Author Archives: hemingray

Song of the South Rumors Roundup

We get our fair share of rumors around here, so I’ll pass on a couple interesting ones received recently. And as always, take these with a grain (or ten) of salt…

“My daughter and I went on a behind the scenes tour at Disney World in 2003 and were told by our guide that the reason the movie has not been re-released is the family of the composer of the musical score will not release the score. Disney must chang 4 notes in each song, therefore making it a new song, and then the movie will be re-released. However, this will take some time and movie magic to happen.” – Diane

“Now, take this rumor with a huge grain of salt. Due to it’s large popularity, I heard a rumor it may be re-released in Summer 2005 in theaters around the globe, the first time in america in 19 years. Also rumored is following the re-release, the film would be released on DVD for the first time ever that Winter, via the Walt Disney Platinum DVD series. Once again, take it with a huge grain of salt.” – Chris B.

Taken…

Brer Bear Makes a Cameo in Lion King 1 1/2

Several readers have noted that Brer Bear (or, more specifically, Brer Bear’s silhouette) makes a cameo in the recently-released Lion King 1 1/2. At the end of the movie, several Disney characters appear as silhouettes against a movie screen, taking their seats to watch the “next showing” of the movie. Among them is the oversized Brer Bear, shown on the right.

Roy Disney Supports Song of the South’s Release

I recently contacted Roy Disney and Stanley Gold after learning of their decision to resign from Disney’s Board of Directors. In my letter I pledged my full support and also took the opportunity to ask Mr. Disney if there was any information he could provide on Song of the South’s status. He was kind enough to provide me with the following reply:

Dear Mr. Willis – thanks forr letter of support, and I am sorry to tell you that this is yet another reason to do our best to move Eisner out. He has been – far quite a few years now – totally against (I think AFRAID is a better word) of re-releasing Song of the South, which happens to be one of my favorite of the old Disney films. A number of us have tried, for some time, to change his mind, to no avail.

So that’s all I can tell you right now. It would be one of my first acts if I were to come back to the company!

Hope that helps, although I know it’s not the best of news…

Roy

Needless to say, it is clear to see where the support lies in the release of this film! So, I highly encourage all of you to take action and support Roy Disney and Stanley Gold in restoring Disney to its original glory! Please take the time to visit SaveDisney.com and see how you can help. This is a crucial step in gettingSong of the South released! SaveDisney.com has also kindly added SongoftheSouth.net to their links section.

Portions of Song of the South Making Way into Disney DVDs

Several readers have noted that Disney’s new Masterpiece Edition DVD of Alice in Wonderland released on January 27 contains color footage from Song of the South: namely, Uncle Remus singing “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” and the animated sequence which follows, “Running Away.” This excerpt is included in the special feature “One Hour in Wonderland,” originally broadcast on Christmas 1950.

Previously, the only footage of Song of the South available on a Disney DVD was on the Disney Treasures: Disneyland USA DVD released back in December 2001. It contains the animated “Laughing Place” sequence in black-and-white, just as it was originally broadcast on ABC’s “Disneyland” TV show back in the 1950’s.

Also, March 2003 saw the release of the Vista Series DVD of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which contains a publicity shot from Song of the South.

One can hope that this is a sign of Disney testing the waters for an eventual release of Song of the South on DVD.

Song of the South Petition Hits 50,000; SongoftheSouth.net Hits 300,000

James’ Song of the South Petition over at UncleRemusPages.com has hit a milestone today with over 50,000 supporters! Also, December 2003 saw SongoftheSouth.net’s counter hit the 300,000 mark—up from 200,000 in March 2003 and 100,000 in April 2002. It is clear to see that the word is indeed getting out. Thank you all for your continued interest and support, and be sure to keep spreading the word!

LaughingPlace.com was also kind enough to add this news to their headlines.

“Disneymania 2” CD Includes New “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”

A new Disney CD entitled “Disneymania 2” slated for release on January 27 includes twelve classic Disney songs performed by contemporary artists: LMNT, No Secrets, The Beu Sisters, Hilary and Haylie Duff, They Might Be Giants, and others.

Of note in this compilation is a new rendition of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” performed by Stevie Brock. A sample of the new song can be heard over atAmazon.com. Thanks to Mason for the report!

