Category Archives: Uncategorized

Disney Removes “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” from Theme Park Music

The Academy Award-winning song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”, the best known song from Walt Disney’s “Song of the South”, is quietly being removed from Disney theme parks music loops, including Downtown Disney and The Esplande. The song was originally played between the medley from “Frozen” and The Ballad of Davy Crockett.

According to an article by Brady MacDonald of The OC Register, Disney has released a statement regarding the removal:

The removal of the song from Downtown Disney’s background music is part of a continuous process to deliver an environment that features stories that are relevant and inclusive.

Source: https://wdwnt.com/2020/08/disney-issues-statement-regarding-removal-of-splash-mountains-zip-a-dee-doo-dah-from-disneyland-resort-music-loops/

Disneyland has also reportedly removed two references to Song of the South from its Splash Mountain page. This would not be the first time that Disney has removed references from its web sites — several additional dead links from over the years can be found on the Song of the South Links page. I have kept them there for posterity.

Thank you to long-time follower Steve for the news report!

Old Song of the South Petition Host Shutting Down

PetitionOnline.com, the site that has hosted the Song of the South petition since 2005, is shutting down today. Since I began hosting the petition there, we have received 36,543 signatures of people who “support the official release of Walt Disney’s 1946 Classic ‘Song of the South’ on DVD”.

The original Song of the South petition was hosted by James McKimson over at UncleRemusPages.com, and at final tally had 101,780 names.

We have started a brand new petition over at Change.org. Our current goal is to reach 100, so if you haven’t already, please sign your name, and pass this on to friends and family who also support this movie’s release!

The Projection Booth Podcast: Song of the South

The Projection Booth, a web site featuring podcasts on all things cinema, is discussing Song of the South in Episode 102, with special guests Bruce Bickley, Jim Korkis & Jason Sperb. Here is the description from the podcast page:

We celebrate Black History Month by looking at the controversial Disney film Song of the South. Based upon Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus tales, we discuss Ralph Bakshi’s satire, Coonskin, and the complicated history of the Zip A Dee Doo Dah movie.

You can listen to the podcast here:
http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2013/02/episode-102-song-of-south.html

Special thanks to Mike of the Song of the South Yahoo Group for letting us know!

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/

The Adventures of Brer Rabbit DVD Now Available for Pre-Order

As of February 14, Universal’s The Adventures of Brer Rabbit DVD is now available through Amazon.com for pre-order and is scheduled for a release date of March 21.

While the movie itself may not be directly related to Disney, it certainly has some Disney ties: the Executive Producer is former Disney artist Tad Stones, Director is Byron Vaughn, and Line Producer is Mary Thorne. And with the vocal talents of African-American stars Wayne Brady, Danny Glover, Phil LaMarr, Nick Cannon, D.L. Hughley, Wanda Sykes, and others, it sounds like it will be a great movie! This is Universal’s first direct-to-DVD release of a movie not based off of a feature film.

For more in-depth background information on the movie, I encourage you all to read Animation World Magazine’s article entitled The Tad Stones Interview. I certainly hope that this movie is received well, because if it is, it could possibly help pave the way for Disney to roll out the long-rumored 60th anniversary DVD of Song of the South we’ve been hoping for.

Brer Bear Makes a Cameo in Lion King 1 1/2

Several readers have noted that Brer Bear (or, more specifically, Brer Bear’s silhouette) makes a cameo in the recently-released Lion King 1 1/2. At the end of the movie, several Disney characters appear as silhouettes against a movie screen, taking their seats to watch the “next showing” of the movie. Among them is the oversized Brer Bear, shown on the right.

Brer Bear: Odd Bear Out?

Well, I got a promo in the mail from Disney yesterday announcing the upcoming showing of Disney’s Brother Bear at the El Capitan Theater. I opened up the brochure, and saw a second promo for an included live stage show called “The Magic of Disney Music.” Among the group of 10 characters pictured was… Brer Bear! Rather surprised, I read the description:

“Catch your favorite Disney characters in an all-new live stage show featuring songs from classic Disney films including: Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Tarzan, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King.”

What about Song of the South? All the other characters represented are in the movies listed in the description, but it would appear that Brer Bear is the odd bear out. So, did Brer Bear get snuck into the picture when he wasn’t supposed to be there? Nope, I have a pretty good idea that this stage show will be including the Academy Award-winning song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah from Song of the South.

SongoftheSouth.net Radio Interview with Geoff Metcalf

Today at 5:30 I was honored to be interviewed on the air by Geoff Metcalf on his daily radio program, The Geoff Metcalf Show. In my half hour with him, we discussed many things, including the reason behind Song of the South‘s unavailability, what we can do to try to persuade Disney to bring back Song of the South, and my personal interests with the film. He requested to put my Frequently Asked Questions up on his web site, WorldNetDaily.com, which I encouraged.

My sincere thanks goes out to Geoff for his true effort in helping with the continuing fight for this film’s survival!

An Interview with Alice Davis

This Saturday, I was honored to meet and interview Alice Davis, wife of the late legendary Disney animator Marc Davis. Alice is very well-known in the world of Disney herself, having created costumes for such Disneyland attractions as Pirates of the Carribean, It’s A Small World, Carousel of Progress, and Flight to the Moon. Her Disney film work includes costumes for Sleeping Beauty and Toby Tyler.

Read the full details of my interview and the tour here!