Song of the South premiered at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia on November 12, 1946. The last time the movie was released in theaters was for the 40th anniversary in 1986. Since then, Disney has locked the film away and refuses to release it in the U.S. Will they finally release the film for its 70th anniversary? I’ll be honest, I’m not holding my breath. Both 50th and 60th anniversaries came and went with nothing more than a few collectibles. To this day, Disney continues to profit off the movie without ever releasing it in the U.S.
For everyone out there tired of waiting for Disney to just release Song of the South on DVD and be done with it, there are plenty of web sites out there selling [unofficial] copies of the movie. Pick one up for yourself or a loved one this Christmas. Hey, if Disney wants to lose money to bootleggers, more power to the bootleggers! But, if you’re still holding out for an official Disney release, there are several ways you can let Disney know you want it:
- Sign the new petition over at Change.org. Since last year, we’ve gotten nearly 1,300 signatures. Our old petitions have unfortunately been lost to time–PetitionOnline.com had over 30,000 signatures before shutting down last year, and the original petition over at UncleRemusPages.com is no longer being maintained; it had reached over 100,000 signatures.
- Like Song of the South on Facebook and share this site with friends and family. Educate them about the only Academy Award-winning film that you can’t even buy!
- Contact Disney! Bombard them with emails, phone calls, whatever. Some dedicated individuals have even made a tradition out of bringing up Song of the South at shareholder meetings.
- Nominate Song of the South to be added to the National Film Registry. You can send an email to Donna Ross, Boards Assistant of the National Film Preservation Board, explaining why you feel that the film is culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. I’d say winning 2 Academy Awards is pretty significant, wouldn’t you? Or how about the fact that James Baskett was the first African American man to win an Academy Award?