#but obviously there's SOMETHING that makes pocahontas feel like she can't truly confide in anyone

[elvisqueso]

Pocahontas refusing to confide in Nakoma.

Pocahontas (1995)

rambling lil' meta under the cut

i've been thinking a lot about pocahontas's relationship with nakoma and what kind of friends they really are in the context of the film. when we meet them both, pocahontas is elevated and nakoma is in a boat far below her, shouting up to reach her. i think nakoma is always reaching for pocahontas and pocahontas will only reach back sometimes. it's a pretty unbalanced friendship, when you look at it, and i wonder why nakoma remains the main point of contact in the community for pocahontas besides her father. perhaps it's because they're similar ages. maybe they're childhood friends who just got so used to each other that the one may take the other for granted.

pocahontas never confides in nakoma, and you gotta wonder why. even their first interaction has pocahontas demurring when she answers that she was up on the cliff thinking. thinking about what? She doesn't say, but she doesn't refute nakoma's assumptions.

and nakoma...what does she get out of this friendship? maybe she's just used to trailing after pocahontas this way, maybe she just doesn't have another friend, or she thinks pocahontas needs her.

nakoma is sort of a foil for thomas, who trails after john smith like a starry-eyed fanboy with an intense para-social relationship perspective. nakoma also is the active participant in the friendship, not pocahontas. nakoma fills in the gaps of their relationship with assumptions and guesswork, because pocahontas is so reticent, so hesitant to share of herself that nakoma Has to. and when pocahontas's seclusion goes too far, when she fails to confide in nakoma some of the most essential elements of what she intends, nakoma has to fill in the gaps again. and when she does it's Not Good, and her solution is to send their strongest warrior (a man with affection for pocahontas, who might keep her secrets if she needs him to) to try and save her friend. and then it all blows up in their faces and a man lies dead in the water for it.

every relationship in the movie is so tragic like brO—

[keepmovinjunior]

as a continuation of my princess tier list, here is my disney heroine tier list. so i can talk abt MY GIRL and also give these ladies their deserved love! honestly, i was never a disney princess girl as a child in the face of these characters who, for the most part, i always vibed waaaay more with. (but obviously i love and appreciate the princesses too!)

honorable mentions to mulan and pocahontas, who i think belong in this tier list as well, but since they are officially part of the disney princess line up, they're not ranked here. also i'm including nala and the anthro animal ladies because, even though they are animals, they're also hard to place and i think enough of disney heroines to be here with the gals. they deserve it.

megara : obviously. do i even need to get into this. i ramble enough about her on here for you all to know why i love her. ok moving on

esmeralda : i almost tied her with meg, which should tell you something about how much i love her. and for a while she was my favorite, but ultimately, meg won out, and has just the tiniest fraction of an edge over her, simply because meg was the first one to hit a nerve with little me so i have more of the nostalgia for meg. however, i love them almost an equal amount yet for different reasons. esmeralda is such an amazing character. i understand disney's handling of her depiction / romani people in general is very problematic, and has not aged well, but this aside, esmeralda is just an amazing woman, and i can't help but love her. she is gorgeous! fierce! beautiful, inside and out! she doesn't take anyone's sh*t, and her wit is FIRE. and she's hot, and not ashamed of it! she doesn't feel pressured to act chaste, and yet she knows she owes men around her nothing despite how flirtatious she is. she's so kind too, and is one of the only characters in the film to have the bravery to stand up for another person in need, even though it truly could have cost her her life (and almost does). that humanitarian unyielding streak has me WEAK. she is such an icon and inspiration for me in general, and i only hope i can one day be as tough, brave, and just amazing as she is. also "i ask for nothing, i can get by, but i know so many less lucky than i?" wtf esme. i'm sold. you're a gem for the ages. truly a woman irreplacable.

captain amelia : from treasure planet. obviously. a ken duncan lady, just like meg, and you can tell by their cheeks <3 her design and all around characterization is just amazing and so much fun. she's hilarious, she goes head to head with all of the guys... she's so friendly, funny, and confident, and you just can't help but fall in love with her. god what a (cat)woman. she makes me very happy.

jane : when tarzan came out and jane was introduced, i was obsessed with her for a brief moment, because besides meg, i think she's probably the most relatable one to me. she's a scientist, interested in animals, but she's not logical to the point of insensitivity and she holds such an emotional intelligence and respect for nature; she's truly a beautiful person. and she is a damsel in distress, but it makes sense as to why she would be: she's a victorian woman who has never been in the elements / is limited by her society, so it's a truthful, not offensive depiction of one, imo. she is just so adorable and funny, ken duncan has such a way of making cute ladies look so in love. that face after tarzan kisses her? the best. also "you stay away from me, like a very good wild man" KILLS ME she's so funny!!!

alice : i loved her as a kid. she's so likable as a character, and, like jane, just has that lovable curiosity about everything around her. also her wit is fast af, i found her quite relatable as a child. more so than a lot of the princesses (just personally).

maid marian : honestly why is she not a princess. i guess because king richard is her uncle? anyway, like captain amelia, she's an anthro fox lady, and also like captain amelia, she's chatty, charming, adorable and so lovable. another lady with class and a ton of personality. she's underrated. she'd probably be higher on my list had i grown up with robin hood, but i didn't, so i didn't get to know her until later.

nala : queen, funny, sassy, strong as hell; she holds the film together and is such a hero for bringing simba home. we didn't get a lot of time with her, which is very sad, but i love how good of a friend she is to simba, and she's so brave, too. she also takes no one's sh*t. here for it. we stan a lion queen.

wendy : my spouse loves wendy the most so i love her a lot more for that reason. she really had a thankless role in keeping all of those boys alive for the whole film and everyone was so mean to her, wtf. the way she was about to walk off the plank though like a boss? girl bye. you're amazing. freakin' STAN wendy.

nani : another gal with a thankless job, and i absolutely loved her relationship with david. also the fact that lilo was such a difficult child and made nani's life so hard, but nani never blamed lilo for anything, and never showed her the side of her that was frustrated and blamed her. actual girlboss.

vanellope : she reminds me of a kid version of someone i know so i like her for that reason, and her story is quite tragic. i also really like her relationship with ralph. and it cracks me up when she's like stop crying TAFFETA, lmao.

mirabel : she was cute but i didn't love encanto. i liked that she had to jive with... not having a power, and also was the family misfit, but other than that i didn't feel very much about her.

kida : i've only seen atlantis one time and i barely remember anything about it. kida was pretty cool from what i remember, and an original idea for sure, but yeah, i don't really have any thoughts about her otherwise.

tinkerbell : sorry but i gotta put her down here for not being a girls girl. i get it, she's tragic and all, and i do feel for her by the end, but i can't deal w/ the internalized misogyny she has. but i appreciate why other people like her and find her fun!