The ride will be re-themed as “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure”, based upon the characters from Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and The Frog. It is currently scheduled to re-open in 2024.
In 2019, a petition was opened by Alex O. to re-theme Splash Mountain to “remove all traces of this racist movie”, and after 20,000 signatures, Disney agreed to it. Meanwhile, a petition to Save Splash Mountain opened by Eric Thibeault garnered over 80,000 signatures, but predictably fell upon deaf mouse ears.
Disneyland’s Splash Mountain was the first of three locations opened in 1989, followed by WDW and Tokyo Disneyland in 1992. Tokyo Disneyland’s Splash Mountain is now the last surviving location, and at least for now it seems to be safe from a “reimagining”.
Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and all the other characters of the beloved Splash Mountain ride at Disneyland and Walt Disney World are taking their final bows: it has been announced that Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain as we know it will be closing forever on January 23, 2023.
At that time, it will be under an extended closure for re-theming the ride as “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure”, based upon the characters from Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and The Frog.
The iconic ride opened in 1989 in Disneyland, and in 1992 at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. It is unknown at this time if Tokyo Disneyland will also be rethemed or will remain as is, but no announcements have been made that I’m aware of.
In 2019, a petition was opened by Alex O. to re-theme Splash Mountain to “remove all traces of this racist movie”, and after 20,000 signatures, Disney agreed to it. Meanwhile, a petition to Save Splash Mountain opened by Eric Thibeault garnered over 80,000 signatures, but predictably fell upon deaf mouse ears.
In other news, Bob Iger unexpectedly returned in November as Disney CEO to replace Bob Chapek, who was originally his successor in 2020. Both Bobs have been outspoken in their opposition to releasing Song of the South (even with disclaimers) to the public, so it’s unlikely this move will have any effect on the film remaining buried.
Song of the South officially turns 76 years old today. The controversial film debuted on November 12, 1946 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Fox Theater. It won 2 Academy Awards: Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah won Best Song, and an honorary Oscar was presented to James Baskett for his portrayal of Uncle Remus. Many photos from the world premier can be found in the Photos section. Lots of memorabilia, radio programs, music and more from the 1946 premier can also be found on the 1946 Campaign page.
Back in August, several fans nominated Song of the South to be added to the National Film Registry (as we do every year), and we should have the results around mid-December. If Song of the South didn’t make it, we’ll do it all again next year!
If you’re looking to watch the movie and are tired of waiting for Disney to officially release it (which will likely never happen under Disney’s current regime), head on over to Archive.org. Or, if you’re looking for a physical copy, many fan-made DVDs and Blu-rays can be found all over the web. It’s pretty clear that Disney has lost control over third parties distributing this historic film, despite their best efforts to censor and suppress. And the film’s copyright is still set to expire in 2041… so only 19 years to go!
I’m still actively collecting memorabilia from the movie, and more items will be added into the Memorabilia Museum in the coming months. I have at least 30-40 new items sitting on my scanner just waiting to be scanned and added to the database. It’s still amazing to me after all these years of collecting how much more is still out there just waiting to be discovered (especially items that were released in non-U.S. countries). Walt Disney truly did distribute this movie far and wide! A far cry from today.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas season and New Year’s!
It’s that time of year again! Every year since 1989, several movies (originally 10, now 25) are chosen for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry because of their historical, cultural, or aesthetic significance. A wide variety of movies, including many Walt Disney movies and controversial films such as Gone with the Wind and The Birth of a Nation are already included in the registry.
Song of the South has not yet been added to the registry. Many consider the film to be culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant given the fact that it won 2 Academy Awards (including the first ever Oscar awarded to an African American man, James Baskett) and has been the subject of controversy over the decades.
However you feel about this movie, if you believe in preserving cinematic history, why not take a few minutes and nominate Song of the South today! Please note: If you have nominated Song of the South in previous years, nominations do not carry over to the next year, so you need to re-nominate each year. All you need to do is fill out this form.The deadline for 2022 nominations is August 15.
Inductions are typically announced in December, so stay tuned. And if you haven’t seen Song of the South recently, be sure to head over to Archive.org and watch it!
With little fanfare, Walt Disney’s Academy Award-winning film Song of the South has officially turned 75. The controversial film debuted on November 12, 1946 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Fox Theater. Many photos from the world premier can be found in the Photos section. Lots of memorabilia, radio programs, music and more from the 1946 premier can also be found on the 1946 Campaign page.
