Author Archives: hemingray

Who Framed Roger Rabbit Nods to Song of the South

It’s no surprise that Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a film set in the 1940s that combines live action with animation, would give a nod to Song of the South. The film, in fact, contains five Song of the South character cameos, what I believe to be the most cameos from any single film represented within the movie.

Back in March, a new Vista Series DVD of Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released. Among the image galleries of the DVD’s special features, it has been noted that the “Production” section includes a publicity shot from Song of the South: the famous sunset scene that graces the covers of several memorabilia items and, of course, this web site! A screenshot is available at ign.com. Thanks to Curtis for the report.

Song of the South Featured in Film Threat’s Bootleg Files Column

Author Phil Hall of Film Threat has chosen Song of the South for their first Bootleg Files column, a new column that discusses movies that are not commercially available. Among the topics covered in this article, Phil discusses why the movie is not available, and voices his opinions on what he feels is overall “simply not a great film.” He does feel, however, that ultimately Song of the South deserves to be seen. While I definitely think more of Walt’s first attempt at a live-action musical drama, Phil’s opinions are every bit as valid and make for an interesting and recommended read:

http://www.filmthreat.com/Features.asp?Id=774

Brer Bear: Odd Bear Out?

Well, I got a promo in the mail from Disney yesterday announcing the upcoming showing of Disney’s Brother Bear at the El Capitan Theater. I opened up the brochure, and saw a second promo for an included live stage show called “The Magic of Disney Music.” Among the group of 10 characters pictured was… Brer Bear! Rather surprised, I read the description:

“Catch your favorite Disney characters in an all-new live stage show featuring songs from classic Disney films including: Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Tarzan, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King.”

What about Song of the South? All the other characters represented are in the movies listed in the description, but it would appear that Brer Bear is the odd bear out. So, did Brer Bear get snuck into the picture when he wasn’t supposed to be there? Nope, I have a pretty good idea that this stage show will be including the Academy Award-winning song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah from Song of the South.

Disney Archivist Robert Tieman on Song of the South

This past Sunday, Russell Davies interviewed Disney Archivist Robert Tieman on BBC Radio 2. Among the several topics that was brought up, Song of the South was among them. Several interesting points were covered in the discussion, but the most notable portion was near the end:

Tieman: …one of the things that is possibly a hopeful sign for the future, coming up I think next year, I think in 2004, will be a DVD set of Disney’s World War II cartoons, which for years and years and years, were off the market. And, it was finally decided that if they were presented in the right historical context that they could be reissued, and the company has hired Leonard Maltin, who is a film comentator, to do a historical overview of the time that these cartoons were made, and what they were used for and so forth, and so I think once again with the proper context that these things can be done successfully.

As noted here before, Leonard Maltin fully supports Song of the South‘s release. Disney’s World War II cartoons finally being released with an historical overview by Maltin is a very positive step in the right direction. With a little bit of luck, this same treatment may be the key to finally releasing Song of the South as well.

Although the original program is no longer available on the BBC Radio 2 website, I have transcribed the relevant portion of the interview. Thanks to Chris Vierig for the report!

New Splash Mountain Musical Snow Globe

A new Splash Mountain collectible is available at Disneyland: the new Splash Mountain Musical Snow Globe, featuring the bodacious Brer Rabbit and Song of the South‘s Academy Award-winning tune “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.” When shaken, the globe fills up with glitter (representing the “splash”), and a button under the base can be pressed to hear the song:

Above the globe sits Chickapin Hill, and below the globe is the base of Splash Mountain. This item retails for $12.00 and is available at The Emporium on Disneyland’s Main Street.

To date, the only other item commercially released by Disney that plays “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” was a pin, released in December of 2002. And, the only other time our Brer pals have had their very own snow globe was back in 1961.

Song of the South in Top 20 Adjusted Animated Films of All Time

According to Animated-Movies.com, “if ticket price inflation was taken into account when ranking top movies (which it pretty much never is even though it would make more sense), Finding Nemo wouldn’t even crack into the top 10. Success is a very relative concept, and the list below helps put things in perspective!”

