WWTD 294 - Tonka: Horse Illustrated

There's a lot of deception going on at the core of Disney's TONKA. The cover/poster doesn't really give any indication of who the title character really is, so it's not until the opening theme song starts to refer to Tonka's powerful hooves and glossy coat that you might start to clue in. Then there's the fact that this movie is based on an actual historical horse, but he was never called Tonka at all. And, of course because this movie was made in the 1950s, there's the fact that none of the Native American characters are played by Native Americans. Still, as a piece of media depicting the events of and lead-up to the battle of Little Bighorn and Custer's Last Stand from the dual perspectives of the Indigenous people and the colonizers, there's more to chew on here than one might expect. Another sneaky bit of deception from Tonka! Tonka the great one!