Author Archives: hemingray

Wren’s Nest: Song of the South To Be Released In 2009

Note: The Wren’s Nest post is an APRIL FOOL’S JOKE.

According to The Wren’s Nest blog (posted on April 1st), Song of the South is slated to be released this year on both Blu-ray and DVD. To quote the blog:

“Disney has decided to release the film Song of the South to Blu-ray and DVD later this year. After waiting over twenty years since it’s last theatrical release, this is enormous news.

“Not surprisingly, the decision came after the recent Disney shareholder meeting. Expect the official announcement within the next two weeks or so. ….

“We’re privy to this information now because one of the shareholders (and a friend of the Nest) thought we should know in advance in order to prepare ourselves. I’m considering buying a phone headset to avoid answering-elbow.”

Rest of blog can be read here:
http://www.wrensnestonline.com/blog/disney-to-release-song-of-the-south-on-blu-ray-and-dvd-in-2009/

D23 Limited Edition Song of the South Cel

Today, Disney announced the new club “D23”, a web site that is touted to be the “premier online destination for Disney fans.” Membership costs $75 a year, and “perks” include 4 newsletters a year, and exclusive collectibles.

One such collectible available for preorder from the D23 Boutique is a limited edition, framed cel from Song of the South:

“Find your laughing place with our D23 Membership Exclusive Framed Limited-Edition Song of the South Cel. Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear bicker over the fate of a captive Br’er Rabbit on this hand-painted limited edition cel inspired by Walt Disney’s 1946 film classic, Song of the South. If our hero uses his head and a bit of trickery, he’s sure to escape once again. Matched to original production art by the world famous Disney Animation Ink and Paint department, each Br’er Rabbit cel is hand-numbered and comes complete with a Certificate of Authenticity. The background is printed on museum-quality paper with archival inks. Made in U.S.A. Available to own April 15, 2009.”

• Hand-inked and painted cel on acetate
• Fine art background print on paper
• Wood frame with fabric mat & UV coated plexiglass
• Framed size 19” H x 22” W.
• Image size: 10 1/2” H x 12 1/2” W
• Hand-numbered Limited Edition of 23
• Certificate of Authenticity

The price? $1,495.95.

Thanks to Merlin Jones for the news report!

New Framed Song of the South Giclées

As part of the Walt Disney Signature Collection, Disney has released two matching giclées:

“Magnolias bloom once more on our Walt Disney Signature Collection Song of the South Giclée… Elegance meets country living in the heart of the Southern antebellum style. This Walt Disney Signature Collection Song of the South fine art print highlights floral detailing from a pen and ink title card created for the film. A striking graphic design accent for your home or office décor. Made in USA.”

• Archival ink print on paper
• Silver and brown wood frame
• Double matted
• Framed 30” H x 20” W x 1” D

Each frame is sold separately for $149.95.

Thanks to Merlin Jones for the news report!

New 2009 Brer Rabbit “Retro” Pin Released

On Friday, January 9th, Disney released a new pin as part of the Retro Disneyland pin collection. It is a pin-on-pin design, with Brer Rabbit in the foreground. In the background is Chickapin Hill among grass and pine trees. At the bottom is the vintage Disneyland logo. The pin is Open Edition, retails for $8.95 and is currently available at Disneyland. The pin was designed by Tyler Dumas from the Disney Design Group. See the Disney Pin Trading web site for more info:

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/pin?id=41033

MousePlanet Article: Song of the South That Never Was

Once again, MousePlanet staff writer Wade Sampson has written an excellent article on Song of the South. This article focuses on “what could have happened with Uncle Remus and his animated friends.” If you’re interested in learning more about the history of Song of the South‘s development prior to its theatrical release in 1946, this article is a must read:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=ww081210ws

I also highly recommend two other articles on Song of the South written by Wade earlier this year, which detail the history of Walt Disney’s Uncle Remus comic strip and the theatrical premier of Song of the South in 1946. See the news article from February 19th, below. Thanks to Maggi for the news report!

