According to an article posted today over at Polygon, Disney’s new streaming service “Disney+” will include the “entire Disney motion picture library.” Presumably, that would include Walt Disney’s Academy Award winning 1946 film Song of the South, which hasn’t seen the light of day in the U.S. since 1986.
To quote Disney CEO Robert Iger at today’s investor meeting held in St. Louis:
The service, which I mentioned earlier is going to launch later in the year, is going to combine what we call library product, movies, and television, with a lot of original product as well, movies and television. And at some point fairly soon after launch it will house the entire Disney motion picture library, so the movies that you speak of that traditionally have been kept in a “vault” and brought out basically every few years will be on the service. And then, of course, we’re producing a number of original movies and original television shows as well that will be Disney-branded.
In the past, when shareholders have asked Robert Iger about releasing Song of the South, he has stated in no uncertain terms that the studio had no plans to re-release the film:
Iger (2011): I just don’t feel that it’s right for us to use company resources to make [Song of the South] available, whether it’s wide or whether it’s narrow… narrowly available. It’s a strong belief that I have— consulted with other top executives of the company. They all agreed, and I think, just remember it as it was, and don’t expect to see it again for… at least for awhile, if ever.
Maybe sufficient time has passed and they’re finally ready? Only time will tell if this is truly the entire Disney motion picture library, or just their usual fare. The service is slated to be released later this year, so “fairly soon after launch” could mean 2020 or beyond. We’ll be keeping an eye on this, however.
Thanks to James Moyner for the news report!