Pocahontas (Disney)

Disneys 33rd animated classic Pocahontas was first released on the big screen in 1995. It was in 1996 that it was first released on video in the UK under the banner Walt Disney Classics. It was superseded by this first UK DVD release in 2001 which was also released under the same albeit redesigned banner Walt Disney Classics.

This DVD was essentially the UK version of the US DVD that had been released in 2000 under the banner Walt Disney Gold Collection. Both the UK and US versions featured the film in a Non-Anamorphic 1.66.1 aspect ratio. Non-Anamorphic meaning the picture was designed for a 4.3 almost square television. So when you watch it on a 16.9 widescreen television you will see black bars all the way around the image left right above and below. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) the aspect ratio of 1.66.1 is the full animated negative ratio. The film would have actually been presented in cinemas in 1.85.1 for a more cinematic look. This tradition of animating Disney films at one scale and then presenting it at another for cinema has been around since 1955 with Disney's first cinemascope animated feature Lady And The Tramp. When this Pocahontas DVD was first released with the non-anamorphic picture in 2001 not only was the fact that it was non-anamorphic disappointing but the picture transfer was considered poor itself as it had a very soft image very unlike the regular sharpness of DVD. The sound was Dolby Digital 5.1. When it comes to special features the UK and US versions are actually quite different. The US version has a Colors of the Wind music video by Vanessa Williams If I Never Knew You deleted song by Jon Secada and Shanice a trivia game DVD storybook theatrical trailer fun with nature booklet and bonus trailers for The Tigger Movie The Little Mermaid II Return to the Sea and Toy Story 2. This UK version on the other hand has a Making-Of featurette, Character Design featurette Storyboard to Film comparison In The Middle Of The River Abandoned Concept Colors Of The Wind as a multi-language reel a Follow Your Heart interactive game and the aforementioned If I Never Knew You deleted song by Jon Secada and Shanice.

This 2001 UK DVD was superseded by the 2005 2-Disc Special Edition DVD.