Philoctetes who can train him to be a hero.  After a training montage they set out to Thebes to put all his training to the test.  It’s there he meets Megara who he saves but really foiled her con.  It turns out Meg is working for Hades and when Hades finds out Hercules is not really dead he sets out to use Meg as a trap for Hercules.  While Hercules does a lot of hero work he is not considered a true hero till he risks his own life to save Meg.  

For a fairly simple movie that recap seemed to go on really long and I left out a lot of detail.  But what it boils down to is a love story between Meg and Hercules. Meg initially was used by Hades to trick Hercules but of course she falls in love with him and must prove she isn’t really evil (oddly enough The Hunchback of Notre Dame II steals the exact same plot).  Most  of the set up goes by pretty fast and is entertaining.  Actually the whole movie feels breezy, light, and short.  The standout in the film is James Woods as Hades.  He seems to be having the most fun.  If I would have to categorize the film I would say it’s an action comedy with more emphasis on the comedy.  You got the antics of Pain and Panic (Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer), Danny Devito provides great comedy as Phil, and Susan Egan plays a fun Meg.  The action scenes are ok but besides the fight with a hydra there not really memorable.  

When developing the film the writers looked to combine screwball comedies of the 30’s and 40’s with modern pop culture references.   Screwball comedies were known for their witty dialogue and strong headed females.  Directors Musker and Clements cited movies like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Lady Eve, and Meet John Doe(1941) as influences for the film.  As odd as that sounds it worked really well and you can see that as part of the DNA of the film.

Overall: If you had to split Disney films into categories of Great, Good, Fine, and Bad this would be at the lower end of good.  It’s a fun movie but also predictable and unoriginal.  Best part of the film is James Wood having a blast as Hades.  Also be warned you might get "Go the Distance" stuck in your head. It's not a great song but it's catchy and couldn't get it out of my head for 3 days.

Random Facts

The Spice Girls were originally thought of to play the Muses 

Ricky Martin does the voice and singing of Hercules for the Latin American dub. 

The last Disney Film that composer Alan Menken worked on till Home on the Range (2004)

Jack Nicholson was offered the role of Hades but because he wanted too much money and a cut from the merchandising Disney went with James Woods.  

Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002)

 Disney Movie Challenge Bonus

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002)

When Disney decided to do a sequel to The Hunchback of Notre Dame they looked at the response to the first one and thought “remember how everyone thought the first one was too dark for kids, let's do the opposite of that”. So a fun lighthearted love story was born.  

The sequel picks up years after the first one.  Esmerelda and Phoebus are married and have a kid named Zephyr. Quasimodo still lives in the bell tower but is frequently visited by Esmerelda, Phoebus, and Zephyr.  This year at the Le Jour d'Amour festival Quasimodo wants to explore the city and see if he can find someone to love, instead a beautiful girl named Madellaine comes to the bell tower and he falls for her.  She seems to be interested in him but once she sees his face she runs away frightened.  It turns out the girl was sent there by an evil magician, Sarousch,  who wants to steal a bell full of jewels called La Fidèle.  Sarousch wants Madellaine to pretend to like Quasimodo to distract him from the bell.  But of course Madline starts falling in love with Quasimodo.  Eventually Quasimodo figures out the scheme and is hurt that Madeleine didn’t really love him.  But she proves her love to him by betraying Sarousch in the end and Quasimodo finally finds love.  

First thing I need to do is be honest.  I watched this movie once and fell asleep towards the end.  Don’t think I missed much so never went back and rewatched it.  With that out of the way let's start with the most amazing thing about the film.  Somehow Disney got pretty much the entire cast of the first one to come back for the sequel, including Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, and Jason Alexander.  Usually Disney animated sequels are a lot cheaper and they can’t pay for A-List talent but maybe by 2002 this cast wasn’t considered A-List.  Joining the original cast are some other high profile newcomers including Jennifer Love Hewitt as Madellaine, Haley Joel Osment as Zephyr, and Michael McKean as Sarousch.  Even with the stars of the film returning Disney didn’t put much effort into the film.  The animation doesn’t look good, the songs are bad, and the story is just bland. 

