Category Archives: Articles

Roy Disney Talks Song of the South

FilmBuffOnline has published an article by Rich Drees reporting on Roy Disney’s attendance of the 16th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival in April. There he accepted an Inspiration Award, and spoke about releasing Song of the South:

“I’ve got a bunch of cohorts working with me to convince the powers that be that it’s the smart thing to do…. [Song of the South] is a wonderful film that deserves to be back out in the public. All it needs is context. Some of that animation is stunning, even by today’s standards.”

It has long been known that Roy Disney has supported this film’s release. I contacted Mr. Disney back in February 2004 after he had resigned from Disney’s Board of Directors. In his reply to me, he stated:

“Dear Mr. Willis — thanks for your 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 — for 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.”

Thanks to everyone who reported this new article!

AP Song of the South News Article Reaches The Nation

This past week, AP reporter Travis Reed’s Song of the South news article was distributed to newspapers and news web sites nationwide under various headlines.

Some of the online editions available include CNN.com, USA Today, MSNBC, the Orlando Sentinel, and several more. The news article brought a record number of visitors to this web site. In one day alone, nearly 7,500 people visited the site (compared to 800 normally!) The petition also gained over 2,000 signatures in the past week alone.

When Travis contacted me for an interview, I was thrilled to hear that the AP would be doing a news article based on Disney CEO Robert Iger’s recent statement at the Disney Annual Shareholder Meeting that the studio would be taking another look at the movie.

This was the first time that I had had my picture taken along with my Song of the South memorabilia for a news article, so it was very exciting to have that happen! I’d like to personally thank Travis for taking the time to craft this news article. Through his efforts there has been an increased awareness for this film, and hopefully we will see some more action on Disney’s part in the near future

Song of the South Among MSNBC’s “10 Least Politically Correct Movies Ever”

MSNBC Contributor Michael Ventre has compiled a list of 10 comedies that “really went to the precipice of good taste and decorum in the quest for laughs.” The list includes Blazing Saddles, Airplane!, There’s Something About Mary, Caddyshack, Love and Death, Kentucky Fried Movie, Team America: World Police,Porky’s, Song of the South, and Bad Santa, respectively.

Song of the South seems out of place in this list. While its animated sequences could certainly be considered a comedy at times, the movie was billed as a live-action drama. Ventre aknowledges this in his description:

This mixture of live action and animation probably doesn’t fit snugly into the category of politically incorrect comedies, simply because it isn’t a straight comedy but more a lighthearted family picture. Also, the depictions of African-Americans here weren’t mean to elicit laughs, but were done in earnest in an attempt to portray life in a particular time period, right after the Civil War. But there’s no doubt this could never be made today the same way. In fact, Disney has refused to even release the film on home video in the United States (although it is available overseas) because the portrayals of African-Americans would create a firestorm today. Uncle Remus, a wise old black man, tells the story of Brer Rabbit and his pals to cheer up little Johnny, a white kid. But most of the black people are shown as subservient to whites. This isn’t exactly “Birth of a Nation,” but in terms of racial stereotypes, it’s in that ballpark. “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Song.

You can read the entire article here. Thanks to Erik W. and Nicole for the news report!

New Song of the South Article: “My Year in the Dark”

Bill Vaughn has posted a new article entitled “My Year in the Dark.” In this article, he recounts watching Song of the South as a child in 1956, includes a synopsis of the story, shares his views of the film and intermixes it with other life events. Vaughn is a contributing editor for Outside Magazine and his web site, darkacres.com, is a journal devoted to current events, sports, and the arts. It’s a great article, and I highly recommend taking the time to read it!

Article Link: darkacres.com; Page 2

Arizona Daily Star: ‘Looking Anew at Song of the South’

An article by Djamila Grossman reports on “Songs of the South: Hidden Melodies”, an upcoming performance by Arizona Onstage Productions. The show will include a screening of Song of the South and will be accompanied by “performances that will challenge the audience with thought-provoking material.”

The show will be performed at 2:30 and 6:00 PM on Sunday, January 8th at Zuzi’s Theater. For more information about this event, click here to read the full article. Thanks to Joey Sartin for the news report.

FilmThreat.com Article: “The Coming and Passing of Song of the South”

Today FilmThreat.com has published an article entitled “The Coming and Passing of Song of the South” by David M. Korn. In this extensive three-part article, David thoroughly examines the controvery surrounding the film and even gives a detailed synopsis of the movie’s story. He also covers the entire range ofSong of the South related history, from theatrical releases to Splash Mountain.