The list shows Walt Disney’s Song of the South at position #14 with $288.6 million, beating out Peter Pan, Shrek, Monsters Inc., both Toy Story films, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Also, on BoxOfficeReport.com, Song of the South ranks #80 in the $200m Adjusted Movies list, outranking films like Lawrence of Arabia, The Wizard of Oz, Psycho, Fellowship of the Ring, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Seems a little odd for such a “racist” film, doesn’t it? Thanks to Joey Sartin for reporting this.

Song of the South Article in Chicago Tribune

Yesterday saw an article released in the Chicago Tribune entitled “‘South’ Still Silent” and was written by Donald Liebenson, Special to the Tribune. This article is basically a re-edited version of Donald’s earlier article written for the L.A. Times on May 7 of this year entitled “Should dated films see the light of day?”

This new article is available to read here. (Free registration required.)

Fake Memorabilia Alert – “De Tar Baby” Alarm Clock

It has recently come to my attention that De Tar Baby Alarm Clock I had originally estimated to date to 1946, is a fake. The illustration used for the picture of the Tar Baby comes from the cover of The Wonderful Tar Baby, published in 1946. The clock, however, is a Gabriel model Lux clock dating from about 1971. So, at the very earliest, this clock would date to 1971, long after I believe Disney would have chosen to use such a clock face. At least one other clock model has surfaced with the fake “De Tar Baby” face, so it isn’t just limited to the Gabriel model.

According to ClockHistory.com, putting fake faces on clocks is a very common (and dishonest) occurrence, especially faces depicting Black Americana. I myself purchased one of these under the false pretense that it was an original memorabilia item, but it’s a hard lesson to learn that there ARE fakes out there, so please be careful guys! I will keep mine, nevertheless, for historical reference. Thanks to the several people who brought this to my attention.

Song of the South Reference in Finding Nemo

Well, I just got back from watching Finding Nemo, and as always, Pixar did a fantastic job. About three-quarters of the way through the movie, though, I did a double-take: in the Sydney harbor, behind the boat named “The Surly Mermaid” was another boat with the partially visible name “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” a reference to Song of the South‘s Academy Award-winning song. I checked out IMDB.com’s Trivia page on Finding Nemo for confirmation, and sure enough, I wasn’t the only one who spotted it.

Interestingly, the partially obstructed name on the boat is reminiscent of Splash Mountain’s sole reference to “Song of the South” during the showboat finale, which can be seen on the marquee behind the fox to the right of the paddlewheel.

Song of the South Release Rumor – Announcement This Month?

As with all release rumors, remember to take this with a grain of salt. According to an individual who recently visited Disneyland, one of the cast members in a shop on Main Street divulged that Song of the South would be released “in the not too distant future” and that an announcement should be made this month:

“I just got back hours ago from a mom’s gift to herself weekend and while I was digging around the watch shop on Main Street for cool pictures, a woman checking out in front of me asked for anything and everything SONG OF THE SOUTH related. The man told her to try the Splash Mountain Briar Patch type shop. She said she had and not much other than beanie babies etc. He told her not to spread this around, of which his voice proceeded to get much louder so a large group of 20 or so heard but Disney finally gave their consent to release SOS on DVD in the not too distant future and an announcement should be made in the upcoming month of July. I know not to trust but my DVD player and I are hoping for extra pixie dust in the next few weeks. He said they have to finish negotiating with NAACP type organizations to decide whether to delete or add explanations, you know, to be politically correct. I hope I haven’t stirred up a bees nest here but I was so excited, I thought I’d burst.”

Either this cast member is making up tall tales to appease the Song of the South-seeking public, or there may actually be some truth to this rumor. As with all release rumors, only time will tell. Thanks to Tina of the Yahoo Song of the South Enthusiasts Group for passing this on.

Also, back in May, reader Jim Tobias reported that a man in the DVD section of a MediaPlay store told him that Song of the South would be released sometime “around Christmas time.” So far I haven’t heard any more on either of these rumors.