Overall: A mostly forgettable film.  The whole movie feels like a reaction to the complaint that the first one was too dark.  Here the hero gets the girl and Quasimodo finally gets his happily ever after.  Not having read the book I am going to assume Victor Hugo didn’t have any of this in his story. 

Disney Movie Challenge: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Disney Movie Challenge

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

I always thought that after The Lion King the 90’s Disney Animated films just got progressively worse.  I wasn’t a big fan of Pocahontas in 1995 and never felt the need to see any of the other films.  The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Tarzan are never really are talked about as part of the Disney Renaissance (As a Disney Princess Mulan is the exception).  All that to say I was surprised by how good The Hunchback of Notre Dame was.  

Loosely based on the book of the same name by Victor Hugo the film is about Quasimodo, Esmerelda, Captain Phoebus, and the evil Judge Frollo.  Frollo, wants to destroy anyone he sees as being sinful.  The movie starts with Frollo killing a gypsy (the worst people in Frollo’s eyes) and attempting to kill her deformed son by dropping him down a well.  Stopped by a Priest at the Notre Dame Cathedral Frollo is told by the priest to spare the child's life and raise him as his own kid.  Frollo reluctantly agrees, names the kid Quasimodo and forces him to live his life in the bell tower at Notre Dame.  Twenty years later Quasimodo has no friends except 3 gargoyles that keep him company.  Eventually he decides he will travel into the city to check out the Festival of Fools.  There he meets the beautiful Esmerelda who seems to not be scared of his deformity.  Also at the festival is Frollo who despises Esmerelda because she is a gypsy but also is enchanted by her beauty.  Captain Phoebus is ordered by Frollo to round up the gypsies but he also falls for Esmerelda.  When Esmerelda escapes into Notre Dame she claims sanctuary and Judge Frollo can not do anything to her.  Quasimodo and Phoebus team up to help her while Frollo promises to do everything in his power to destroy her.  It all leads up to a climatic battle at the end where Quasimodo has to save Esmerelda from being burned at the stake.

Not knowing what to expect, the movie took me by surprise.  While Pocahontas featured a rare on screen death this movie ups the ante by starting off with the bad guy actually killing someone and attempting to kill a baby.  It was a pretty shocking way to begin a kids movie.  In one of the standout songs “Hellfire” Frollo sings about how he lusts for Esmerelda and how much he hates her for that.  There is also the love story which isn’t your typical Disney love story.  The movie sets up a love triangle between Esmerelda, Quasimodo, and Phoebus.  Usually Disney films give the main character a love interest that they will get together with at the end.  But by setting up the love triangle we are never sure who Esmerelda will go with and actually makes Quasimodo’s story a bit more sad when even after he saves her she choses Phoebus.  That’s not to say the film is all dark.  The three gargoyles provide the comic relief and while most of their stuff just seems silly I can see kids enjoying their antics. 

After working on Pocahontas, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz are back doing the music for this one.  This is one of the more unique films scores as it taps into the dark themes and “Hellfire” is one of the darkest songs in Disney Canon.  Bringing the characters to life is an All-Star cast including Golden Globe Nominee Demi Moore (Ghost) as Esmerelda, Oscar Nominee Tom Hulce (Amadeus) as Quasimodo, Oscar Winner Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda) as Phoebus, and stealing the show from all those was Tony Jay as Frollo.  You know as soon as he starts talking that he is the villain and he never relents the whole film.  

I asked a question in my Facebook group who the best Disney villain was and someone said Frollo.  It took me by surprise because not many people talk about the film and I honestly had no idea who he was.  But, now that I have seen the movie I can see why.  While not as iconic as Maleficent, Cruella DeVille, or Ursula, Frollo is portrayed as pure evil and has no problem with killing anyone in his way.  It’s a chilling performance that should be talked about more.  

Overall: Did I mention it is dark? It’s hard to imagine kids liking this movie. For me I loved it and could have done without the silliness of the gargoyles.  If you are looking for a more mature adult Disney Film then check this out.  It really is an underrated film.  

