Category Archives: Song of the South

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

Cartoon Brew Article: Who’s Afraid of Song of the South?

Jerry over at Cartoon Brew has asked the question, “Who’s afraid of Song of the South?” (That’s what we’d like to know too!) While at Comic Con, he picked up Issue 16 of Hogan’s Alley, which contains a 19-page article on Song of the South. In the article, the author Korkis “documents the complete story of the project, from pre-production to latter day reissues – with all the controversy inbetween”. According to Jerry, this is a must-read. I just ordered my copy as I write this, and I’m looking forward to reading it!

The Cartoon Brew article also shows some rare Ub Iwerks notes and production boards from Song of the South, from the collection of Mike Van Eaton. These are definitely worth viewing. Special thanks to Merlin Jones for the news report!

The full Cartoon Brew article can be read here:
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/whos-afraid-of-song-of-the-south.html

To subscribe to Hogan’s Alley or order a copy of Issue 16, visit:
http://cagle.msnbc.com/hogan/subscribe.asp

Wikipedia Rumor: “Diamond Edition” Song of the South DVD

First, let me say that Wikipedia is by no means a reliable source for Song of the South rumors. The very nature of Wikipedia is that it can easily be revised by pretty much anyone. This leads to a lot of unfounded speculation, which amounts to no more than defacement in my opinion. However, in the interest of Song of the South rumors, I will post this. But, depending on how frequently Wikipedia rumors keep cropping up, I may become more selective as to which ones I report on, or I may stop posting on them altogether.

On May 9th, the following information was added to the Disney Special Editions page of Wikipedia by someone at the IP address 189.82.131.134:

Title	Discs	UK Release Date	US Release Date	Notes
Song of the South: 60th Anniversary Edition	2	May 2010	February 9, 2010	DVD and Blu-ray Disc – First release on DVD and Blu-ray Disc

There’s just one problem with this: Song of the South’s 60th anniversary was in 2006. This blatantly errant entry was removed two days later, on May 11th, by IP address 76.186.137.190.

Then, on May 23rd, the same IP (76.186.137.190) added Song of the South back on the list:

Title	Discs	UK Release Date	US Release Date	Notes
Song of the South: Diamond Edition	2	March 2012	March 13, 2012	Platinum Edition (US) (DVD/Blu-ray Disc) First Digital Release

Notice how the release date is now 2 years further away, but now is supposedly part of Disney’s new “Diamond Edition” series. This addition was removedonly 12 hours later by IP address 189.82.136.79.

So there you have it… basically what amounts to a cyber “tug of war” for Song of the South. One thing’s for certain: it hasn’t been released yet, and until it does Disney will just continue to lose money to the bootleggers out there.

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/