Gathered around grandparents, children hear family stories about cultural traditions, learn about their heritage, and soak up the wisdom of years of living. The idea of a nature spirit guide for Pocahontas was first developed with a male character in mind, named "Old Man River". Jeffrey Katzenberg initially objected to the character, but added humor in the form of various tree puns ended up winning him over.

She lives a remarkably long lifespan for a willow tree, as she ages more like an oak tree than a willow. After he leaves, Pocahontas worries whether or not she is doing the right thing by meeting him again.

Veteran Disney story artist Joe Grant would develop the character further as a grandmother figure for Pocahontas, inspired by an early story sketch of an old tree stump telling the story of Pocahontas 300 years later. When Pocahontas asks what her path is, Grandmother Willow advises Pocahontas to listen and allow the spirits of the earth to guide her.

That night, Grandmother Willow listens as Pocahontas and John relate to each other that their respective communities are planning to go to war.Pocahontas then hears the wind and, after climbing up Grandmother Willow's branches, sees "strange clouds" (which happen to be the sails of the Susan Constant, a ship belonging to the English settlers). Grandmother Willow first appears after she is consulted by Pocahontas, who relates to Grandmother Willow her doubts about Chief Powhatan's plan to have her marry Kocoum, a brave yet serious warrior. and has a segment in the Disney Dream cruise show Believe, where she sings " Listen with Your Heart" to a practical father so that he can believe in magic. At the end of the film, when John Smith and John Rolfe argue over what Pocahontas should do to save her people from Ratcliffe's armada, Pocahontas goes into the woods alone and takes Grandmother Willow's advice. Grandmother Willow appears at Disney's Animal Kingdom in the Song of the Rainforest binaural sound show at Conservation Station, located at Rafiki's Planet Watch and in the former Pocahontas and her Forest Friends show at Camp Minnie-Mickey.

When actor Gregory Peck was brought in to play the character, he declined and suggested that Pocahontas's spirit guide be a maternal figure instead. DEMDACO 5000 W 134th Street Leawood, KS 66209 | © Susan Lordi 2000-2023, © DEMDACO 2000-2023 (photographs and illustrations). Inherent in every Willow Tree gift is the understanding that time together is the most important grandma gift of all. Grandmother Willow tells Pocahontas to "listen to the spirit within," but when Pocahontas tries it, it doesn't work because the forest animals make too much noise. A 'group gift' for Grandparents Day is to have each grandchild select a child figure that represents him or herself and position it with a grandparent figure.Grandmother Willow doesn't appear for the rest of the film but is referenced near the end when Pocahontas brings the injured John medicine made from Grandmother Willow's bark, which is supposed to help with his pains. These pieces can be grouped together with one of several grandparent pieces such as Grandmother, Grandfather, With my Grandmother, Generations or Anniversary to depict the larger family relationship. Sitting down with her, holding her hand, turning her wedding rings, asking questions about her life and listening to her stories. She serves mostly as a spiritual adviser and it is implied that she served a similar role to Pocahontas's now-deceased mother some years before.

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She then scares Ben and Lon off, first by intentionally tripping them by lifting her roots, then by whipping them with her vines. First, she appears in " Jiminy Cricket", when Jiminy Cricket mentions that the audience should "respect [their] elders".