Author Archives: hemingray

Song of the South Mentioned (Again) at Shareholder Meeting

Carol Koster of Disney Echo shared the following with me: “The annual meeting of Shareholders of The Walt Disney Company was held in Albuquerque MN today, March 6, 2008. A shareholder got up during the Question and Answer segment to ask Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney, ‘Before the end of my lifetime will I ever see ‘Song of the South’ released to home video?’ To which Mr. Iger replied the now ‘standard’ reply: They discuss the possibility regularly, there are certain issues of ‘sensitivity’ surround this movie and the long ago past era it was made in, times are different now, no immediate plans to release it, but they do regularly revisit it, etc.”

Last year, at the 2007 shareholder meeting, the topic of Disney releasing Song of the South was raised by shareholder Carol Koster. Iger’s response was more encouraging, and it picked up a lot of press.

The year before that, at the 2006 shareholder meeting, the same question was raised. At that time, Iger basically stated that Disney had no plans to bring the movie back.

This marks the third year in a row that Song of the South has been brought up at the annual shareholder meeting. And until they release the movie on DVD, we hope that shareholders keep bringing it up! Thanks to Carol Koster and Shawn Kelly for the news reports.

Two Excellent Song of the South Articles from MousePlanet

MousePlanet staff writer Wade Sampson has written two very interesting and in-depth articles related to Song of the South. The first article, published on January 17 and titled “Disney’s B’rer Rabbit Hops Into the Funny Pages“, describes the history and background of the Disney Uncle Remus comic strip. This weekly comic strip ran for over 27 years, from 10/14/1945 to 12/31/1972.

The second article, published on February 13, is “The Song of the South Premiere” which is a very comprehensive history of Song of the South up to the point of its theatrical premiere on November 12, 1946. If you are interested in learning more about Song of the South‘s history, this article is a must-read. Thanks to Wade Sampson for publishing these excellent articles and thanks to Joey Sartin for the news report!

Song of the South Mentioned at Blu-ray Conference

Engadget has reported on the Blu-ray Press Conference held at CES on Monday, January 7th in Las Vegas. Among many of the panel members was Bob Chapek, President of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. During the question & answer session, the following question was posed:

Q. With Blu-ray the aparent winner, are we going to see more catalogue titles?

A. Bob says Song of the South won’t be covered here today, but one of the pinnacle moments was when we decided to bring out Snow White, which signaled it was mass market, since this was a most cherished title. This time they are releasing Snow White this October. “And what’s the price point Bob?” “Wow” — and as a result we know where this is going. David Bishop says most of the panel lived through DVD and just like that, they look at the core and try to release products that are valuable to them.

It’s interesting that he even chose to mention Song of the South at all at a Blu-ray conference. Is he just getting the disclaimer out there to preempt anyone who might ask about Song of the South? At the very least it’s a recognition that there is a lot of interest in Song of the South being released, whether it be on regular DVD or Blu-ray. Read into it however you want. Special thanks to Konrad Haskins for the news report!

61st Anniversary of Song of the South

Today marks the 61st anniversary of Song of the South, which premiered at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia on November 12, 1946.

For the 60th Anniversary last year, Song of the South Radio was launched as a special anniversary feature, with over 3 hours of vintage songs and radio advertisements for the movie. Well, it proved to be so popular we’re going to be keeping it around for awhile longer!

The 60th Anniversary DVD rumor came and went, and now that today marks 61 years, we can safely debunk that rumor. As you may have read, however, there’s a new rumor that we may see a DVD release in late 2008/early 2009, but only time will tell.

The petition continues to grow with over 123,000 total signatures. Yes, I’m going to shamelessly plug it again! If you haven’t signed it yet, you know what to do!

Song of the South Plays in Philadelphia Library

Sam Adams of the Philadelphia City Paper has reported that the Chestnut Hill Film Group opened their 34th season with two free screenings of Song of the South. The movie was shown twice on the evening of October 9th at 6:00 and 7:45 PM to guests at the Chestnut Hill Free Library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Adams, like many before him, can’t figure out what the big deal is about this movie:

“Once you’ve seen Song of the South, it’s hard to account for its uniquely untouchable status. It’s nowhere near as malicious as The Birth of a Nation, less bizarre than The Jazz Singer and less awful than The Emperor’s New Groove. True, Disney has a family-friendly image to uphold, but the studio has owned up to far darker chapters in its history, notably the series of overtly racist propaganda shorts they produced during WWII, reissued with admirable contextual footnotes as part of the collector-oriented ‘Disney Treasures’ series.”

Read the full article here: http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2007/10/04/screen-picks

While free screenings of Song of the South certainly aren’t new, it doesn’t always make the news. I have even heard scattered reports over the years about libraries having (unofficial) copies of this movie available for free rental. Until Disney gives Americans the choice to view this movie on their own, let’s hope that other libraries around the country also take the initiative to show this virtually censored film to the public. Thanks to Jerry over at Cartoon Brew and everyone else for this news report!

New Song of the South Petition Hits 20,000 Signatures

In just under a year, the new Song of the South Petition has doubled to over 20,000 signatures! The petition hit 10,000 signatures on September 30, 2006, so that’s an average of over 28 signatures a day! The new petition was started on May 10, 2005 to continue on the efforts of James McKimson’s original petition.

Thanks to everyone for your signatures and words of support! The work doesn’t end here… we want to add as many people to the petition as possible! If you haven’t already, please spread the word… send a link to your friends and family and get them involved. Let Disney know you want this movie released on DVD! I know that Disney visits this web site (hi guys!) so they are aware of this petition. Sign the Song of the South Petition Here!

