Category Archives: Song of the South

News related to Walt Disney’s Song of the South.

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[Update: This article is no longer available at the original address, but has been archived here.]

Ruth Warrick, “Sally” in Song of the South, Passes Away

Very sadly, Ruth Warrick passed away on January 15 at the age of 88. She was the last known surviving actress fromSong of the South.

Ruth Warrick’s film debut was in the 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane as Emily Norton Kane. She went on to perform in several other movies throughout the 1940’s and early 1950’s, including Sally in Song of the South. On TV, she was perhaps best known as Phoebe from the soap opera All My Children.

To Ms. Warrick, Song of the South would always be “a very special movie.” She was saddened by the fact that the movie had not been released, and felt that the movie was “probably one of [Disney’s] crowning points.” She will be greatly missed.

More Hope for a Song of the South DVD Release?

A recent thread over at the Home Theater Forum has brought out some very interesting news. Dick Cook, Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, spoke at the Summer 2004 Annual Convention of the NFFC. The September/October 2004 issue of the FantasyLine Express (the club’s newsletter) reported part of his talk:

“After the formal part of his presentation, Cook took questions from Conventioneers. Among the issues on Conventioneers’ minds:

Will Song of the South ever be released on DVD?

“Yes. Cook said that the public has requested a DVD release of Song of the South more than it has requested any other film. That said, Disney also is aware that some elements of the film reflect the time in which it was made and don’t reflect current attitudes. He said that the Studio has encountered similar issues with other older material. In some cases, such as some of the World War II material in the Walt Disney Treasures DVD series, they’ve addressed the issue through introductions that place the material in context. He said that Disney hasn’t yet found the ideal solution forSong of the South, but he was confident that they would.”

Coming from the Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, this sounds very hopeful. We now have confirmation that the studio recognizes it is the single most requested movie and that the studio is exploring ways that it can appropriately present this film to today’s audience. We just hope they leave the original film unaltered. Thanks to Lars Karlsen for the initial heads up!

This topic is also being discussed over at UltimateDisney.com, and a couple of other sites have since picked up on this story as well: ign.com’s “Will Song of the South Be Heard?” and FilmRot.com’s “Song of the South Ban Lifted?“

Film Print Fetches $8K on eBay; Song of the South 2nd on Amazon

A 16mm film print of Song of the South was recently offered up for auction on eBay, fetching a substantial $8,100. Pristine or high quality copies of Song of the South have always demanded a premium, with film prints usually demanding the highest prices. Another popular collector’s item, the Hong Kong laserdisc, regularly fetches over $1,000. Or, for those who aren’t bothered by subtitles, the Japanese laserdisc can normally be found in the $150-200 price range.

Meanwhile, several readers have noted that Song of the South has risen to the #2 spot in Amazon’s Most Requested DVDs, surpassed now only by “Twin Peaks – The Second Season.” The other releases that held Song of the South at 3rd place back in August have since been released. Be sure to Let Amazon (and Disney) know how many people want this movie released by going to this page and entering your email address.

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!

Eisner Retiring in 2006: Song of the South at Last?

The recent news that Michael Eisner, embattled CEO of Disney, is going to retire in 2006 has raised the interest of many Song of the South enthusiasts. Could this at last be the chance we’ve been waiting for? Recall an excerpt of Roy Disney’s email to me back in February:

“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.”

Assuming that Eisner is indeed the only thing standing in the way of Song of the South being released on video/DVD, this is very good news indeed! However, some new questions are raised: since the rest of the acting Board supported Eisner during the tumultuous shareholder voting period back in May, could that suggest that they also support his decisions on Song of the South? Also, does Robert Iger, the current Disney president who is largely speculated to take Eisner’s place in 2006, support Song of the South‘s release?

Incidentally, 2006 will be Song of the South‘s 60th Anniversary. Perfect timing!

Song of the South is Amazon’s 3rd Most Requested DVD

A couple of months ago, a reader pointed out that Song of the South was #5 among a list of Amazon’s Most Requested DVDs. Well folks, that number has since risen to #3. Song of the South is now only surpassed by Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition), which is guaranteed to be released in the near future, and “Charmed”, a 1998 TV series.

Amazon.com’s Song of the South DVD placeholder page states: “The studio is currently not producing this title on DVD, but to be notified when it is available, enter your e-mail address at right. You’ll also be voting for this release; we’ll let the studio know how many customers are waiting for this title.”

So, what are you waiting for? Go to this page and enter your email address to let Amazon (and, ultimately, Disney) know how many people want this movie released!

Song of the South Relisted in Disney.com’s Movie Finder

As a follow up to my July 26 article below, Alex Reece has noticed that Song of the South has since been relisted in Disney.com’s Movie Finder under a new URL. Instead of it being listed as “Song of the South (VHS)”, it is now listed as “Song of the South (Theatrical)”, presumably to act as a placeholder as opposed to an actual product, since no VHS was ever officially released in America. The UPC and ISBN numbers which used to be listed are now notably absent.

Thank you, Disney, for relisting Song of the South. We appreciate it! It shows you are listening and you DO want to hear from us. Now if you would just release the movie… please…?