I would like to point out that the article examines the movie from the viewpoint that it is depicting the antebellum South; it needs to be clarified that Song of the South is actually set after the Civil War, just as the original stories by Joel Chandler Harris. This minor discrepancy does not detract from the overall article, however; his points are still very relevant and well-made. David has done an excellent job and I would definitely recommend reading it!

Part 1: http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=1584
Part 2: http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=1585
Part 3: http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=1586

Song of the South Special Edition DVD To Be Released in 2006?

Today, Jim Hill over at Jim Hill Media posted “what he just heard from his sources deep inside Buena Vista Home Entertainment.” In the article, Jim claims that a Special Edition Song of the South DVD will finally be released in the fall of 2006, just in time for Song of the South‘s 60th Anniversary.

Why would Disney finally release this movie? Well, Disney’s financial reports for the first quarter of 2005 show that DVD sales are down by 20%. According to the source, BVHE is hoping to sell 10-12 million units of this movie, which would translate into big bucks (and certainly put the bootleggers out of business, which Disney has long been losing more and more money to.) Combine that with the fact that Song of the South is Disney’s most requested movie, plus its 60th anniversary on the horizon, and you have a potentially winning combo here.

There is a lot more to this claim than what I have mentioned here, so I encourage you to read Jim Hill’s full article and see for yourself:

http://www.jimhillmedia.com/mb/articles/showarticle.php?ID=1313

Song of the South In The News

Recently, Song of the South has been featured in three news articles:

  • The most recent article, published today in The Boston Globe, is entitled “‘South’ Deserves A Fresh Look” written by Renée Graham. It’s a great article and definitely worth a read.
  • Yesterday saw the column “Black To The Future” posted over at Jim Hill Media. The author, Floyd Norman, discusses “the fateful day that he brought Uncle Remus out of retirement” during his days as a writer in Disney’s publishing department. Another great read!
  • On January 31st, The Kansas City Star featured Song of the South in the article “Disney Headed ‘South’ For Live-Action Movie.” They chose Song of the South as their fifth featured Oscar-winning movie in their “Month of Oscar” countdown. (Free registration required.)

In addition to the above articles, several other news sources have picked up on Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook’s hopeful comments regarding Song of the South (see Jan. 1 news below). All of the above, combined with SaveDisney.com’s recent article, has brought unprecedented traffic to SongoftheSouth.net, but more importantly, has kept Song of the South in the public eye. Thanks to Rebekah Moseley, Ryan, and Merlin Jones for reporting these news articles to me!

New SaveDisney.com Article: In Defense of Disney’s Uncle Remus

“Song of the South is a reaffirming story of the bond between two friends that refuse to be separated by race, class, age — a friendship that is forged and held against all odds. Merlin Jones makes a case for the release of Walt Disney’s suppressed classic.”

I must say that Merlin’s article is simply the best Song of the South article I’ve read to date. It is well worth the read! It’s also a valuable source of information for rebutting anyone who is dead set against this movie. Thank you for writing this article, Merlin! You have done the Song of the South and Disney fan communities a great service, and we appreciate it.

[Update: This article is no longer available at the original address, but has been archived here.]

SaveDisney.com Article: The Spirit of Youth

A new essay written by Merlin Jones details the common themes between Walt Disney films such as Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Pollyanna, The Three Lives of Thomasina, and Song of the South: “all center on the concept of a distant parental figure lost in the trappings of adult society.”

“In his innocence, Johnny has no hang-ups about class, race, politics – he only knows that Uncle Remus has opened a Technicolor pathway to imagination with his storytelling – a connection to a vivid world of relevant feelings and ideas outside of Miss Sally’s preconceived notions. When Uncle Remus is forbidden to sidetrack Johnny with anymore of his stories, tragedy strikes as the boy tries to hang on to Uncle Remus and his dreams. It is only when the parents are confronted by the potential loss of their son do they realize what is truly important – finding their Laughing Place, the place they knew as children, the place they can share with Johnny as a family, together.”

I encourage everyone to read this excellent essay to help broaden their understanding of Walt’s vision for Song of the South and his other films discussed as well. Thanks to Tim Hauser for informing me of the article!