Song of the South’s Aspect Ratio – 1.75:1 or 1.37:1?

Aspect ratio is the proportion of a film image. For example, a “widescreen” film might have an aspect ratio of 2.35:1—that is, the image is 2.35 times as wide as it is tall. Song of the South‘s pressbooks starting in 1972 state that Song of the South‘s aspect ratio is 1.75:1. However, Song of the South was filmed in 1946 when the standard aspect ratio was 1.37:1 or 1.33:1 (the same aspect ratio as, say, Gone With the Wind.) So, then, is Song of the South‘s aspect ratio 1.75:1 or 1.37:1?

Thanks to an email from reader Phil Smoot, Song of the South was most likely shot and debuted at 1.37:1. It wasn’t until around 1953 that widescreen as we know it came into existence. Then, some older movies shot in the narrower format were “soft-matted” to give the movie a faux widescreen appearance. Essentially, what this did was crop off the top and/or bottom of the picture to make it appear wider on screen! Song of the South theoretically could have been shown in theaters at 1.75:1 as early as the 1956 re-release, but the 1956 pressbook makes no mention of any aspect ratio. We do know, based uponSong of the South‘s pressbooks, that the movie was shown in 1.75:1 in 1972, 1973, and 1980. Thanks to Phil for the report!

Correspondence with Jesse Cryor’s Granddaughter

Jesse Cryor’s talented voice can be heard in Song of the South‘s well-known tune “Everybody Has A Laughing Place.” Recently, Jesse’s granddaughter Kimberley contacted me with information on her grandfather, and shared with me the frustration she feels about Song of the South‘s unavailability and the impact it has on Jesse:

“…I’m so very sorry that my grandfather may never be able to go to the theatre or television and watch this movie with my children, neices and nephew and say to his great-grandchildren, “That’s your Great-Granddaddy singing, baby”. It may seem like nothing to many, I know. But, this movie was a highlight in his career as a vocalist. …My grandfather, Jesse Cryor, never became famous, has had his music stolen, was not even fairly compensated, financially—as was true for most of the Black artists of his day—for all of his dedication, creativity, hard work and time away from his wife and children. He knows that in some ways those are the breaks of the business while in other ways he was outright cheated. He is still very alert and very aware of this fact. And he remembers. This, even now, hurts him deeply.”

Her email was so moving to me, I requested if I could reprint it in its entirety on this web site for others to read as well. It is such a powerful message! Disney, if you’re reading this, you should be flat-out ashamed of yourselves for shunning the hard work of people like Jesse Cryor by not releasing this movie.

Click here to read Kimberley’s email. I highly recommend it.

Happy 57th Birthday, Song of the South!

Song of the South made its worldwide debut today, 57 years ago at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Check out what some aspects of the 1946 campaign looked like, or listen to the original radio spots that filled the airwaves. Or, check out some of the memorabilia released from that time period.

Today also marks the 3rd anniversary of SongoftheSouth.net!

Now is also a good opportunity to make sure you all have signed James’ Song of the South Petition, hosted on his web site over at UncleRemusPages.com. As of today, there are now 45,314 people who want this classic released!

And, as always, please be sure to check out the FAQ section to see what other things we can do to get this Academy Award-winning, landmark Disney production into the hands of Americans once and for all!

Disney.com’s Search Engine Features Bootleg Song of the South Sites

Disney and the MPAA have put a lot of effort into suppressing web sites that offer Song of the South on video and DVD. Unbeknownst to them, people have been able to find these sources through Disney.com’s very own search engine!

In what I can only describe as the most deliciously ironic thing I’ve ever seen, a reader has pointed out that when one searches for “Song of the South” on Disney.com, web sites offering bootleg (illegal) copies of the movie prominently fill the “sponsored links” area of the search results page.

Apparently, Disney.com’s search engine uses sponsored links from Google.com. Google’s sponsored links have long been a popular choice for sites selling illegal copies of Song of the South. Now, I know for a fact that Disney Worldwide Services visits my web site on a fairly regular basis, (Hi guys!), so it will be interesting to see how quickly action is taken on this.

(Update: To date, no action has been taken.)