Song of the South To Be Released In Late 2008-2009?

Jim Hill of Jim Hill Media has posted in his July 6th “Why For?” question-and-answer column another interesting possibility for a DVD release of Song of the South:

“Actually, things are looking pretty good right now for ‘Song of the South’ to finally be released on DVD in late 2008 / early 2009. But not for the reasons you might think.

“You see, what with DisneyToon Studios now becoming a non-sequel producing operation as well as Dick Cook’s decision last year to significantly cut back on the number of movies Walt Disney Studios will release every year … Well, that leaves Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Soon to be renamed Walt Disney Entertainment) with significantly fewer titles to put out on store shelves in the coming year. And given that BVHE will still be expected to make its numbers … Well, that means that they’re going to have to release something that the public really wants to get its hands on. And that, my friends, is ‘Song of the South.’

“As I mentioned back in May, Disney is still hoping to use ‘The Princess and the Frog’ to help soften any racial concerns that movie-goers may have about this 1946 Academy Award winner. Which is why the studio is looking to get production of this new John Musker & Ron Clements underway later this year. So that they’d then have a full sequence from that still-in-story-development film to drop onto that DVD. Which will then hopefully help rebuff any ‘Song of the South”s critics.”

As always, time will tell on how accurate this is… the full article can be read over at jimhillmedia.com. Thanks to Casey S. for the news report! If you have Song of the South news to report, contact me!

Song of the South #5 of 25 Most Controversial Movies

Recently, Disney-owned Movies.com posted a feature entitled “The 25 Most Controversial Movies of All Time” by Kimberly Potts. Among them? Song of the South, ranked #5. For the close-up picture they show the European VHS cover, and for the movie’s description they state:

“The story: Disney’s first live-action movie mixed in animated scenes to tell the stories of kindly ol’ Uncle Remus, including the tales of Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Bear … and the “Tar Baby.”

The scandal: The movie, which has faced accusations that it promotes racial stereotypes and the idea of the slave-slavemaster relationship in a positive light, won a 1947 Best Song Oscar for “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” and was a major cultural force in its day. But it’s been on the shelves for half a century and has never been released on home video in the U.S. because of Disney’s concerns that “depictions in the film … viewed in today’s world, might not be viewed as kindly or as politically correct.” The studio is, however, currently mulling the idea of DVD release.”

As for the other four movies deemed more controversial than Song of the South, they are: The Birth Of A Nation (#4), The Last Temptation Of Christ (#3), Midnight Cowboy (#2), and Natural Born Killers (#1). Thanks to Michael Klossner for the news report!

The full feature can be read here: http://movies.go.com/feature?featureid=886352

Disney Backpedaling on Releasing Song of the South?

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable supposedly met with Disney executives on their opposition to Disney releasing Song of the South without “a disclaimer and a preface on the historic harm of racial stereotypes on American society.” (See yesterday’s news report for the full press release.) Today, they have posted a follow-up press release, which states:

May 11, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Earl Ofari Hutchinson
323-296-6331

A Statement from Earl Ofari Hutchinson, President Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable Praising Disney’s Decision Not to Re-Release the Racially Stereotypical Film, Song of the South.

The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable praises the decision by Disney Studios reaffirming its position not to release for home video sale the 1946 racially stereotypical film, Song of the South. The film depicts blacks as happy-go-lucky, submissive, storytelling, servants and helpmates. The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable opposed the re-release of Song of the South without a disclaimer and a preface on the historic harm of racial stereotypes on American society. Disney’s decision not to re-release the film affirms that they are a socially responsible corporation that understands and is sensitive to the hurt of racial stereotypes. The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable will continue to monitor and work closely with Disney and other studios to insure, quality, fair and balanced productions free of racially and gender demeaning images and stereotypes.”

Has Disney backpedaled on its decision? Granted, when Disney CEO Robert Iger said in March 2007 that the studio would “look at [Song of the South] again,” he wasn’t committing to releasing the movie, just stating that the studio would re-evaluate the film. But with this recent press release from the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, one can’t help but feel concerned that Disney is once again turning tail on the film instead of adding the proposed “disclaimer/preface” that everyone is in favor of. Thanks to Jimmy Lucky for the news report.

Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable on Song of the South

The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable has released the following press release:

May 8, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Earl Ofari Hutchinson
310-672-2542
A Statement from Earl Ofari Hutchinson, President Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable on the discussion on Disney’s Possible Re-Release of the Racially Stereotypical Film, Song of the South.

In a statement in March Disney President and CEO Bob Iger said that Disney is considering a re-release for home video of the 1946 racially stereotypical film, Song of the South. The film depicts blacks as happy-go-lucky, submissive, storytelling, servants and helpmates. The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable opposes the re-release of Song of the South without a disclaimer and a preface on the historic harm of racial stereotypes on American society. If Disney fails to provide a racially instructive statement to film purchasers on Song of the South, it sends the terrible message that Disney puts dollars ahead of its corporate responsibility to educate the public on the danger of racial stereotypes. The Don Imus flap was a warning to the entertainment and broadcast industry that racial stereotypes will be vigorously challenged.

The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable and the Los Angeles Civil Rights Assn. will formally present this statement to Disney executives on Friday, May 11 at 10:00AM at Disney Corporate Offices 500 S. Buena Vista Dr., Burbank. They will request an urgent meeting with President and CEO Bob Iger on the film.

Partial List of Endorsers:
Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable
Los Angeles Civil Rights Assn.
NAACP National Board Rep
Youth Advocacy Coalition

http://earlofarihutchinson.blogspot.com/

Thanks to Jim Smith for sending this press release to me.