Celebrating Song of the South’s 62nd Anniversary

On this day, 62 years ago, Song of the South made its worldwide debut at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. As a special tribute, I have added several photographs from the worldwide premier to the Photo Archives section. These photos appear courtesy of the Georgia State University Library‘s Special Collections and are exhibited with permission. Enjoy seeing a piece of Disney history!

New Song of the South Southern Series Pin Released

On September 15th, Disney released a new pin series in a salute to the American South. Each pin pictures a Southern belle and gentleman. Appropriately enough, one of the pins depicts Brer Bear, Brer Fox, and Brer Rabbit from Song of the South. Who’s the rabbit belle on Brer Rabbit’s arm? They don’t mention her by name, but I would suspect it’s Miss Molly, long-time “sweetheart” of Brer Rabbit seen in various Disney comics and books over the years. This would be the first time she’s appeared on a pin.

DisneyShopping.com Product Description: “Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear find the belle of the ball to be mighty satisfactual on this limited-edition Disney pin inspired by Walt Disney’s classic Song of the South. Imported”

The pin is limited to an edition of 250 and is available to order from DisneyShopping.com. The price is $12.95.

Rumor: Song of the South Preview on Upcoming Sleeping Beauty DVD?

It has been reported that a Wikipedia page on Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty has a reference to a Song of the South “Sneak Peek” in the upcoming 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition DVD release, scheduled for October 7, 2008:

A 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition release of Sleeping Beauty, as a 2-disc DVD & Blu-ray Disc, is currently scheduled for October 7, 2008. This release will make Sleeping Beauty the first entry in the Platinum Edition line to be released in high definition video. The Blu-ray version will feature BD-Live, an online feature, and the extras will include a virtual castle and multi-player games. (The sneak peek includes Pinocchio, Bolt, The Princess and the Frog, WALL-E, Song of the South and Tinker Bell.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty_(1959_film)

No additional information has been found on this claim, so it has been labeled a rumor. The DVD is available for preorder on Amazon.com. Has anyone else out there heard anything about this? If so, please contact me. Special thanks to Jeff S. for the news report!

UPDATE 9/28/08: The reference to Song of the South has been removed. One of the nice things about Wikipedia is that all changes are logged. If you view the page history, we can see that the reference to Song of the South has been added, and subsequently removed, multiple times since the beginning of August. The first time Song of the South was added was on August 4th (see edit) by IP address 76.208.167.85.

UPDATE 10/22/08: Now that several people have received their Sleeping Beauty DVDs, this rumor can be put to rest; there is no preview or “sneak peak” of Song of the South as had been posted on Wikipedia.

Dummies In The Attic: Joel Chandler Harris & The Wren’s Nest

Last month, Rachael Maddux of Paste magazine published an article entitled “Dummies In The Attic“, a story about Joel Chandler Harris’ home the Wren’s Nest, which he built and lived in until his death in 1908. Lain Shakespeare, the great-great-great grandson of Joel Chandler Harris, is interviewed in the article and is currently the executive director of the Wren’s Nest museum.

Interestingly, the article pictures two mannequins that until recently were collecting dust up in the attic of the Wren’s Nest. According to the article, they were originally given to the Wren’s Nest by Walt Disney for the premier of Song of the South in 1946. Now, over 60 years later, Uncle Remus and Johnny are seeing the light of day once again. According to Lain: “They’re part of Wren’s Nest’s history — and I thought it would be a cool thing to show people.”

Read the full article here: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/06/dummies-in-the-attic.html

I would also encourage you to visit The Wren’s Nest web site: http://www.wrensnestonline.com/

Ollie Johnston, Last of Disney’s “Nine Old Men”, Passes Away

Ollie Johnston, the last surviving member of Disney’s “Nine Old Men”, passed away Monday at age 95. He died of natural causes at a long-term care facility in Sequim, Washington.

Besides being a Directing Animator for Song of the South, Ollie worked on numerous other Disney films, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Bambi, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Robin Hood and The Rescuers.

We will miss you, Ollie! Thank you for all the wonderful films I was fortunate to grow up with.