The white characters are often drawn in less-than-flattering ways too, although in the end the message seems to be that even we can get in touch with nature and live peacefully, if subjected to the wisdom of Grandmother Willow—the tree to which Pocahontas introduces Smith. That in the wake of Matoaka’s capture the English would come to decimate the Powhatan people calls into question such a sanguine account, but to Disney, historical details such as this can’t be allowed to intrude upon the telling of a good princess story.
