Category Archives: Site Updates

News relating to updates that have been made to Song of the South.net

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

60th Anniversary Celebration: New Song of the South Radio!

Today is a very special one indeed: it marks Song of the South‘s diamond anniversary! 60 years ago today, Song of the South premiered at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia at 8:30PM.

In celebration of Song of the South‘s 60th anniversary, a brand new feature has been added to SongoftheSouth.net: Song of the South Radio! Featuring over 3 hours of songs and vintage radio ads from Song of the South recorded by dozens of artists from 1946 to present! This 60th Anniversary special will run from November 12 until the end of the year. If enough interest is generated in this new feature, it may become a permanent fixture here at Song of the South.net!

In notable absence is the long-rumored Song of the South 60th Anniversary Special Edition DVD that was anticipated to be released by Disney. It had been hoped that with the removal of Michael Eisner, the new heads at Disney would come to their senses and release this film to the American public once and for all. Our hopes were all but dashed during a Disney stockholder’s meeting back in March 2006, in which new CEO Robert Iger said “…for now we simply don’t have plans to bring it back…”

And so, the petition continues…

New Petition Hits 10,000 Signatures; SongoftheSouth.net Hits 750,000

In September 2006, the new Song of the South Petition reached a landmark: 10,000 signatures! With about a month and a half to go before Song of the South‘s much-anticipated 60th Anniversary, now is the time to send this petition to every Disney fan and family member you know.

Also of note is SongoftheSouth.net’s homepage hit counter, which has been counting visitors since March 8, 2000. It has reached 750,000, over a quarter of a million visits to the homepage alone! The site now averages over 800 visits a day. I’d like to give a sincere thank you to all the faithful visitors, and a special welcome to any new visitors out there!

New Song of the South Petition

The original Song of the South Petition, created by James McKimson over at UncleRemusPages.com, has collected over 65,000 names from its creation up until August 2004. Unfortunately, James has not been able to update the list in some time (although he believes it has probably reached 100,000 names by now).

To help alleviate James of the monumental task of processing each name manually, I have created a new petition that is completely self-sufficient and requires no manual processing; your name is added instantly. I would encourage anyone who submitted their name to the old petition on or after August 15, 2004, to add their name to the new petition. While I have been unable to get in contact with James very recently, I want to make it clear that the petition is still very much James’ brainchild and all of the 65,000+ names should be considered in addition to the names collected with the new petition.

Spread the word! You can also send this petition to family and friends by using the “Send to a Friend” feature.

SongoftheSouth.net Notable News

SongoftheSouth.net’s web counter recently hit 500,000 since I first began counting visitors in 2000. Alright! Also, I have spoken with James McKimson over at UncleRemusPages.com, home of the original Song of the South Petition. While James has not had the time to update the petition in several months, he believes that it has since risen to over 100,000 names. [Update 5/10/05: I have created a new petition to alleviate James from needing to manually maintain the list of supporters.]

And finally, SongoftheSouth.net’s Merchandise has received a much-needed product refresh. I’ve redesigned some of the t-shirt graphics, plus added several new products, including buttons, magnets, coffee mugs, mousepads, messenger bags, and even a much-requested bumper sticker. I’ve also taken $1 off the price of the white t-shirts. Now more than ever is the time to get the word out on getting Song of the South released once and for all!

Song of the South Fan Art Contest Results

The results are in! The first-ever Song of the South Fan Art Contest turned out to be a great success, thanks to everyone who participated! There were a total of 11 submissions from 6 participants.

The Grand Prize goes to Heather Little, age 17, for her work “Bring Back the Briar Patch”, whose creativity and artistic talents really impressed me. She will receive a Song of the South t-shirt of her choice plus a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com.

But I was also impressed with everyone else’s work and creativity as well. So, I am giving everyone a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate to show my appreciation for their participation. Thank you! Uncle Walt would be proud.

Be sure to check out all the entries!

Happy 58th Birthday Song of the South! Fan Art Contest Announced

After a long pause in Song of the South news, it’s time to celebrate Song of the South‘s 58th birthday! Song of the South was first shown at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia on November 12, 1946. Here’s hoping we’re one year closer to an official Disney home video/DVD release!

In honor of Song of the South‘s 58th birthday, SongoftheSouth.net is announcing the first-ever Song of the South Fan Art Contest! Click here for details!

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.

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!

Video Page Removed by Order of MPAA

The Motion Picture Association of America once again attempted to pin me with the charge of “Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Motion Pictures.” Some of you may remember they tried this once before back in April 2001. This time around, they reference my Video page as the offending page and claimed that I was “unlawfully offering product.” This is simply not true, as I was only linking to a supplier who offers Song of the South in its original, PAL format release, and who then supplies the purchaser with a complimentary conversion copy. This was quite clearly stated on my Video page.

However, on July 8, I received a notice from my web host that my account had been suspended because of this incident. So, not wishing to sabotage my entire web site (and countless hours of work and research), I have complied with the MPAA’s wishes and removed the offending page. Both the MPAA and my web host have been informed of the compliance, so hopefully this will be the end of that.

If you’d like to see the email sent to me by the MPAA, I’ve archived it here.