Pocahontas (1997)

We are all familiar with the Disney classic Pocahontas, having grown up in a world where every Disney movie is an automatic blockbuster classic.  Sometimes, it is easy to forget that a very, very small portion of the world's animated children's cinema market has not been dominated by Disney.  

I am, of course, referring to North Korea.

So, one may ask, how did young North Koreans (a people known around the world for their interest in studying 17th Century American folklore) become familiar with the legendary Native American girl?

By teaming up with the world's experts at narrowly avoiding copyright infringement in film-- the Italians.

Yes, THIS version of Pocahontas (from---I'm actually not sure when.  It doesn't have an imdb page.  If you're searching for it, the full title is Pocahontas, the Princess of the American Indians) is a North Korean-Italian production.  And it shows.

The attempts at historical accuracy are reminiscent of the literary works of Karl May.  You can tell that someone looked up Pocahontas in an encyclopedia, but they also only skimmed the article.  Yes, Pocahontas was the daughter of a chief.  No, Pocahontas was not a noted lacrosse player.  Yes, Pocahontas saved John Smith.  No, Pocahontas did not assemble a mob of Native American companions from across the continent to show the white man that violence was wrong.  Yes, Pocahontas did travel across the Atlantic to visit England.  No, Pocahontas did NOT travel across time to visit Chichén Itzá.

An interesting note is that the filmmakers seem completely unaware of American geography.  This is understandable for the North Koreans, who don't seem to vacation much in the US, but is a bit more puzzling for the Italians.  One should know that Arizona is not within walking distance Jamestown.

Probably the most entertaining part of the film are the scenes in which, when trying to promote an atmosphere of friendship with all mankind, the director allows for absurd stereotyping.  Quite a few Indians have mystical powers that the spirits gave them.  One of them can summon a quartet of Kachina, who look like a rejected Marvel superhero group.  I particularly like the Angry Eyebrow Stay-Puft Marshmallow Kachina Man.

In all, it is probably one of the 5 best tasteless North Korean animated Disney rip-offs that I've ever seen.  The key takeaway from all this:  holy fuck, I've seen at least 5 tasteless North Korean tasteless animated Disney rip-offs.