Random Facts

The movie almost got a PG rating since during the song Hellfire the MPAA said there was a naked Esmarelda in the smoke.  The animators had to go back and make it clear she had clothes on. 

In the book Frollo is an Archdeacon of the church.  He was changed to a Judge so as not to offend any religions.  

The original names of the Gargoyles were originally going to be Chaney, Laughton and Quinn after the three famous actors who previously played Quasimodo (Lon Chaney, Charles Laughton, or Anthony Quinn).  Fearing they would be sued, Disney forced them to change the names.  It was then changed to Victor, Hugo, and Laverne.  Victor and Hugo being the names of the author of the book.  Laverne just randomly after Laverne Andrews from the Andrew Sisters band.  

 

Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World (1998)

 Disney Movie Challenge Bonus

Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World (1998)

Considering the original Pocahontas strayed far from the truth it’s not surprising that the second one strayed even farther from the truth.  I finally did a little bit of research on Pocahontas since it is not a story I know well.  I recommend reading this article https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/pocahontas  from History.com that has a quick recap of the story.  The problem is there is a lot of conflicting information and no one really knows what the whole truth is.  But one thing is certain. Almost everything in this movie is wrong.  

The movie starts with John Smith running from the king and supposedly being killed.  When word reaches Pocahontas she is devastated to learn of his death.  But then John Rolfe comes to the New World and wants to bring the chief of the natives back to England.  Pocahontas says she will go as a representative to England.  There she and Rolfe slowly fall in love but at the same time the big bad from the first film Governor Ratcliffe wants to start a war and sets up a trap to make her look bad.  After convincing the king that the “savages” can’t be tamed Pocahontas is sent to jail.  But she is rescued by John Rolfe and in a surprise return John Smith.  She must once again decide what her destiny is.  Does she go back to the New World and fight with her tribe? Does she stay and try to convince the King not to go to war? Which John will she decide to marry? 

I don’t want to spend much time talking about this movie since it’s not very good.  Here are few quick thoughts. 

-The movie has more action and is more fast paced then the original, but it makes Pocahontas more of a damsel in distress.  

-We don’t get to see much of the strong steadfast Pocahontas from the original.  

-The songs are really bad.  I don’t know why when Disney does a sequel to a successful film they just can’t seem to write good songs for them.

-After watching this one it became pretty clear how good the animation in the original was.  This movie looks really bad in comparison.  

As far as positives go. If you like the silliness of Pocahontas’ sidekicks you get more of that.  Flit, Meeko, and Percy are all back and given more silly things to do.  For the most part the characters work and really delivers the comic relief.  But, again it’s a weird contrast to what we are supposed to believe is a true story.  

Overall: It’s a pretty bad movie. It just abandons any semblance of truth. And it looks and sounds bad.  

Random Fact:

Unable to get Mel Gibson back for his role as John Smith they did the next best thing (I guess) and got his younger brother Donal Gibson to play the role.  

Disney Movie Challenge: Pocahontas (1995)

Disney Movie Challenge

Pocahontas (1995)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

In 1995 you had two choices for historical inaccurate Mel Gibson films. You could go with the violent and bloody Braveheart or the family friendly Pocahontas.  Neither tell a story that is close to what actually happened, but both were big hits.  

When Jeffrey Katzenberg greenlit Pocahontas he saw it as an opportunity for an animated film to score another Best Picture nomination.  He felt The Lion King was some experimental film that wouldn’t be a big hit.  To duplicate Beauty and the Beast’s success at the Oscars Katzenberg decided to try to duplicate the story and wanted a love story.   He also encouraged all his top animators to work on this film instead of The Lion King.  While some of the creators tried to keep the story accurate it became a give and take with what the studio wanted.  

