It saddens me that the majority think this film is bad and should not be watched. Partly it's because it is preceded by another, so the comparison is inevitable. Pocahontas is a great movie and raises the bar high, but let's get into more detail concerning Pocahontas II.
"Journey to a New World" is classified as one of a number of Disney (mostly sequel) films that were released as DVDs, and were, admittedly, poorly made. Animation is flawed, storylines are weak, and even dubbing was made by different actors, among others. Despite of the presence of some of these flaws, it is actually a very good film.
Pocahontas, having heard of John Smith's alleged demise, finds herself heartbroken and unsure of what path to choose. The advent of John Rolfe, by order of James I, to Virginia has the purpose to bring the Indian Chief to Enland as an attempt to avoid war, but Pocahontas volunteers to go in her father's stead. In the months that follow aborad the ship in its transatlantic voyage, Pocahontas and Rplfe get to know each other better, and the arrival at London amazes Pocahontas, but it also presents its "civilised", protocol- driven, hypocritical nature of British aristocracy. While Pocahontas, with the help of Rolfe, changes into a more "appropriate" and Anglicised lady to talk to the King, Ratcliffe sabotages their plan, as he urges the King to go to war with the Native Americans of Virginia. In order to save Pocahontas from prison, Rolfe teams up with an unlikely ally, who is later revealed to be John Smith who had escaped Ratcliffe's pursuit to kill him. After the reuinion between Pocahontas and Smith, she finds herself conflicted with what to do next, as Rolfe believes she must help her people and Smith sees this as pointless and fatal for her. After she chooses to stop the English armada at any cost, they expose Ratcliffe's lies and machinations to the King, and eventually defeat Ratcliffe. Afterwards, while Rolfe and Pocahontas are about to reveal their feelings for each other, Smith excitedly asks her to follow him in his many travels around the world, but she refuses because she understands their paths have changed. When Pochontas' ship is about to leave, Rolfe joins her, having chosen to be with her instead of serving the King, and they leave for a new life together.
One major complaint from fans of the first film is that Pocahontas didn't get to end up with John Smith, and for many it remains the same in this film. Even though personally I never was a fan of John Smith, this is not why I support John Rolfe. From quite early in the movie it is rendered obvious that he and Pocahontas share the same sense of duty and honour. While Rolfe seems a bit overconfident at first, he encompasses the true characteristics of a gentleman, chivalrous, brave, just, respectful, not those accepted by the British elite. Much like Pocahontas he becomes disillusioned with his countrymen's treatment of what is different or hard to understand. Though his ambition was to become the King's advisor, a position he's granted with at the end, he realises he has a duty to honour what is in his heart and follows Pocahontas back to the New World.
At the beginning, Pocahontas herself is more mature, unsure of the path meant for her, and by the end she understands she belongs with her people, having witnessed a whole other world. That is her main difference with John Smith; he wants to explore the world and find himself in a new adventure every day. I can't recall how much time has elapsed between the two films, but when Pocahontas asks Smith why he didn't write to her, he says he started writing many times but couldn't find the right words. This, and the fact that he didn't find her sooner, could serve as proof that he moved on and didn't love her as much as she did. They leave each other on good terms, though. At the end, she is about to tell Rolfe how she feels about him but they're interrupted by Smith. Not having the chance to talk to him, she regretfully leaves London, but finds her happy ending when Rolfe joins her. We see that a deep love has been born beween the two, with foundations on their similarities and differences alike.
It's true that the animation is not as good as the first one, but the more historically accurate plot, the songs and music, and the character development are more than enough to make this a good movie and an honest sequel. I watched many times as a kid in Greek and I loved the voices and the songs, I can't say much about the original dubbing. but the songs in English are wonderful. All in all, it's a shame i doesn't get the recognition it deserves.