For those looking for an official Disney release on DVD, Blu-ray or Disney+, the reality is that may never happen. Over the past couple of years, Disney leadership has made it abundantly clear that they want to bury this film—from announcing that Song of the South would not appear on Disney+ to announcing their plans to re-theme Splash Mountain. Fortunately, fan-made DVDs and Blu-rays have become much more common and can generally be found by just doing a simple search on your favorite search engine. Also, the film is available to stream (and download) in its entirety on Archive.org.
At least one fan, COOLection TV, has even posted a special 75th anniversary tribute to Song of the South:
With information on this film and the film itself now available everywhere despite Disney’s best efforts to stifle their company’s history, I would say we’ve accomplished what I set out to do 21 years ago when I created SongoftheSouth.net – provide the most information available on this movie. So what’s next for SongoftheSouth.net? I will still continue to provide news updates on Song of the South and Splash Mountain, and I’m still collecting memorabilia (now over 600 items!)
Stay tuned for more SongoftheSouth.net updates in 2022! I hope everyone is keeping well and has a great upcoming holiday season.
UPDATE: The Blu-ray reviewed in this article appears to no longer be available. Song of the South is still available for viewing over at Archive.org.
Today marks the 74th anniversary of Song of the South. The Academy Award winning and controversial film debuted on November 12, 1946 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Fox Theater. Many photos from the world premier can be found in the Photos section. Lots of memorabilia, radio programs, music and more from the 1946 premier can also be found on the 1946 Campaign page.
With the 75th anniversary of the movie just around the corner in 2021, it’s looking less and less likely for Disney to officially re-release this film. 2020 has proven to be a very active year for news related to Song of the South:
March 11, 2020: Disney Chairman Robert Iger states that Song of the South will not appear on Disney+, despite several other movies receiving disclaimers for “outdated cultural depictions”.
June 2020: Some Disney fans began petitioning Disney to re-theme their popular theme park attraction Splash Mountain, loosely based on Song of the South’s animated sequences, with The Princess and the Frog. The petition reached over 21,377 signatures before declaring victory.
June 25, 2020: Disney Parks announces on their Twitter account plans to “Completely Reimagine” Splash Mountain to The Princess and the Frog. Reactions have been mixed, with the tweet gaining over 78K likes, but a counter-petition to leave the ride as-is garnering nearly 86,000 signatures as of this posting.
August 26, 2020: Disney begins removing the Academy Award winning song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” from their theme parks.
Meanwhile — faced with the reality of an unlikely official release of the movie — fan-based, unofficial Blu-ray copies of the film have exploded in popularity this year. Copies can be found all over the Internet and eBay. I had an opportunity to review one such copy, produced by Stinky Tuna. The quality is by far the best out there to date, owing in part to its source — a 16mm film print originally remastered and still available to view on archive.org.
There are also a lot more special features than previous unofficial, lower quality DVD releases, including History of The Tar Baby, Read & Sing-Along Video, Virtual Reality Ride of Splash Mountain, Rare Behind-the-Scenes and B-Roll Footage, and multiple Theatrical Trailers. This particular Blu-ray is manufactured in Japan, where Disney’s copyright on Song of the South has expired — in 2006, Japanese courts ruled that any movies made prior to 1953 were now public domain. The movie is available to purchase over at StinkyTuna.com for $17.99. [Update: Link removed as this link no longer works.]
As long as you’re comfortable with unofficial, fan-made copies, the plethora of Blu-rays saturating the market today almost completely satisfies the need of making this movie available to the public. This makes hunting down official-but-inferior-quality VHS or Laserdisc copies a thing of the past.
Still, we will always hold out hope that Disney will choose to own up to its history and make this film available officially before it becomes public domain in 2041. Whether you love, hate, or are indifferent to this movie, it was one of Walt Disney’s personal favorites (read why), and it won 2 Academy Awards, including the first ever Oscar to an African American man, James Baskett, for his outstanding portrayal of the wise and kind folklore hero, Uncle Remus.
The Academy Award-winning song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”, the best known song from Walt Disney’s “Song of the South”, is quietly being removed from Disney theme parks music loops, including Downtown Disney and The Esplande. The song was originally played between the medley from “Frozen” and The Ballad of Davy Crockett.
The removal of the song from Downtown Disney’s background music is part of a continuous process to deliver an environment that features stories that are relevant and inclusive.
Disneyland has also reportedly removed two references to Song of the South from its Splash Mountain page. This would not be the first time that Disney has removed references from its web sites — several additional dead links from over the years can be found on the Song of the South Links page. I have kept them there for posterity.
Thank you to long-time follower Steve for the news report!