In this retelling of the story of Pocahontas we follow the English as they sail to the New World to find gold and glory.  Meanwhile, in the New World we have Pocahontas and her tribe living in harmony with nature.  Pocahontas is having dreams that make her feel she is called to do more than just marry the strongest guy in the tribe.  She consults a wise willow tree that helps guide her.  When the English finally arrive there is automatic tension in the air.  They begin digging for gold right away.  But John Smith, who is there for the adventure not gold, begins exploring the area.  There he meets Pocahontas and they instantly have a connection.  Pocahontas magically learns English and begins to show Smith that there is more to nature than just conquering it, and just because people don’t act like you doesn’t mean they are savages.  They then go about trying to convince both sides that peace is better than war.  

I don't usually read reviews before I write my own but this movie had me stumped and wanted to see what others thought of it.  It’s a movie that I never really liked but couldn’t really put into words why.    But reading reviews didn't help much since the reviews are mostly about how completely inaccurate the movie is from real history.  Since it’s not a story I know really well the inaccuracies are not what put me off.  For me I think the biggest problem was trying to mix realism with the fantastical. For example a talking tree and the fact that Pocahontas learned English through magic detracts from any realism we were supposed to feel from the love story.   

Since the love story is what is supposed to be the main story if that not doesn’t work then the rest of the movie kind of falls apart.  If we are not invested in the main characters why should we care about anyone else?  The crazy thing is that  Disney films nowadays seem too long; this one probably could have used another 10 - 20 minutes to tell a more engaging story.  

The themes in the movie is what still makes this movie feel different from other Disney animated films.  While Disney’s portrayal of Native Americans in Peter Pan were very stereotypical and derogatory, they really tried to portray Native Americans in Pocahontas as well rounded people.  It also has a pro-environment theme that asks the audience to reflect on nature and what happens if we destroy it.  There is also a controversial song at the end called “Savages”. To me the song is about how people fear other people that are different from them.   It shows how easy it is for one person to lead a group of people to Racism and Xenophobia.  Although some find the song promoting xenophobia with lyrics like “Here's what you get when races are diverse

Their skin's a hellish red, They're only good when dead”.  

Overall:  This is a middle of the road movie.  Not a very compelling story.  The songs are mostly forgettable besides the Oscar winning “Colors of the Wind”.  While the animation received high praise from the critics I didn’t notice it much because I was just bored watching it.  I did think it had some good environmental themes, but I’m sure some find it a bit much.  It also touched on racism which is a lofty goal for a Disney Animated Film aimed at kids.  

Random Facts:

Some random personal facts: 

• My girlfriend at the time loved The Lion King so much that she dragged me to see this opening weekend. 

• This was the last Disney Animated film I saw in theatres till Big Hero Six in 2014

•  Last Disney Animated Film I saw until after my first kid was born and bought Frozen.  

• The only Disney Animated Movies I have seen that came out between Pocahontas (1995) and Frozen (2013) are Lilo and Stitch (2002) and Bolt (2008) I saw both after 2011.  So almost 20 years of film that I have never seen.  

In one of his earliest roles a young Christian Bale villagers.

Jeffrey Katzenberg thought they could get another Best Picture Oscar nomination for Pocahontas but was met with pretty mediocre reviews and only ended up with two nominations and wins.  Won Best Song for “Colors of the Wind” and Best Comedy or Musical Score.  

This was the first year the Oscars had a category for Best Comedy or Musical Score.  It was created because Disney won 4 out of the previous 6 years. (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King).  3 out of the 4 were won by Alan Menken.  He was so dominant they pretty much created a separate category for him. But Pocahontas would be the last time a Disney Animated film would win for Best Score and after a few years they got rid of the Best Comedy or Musical Score and just became Best Score.

There is a scene where one of the villagers kills one of the Native Americans.  It made me think this was the first time a human character died on screen in a Disney Animated Movie. I’m pretty sure it’s at least the first time a non bad guy human character died.  

During test screenings for the film people found a few of the song lyrics in “Savages” racist so Disney went and changed the lyrics for the film.  Oddly the soundtrack that was released had the original lyrics in it.  In the film you hear the settlers sing "Here's what you get when races are diverse!" and  "Dirty, shrieking devils".  On the soundtrack, they say "Their whole disgusting race is like a curse" and "Dirty redskin devils".