Restaurant Collectables: Disney's Pocahontas 1995 Burger King (USA release)

By 1995 Walt Disney studios was well and truly back on the map after having a pretty rocky time in the late 70's and early to mid 80's only to claw their way back into the hearts of reviewers and audiences with the likes of  The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast! Their last movie The Lion King was a record breaking  box office sensation and had no shortage of critics waxing lyrical about how stunning and funny the movie was which perhaps inflated quite a few egos at Disney who felt they could do no wrong after scoring hit after hit! Which brings us to Pocahontas a movie which takes it story from the pages of history instead of from folklore or fairy-tale as had usually been the case, of course it was always going to be loose interpretation of a real life event but perhaps this fictionalised account was a little too loose for comfort! with some feeling it to be an offensive glossing over of that period in America's history. Historical inaccuracies aside Pocahontas has many redeeming qualities including stunning animation, brilliant voice casting and a couple of heart felt songs that you may be inclined to hum for some days after hearing them! 


As the popularity of Disney grew more and more so did the merchandise produced for each of their movies with Burger King at that time holding the licence for producing toys to go with their Kid's club meals (in Europe during the 90's it was mainly McDonalds who gave away Disney toys with their rival Happy meals!) As they had done for the previous three Disney movies that preceded Pocahontas! And as before BK produced a set of very nice looking collectable toys one for each of the main characters that featured in this movie which will look at here more detail:




 

Pocahontas: Strong willed and wildly adventurous Pocahontas just wants to find her true path in life but cannot find it in her heart to disappoint her Chief father who wants Pocahontas to marry strong but silent warrior Kocoum and remain a prominent role model in the tribe. Her world is turned upside down by the arrival of the white settlers who have come to colonise the land and search for gold particularly that of dashing Captain John Smith! She must learn to listen to her heart and find the right path for her whether it be a future with the English captain or to remain with her tribe! 

This figure is a simple small scale action figure with basic articulation, there is no gimmick with this it is simply just a poseable figure which makes for a great little collectable great! there is some very nice sculpting details which belie the fact it is a mass produced fast food promotional toy that is only let down by the thickly applied sloppy paint job!

John Smith: Brash but handsome Englishman Captain John Smith is an explorer with many an exciting story to tell but it was his encounter with one of the natives of the "new world" Pocahontas that changes his life forever! At first it is the thrill of discovering a new land for "colonising" despite the upset caused to the settlers of the land but soon realises the damage he and his crew (lead by the dastardly Governor Ratcliff) are about to create and has a change of heart! 

Here is another great example of a fast food toy which could have been made for general sale in toy stores which boasts a strong likeness of the character and is overall a very good quality poseable little action figure! 

Chief Powhatan: Leader of the Powhatan tribe and father to free-spirited daughter Pocahontas, the chief only wants what is best for his tribe and family even if it means waging war against the British who are tearing up their land! 

The chief is possibly the most impressive looking of the four "action figures" available in this set and even comes with a removable buckskin cape though he is slightly more limited in his poseability this is still the best of the bunch in terms of the quality of the sculpt!

Grandmother Willow: The wise elderly willow tree is always willing to offer spiritual guidance for granddaughter Pocahontas when she most needs answers in finding her true calling in life and her complicated relationship with Englishman John Smith!

Grandmother willow comes in three parts but is still slightly too small in scale with the four human characters but is great looking nonetheless and has a good deal of detailing but has no additional paint applications whatsoever leaving it looking a tad plain! she hasn't any additional action features to speak of so works best as an accessory to the main characters!   

Flit: This chirpy little hummingbird is super protective of friend Pocahontas often using its pointed beak as a way of defending her honour! The toy is a simple push along with wing flapping action as it does so!

Meeko: This inquisitive and always hungry little Raccoon is another of Pocahontas' animal friends who accompany her along her journey and witness her falling in love with John Smith who Meeko at first perceives to be a threat until he reveals his honourable intentions along with a pouch loaded with biscuits!

As with all of the animal character in the set Meeko has an action feature which in this case is of the wind up variety and once activated make the little racoon dart about whilst lifting his biscuit to his mouth! These figures are far more "fast food toyish" though are fairly well detailed if not a little more simplistic than the other figures in this set! 

Percy: Governor Ratcliff's pampered mutt walks very much in the shadow of his shallow master until of course he meets a certain curious raccoon and soon switches elegances after making a new best buddy!

With his nose in the air and a raised eye brow he strides along with an air of  superiority once his wind up feature is activated!

Ratcliff: Like a true villain Governor Ratcliff is greedy, power hungry and incredibly ruthless when it comes to his ambitious pan for wealth and glory! He makes it abundantly clear that the "Savages" that occupy the land are not to be trusted and must in fact be destroyed as they are an obstruction to the discovery of gold that Ratcliff believes to be hidden somewhere in Virginia! 

Ratcliff is another basic action figure with limited articulation but lots of great details that really bring him surprisingly close to his on screen counterpart the addition of a hat and cape would have made this figure feel more complete but as it stands this is a another very nice example of a high quality kids meal toy!



Disney had high hopes for Pocahontas and expected it to be a huge success both with audiences and critics and it is clear from the depth of emotion and the quality of the animation a lot of heard work and effort had gone into its making. Unfortunately there were some major issues with the movie that critics just couldn't overlook and audiences couldn't quite warm to and so Pocahontas became the worst received movie of the Disney renaissance films of the 90's! Burger King's toys however are far from disappointing as they are amongst some of that particular restaurant chain's best efforts! These are very well made despite their simplicity and overall are very impressive to look at fun to play with their appeal being not only to that of collectors of Disneyalia and restaurant collectables but toy lovers in general!