On June 10, it was reported that some Disney fans were petitioning Disney to re-theme Splash Mountain to a ride based on The Princess and the Frog instead, and remove all traces of Song of the South due to its “racist” content. Song of the South was last released theatrically in the United States in 1986, a few years before Splash Mountain’s grand opening at Disneyland in 1989. The ride proved so popular that 2 additional locations at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland were opened in 1992.
Today, the Disney Parks Twitter account has tweeted the following:
“We’re thrilled to share Splash Mountain at @Disneyland & @WaltDisneyWorld will be completely reimagined with a new story inspired by an all-time favorite @DisneyAnimation film, “The Princess and the Frog.” Learn about what Imagineers have in development: https://bit.ly/3hUY0Gq“
David O. Selznick’s 1939 film Gone with the Wind, which won 8 Academy Awards, received attention in the media recently when HBO Max withdrew the film from its line-up temporarily in order to add an introduction explaining historical context to the film. The decision was explained by a spokesperson for HBO Max:
“‘Gone With the Wind’ is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society,” the statement read. “These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.”
“These depictions are certainly counter to WarnerMedia’s values, so when we return the film to HBO Max, it will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions but will be presented as it was originally created because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. If we are to create a more just, equitable, and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.”
The added introduction for Gone with the Wind will be provided by Jacqueline Stewart. Jacqueline is a professor at the University of Chicago, where she is Director of the Arts + Public Life in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies. She is also the host of “Silent Sunday Nights” on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Jacqueline is the author of “Migrating to the Movies: Cinema and Black Urban Modernity” and co-editor of “L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema.”
“HBO Max will bring “Gone with The Wind” back to its line-up, and when it appears, I will provide an introduction placing the film in its multiple historical contexts. For me, this is an opportunity to think about what classic films can teach us. Right now, people are turning to movies for racial re-education, and the top-selling books on Amazon are about anti-racism and racial inequality. If people are really doing their homework, we may be poised to have our most informed, honest and productive national conversations yet about Black lives on screen and off.”
Walt Disney’s “classic” Song of the South (1946) has often been compared to Gone with the Wind (1939) for several reasons:
They are both Academy Award winning films set in the Old South
Hattie McDaniel had roles in both films
Both films had their premiere in Atlanta, Georgia (and the African American actors & actresses from both films were not allowed to attend due to Jim Crow laws)
Hattie McDaniel (Mammy in Gone with the Wind) was the first African American woman to win an Oscar, and James Baskett (Uncle Remus in Song of the South) was the first African American man to win an Oscar.
However, the films have their differences as well:
Gone with the Wind depicts the antebellum South, while Song of the South is set in the Reconstruction era/postbellum South (after the abolition of slavery), though the film is ambiguous on this fact.
Song of the South was marketed as a musical drama with animated sequences, while Gone with the Wind was an epic romantic drama.
Over the years, a similar treatment for Song of the South has been discussed many times, but has never come to pass. The first such discussion occurred in the early 2000s, when James Earl Jones was rumored to provide an introduction for the movie (which later turned out to be narration for the 2002 Disney’s American Legends). Since then, several individuals have shown their support for releasing and discussing Song of the South, including Disney Legends Whoopi Goldberg and Floyd Norman, film historian Leonard Maltin, several members of the Disney family, and relatives of the film’s actors. Despite this, Disney CEO and Chairman Robert Iger has kept the movie unavailable, most recently stating that the film would not be available on Disney+.
I sincerely hope that Disney leadership takes notice of Jacqueline Stewart’s initiative and considers doing the same for Song of the South. I have always believed that censorship is not the answer—by withholding this film from the public rather than addressing it, Disney is burying history and, I feel, does a great disservice to everyone who was involved in creating the film. For better or for worse, the movie was made and we need to be able to learn from our past.
A CNN article published today reports that some Disney fans want to re-theme Splash Mountain to a ride based on “The Princess and the Frog” instead, and remove all traces of Song of the South, the film which has been “widely considered the studio’s most racist.” Song of the South was last released theatrically in 1986, a few years before Splash Mountain’s 1989 grand opening. Song of the South has never been made available in the U.S. despite being sold by Disney worldwide until 2001. Today, it remains unavailable, and Disney has made it clear they have no plans to make it available on Disney’s new streaming movie service, Disney+.
Splash Mountain is the popular theme park ride loosely based on Song of the South’s animated sequences, which in turn were based on the tales of Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris. The ride features Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear, and other repurposed animatronics from the defunct America Sings attraction. The ride has locations at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland, and remains one of the park’s most popular attractions. “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”, the Academy Award winning song from Song of the South, is the centerpiece of the ride’s finale.
