Celebrating 59 Years of Song of the South

On this day 59 years ago, Song of the South saw its worldwide premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. Happy Birthday!

And now, the countdown begins. With the widely publicized rumor back in February that Song of the South may finally be released on DVD for its 60th Anniversary, all eyes are on Disney now.

If you haven’t already, please be sure to sign the Song of the South Petition, and send the link to family and friends as well. Every name counts! If there’s ever been a time to add your name, it’s now. Let Disney know how many people out there want this movie released!

James Baskett Inducted into Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame

This week saw the induction of 15 well-known radio performers into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame, including Indiana native James Baskett. Baskett, born in Indianapolis in 1904, memorably performed the role of wise Uncle Remus in Walt Disney’s Song of the South, for which he won a special Academy Award. Apart from Song of the South, he was well known for his supporting role of the fast-talking lawyer Gabby Gibson on the Amos ‘n’ Andy radio program. For more information on James Baskett, please read his biography page. Thanks to Mark Kratzner 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

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Included in New Walmart Exclusive CD

Walmart will be releasing an exclusive DVD & Music CD 2-pack, which includes the 2-disc Platinum Collection Special Edition of Cinderella, and the CD entitled “10 Favorite Disney Classics”. Of special note is that “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” is likely one of those 10 songs. And how do we know that? Well, Uncle Remus himself is included on the cover! While this artwork is not new (it originates from the Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Sing-Along VHS first released in the late 80’s), to my knowledge this is the first time this artwork has appeared on another release. This set will be released on October 4th and is available for preorder on Walmart’s website. Thanks to Patrick Casey for the heads up!

Song of the South Included in Disneyland’s List of Upcoming Releases

I received a report from Jennifer that the Upcoming Releases binder kept at the 20th Century Music Company store on Main Street in Disneyland lists Song of the South scheduled for a tentative release of November 2006. I visited Disneyland a few weeks ago and can verify this is true. BUT!!! Before you get your hopes up, the list is simply a printout of the same list featured on UltimateDisney.com, an UNOFFICIAL Disney site. So, while it’s interesting to note, it doesn’t add any credibility to the widespread rumor. Be sure to read the original news report on the possibility of a November 2006 release for Song of the South.

Song of the South Relisted in Disney’s Movie Finder (Again)

I’ve received several reports that Song of the South has been relisted in Disney’s Movie Finder, both in the A-Z List as well as through its search engine. Back in May, Song of the South had been removed from both these pages, making it impossible for people to get to the page in order to contact Disney to request the movie be released. This is the second time so far that this movie has been removed from Disney’s Movie Finder, the first time occurring a year ago in July 2004. Thank you to whoever relisted it!

Roy Disney and The Walt Disney Co. Reconcile Differences

In case you haven’t heard: The Walt Disney Company, Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold recently announced that they have agreed to put aside the differences that have characterized their relationship over the past several years. Messrs. Disney and Gold have agreed not to run a rival slate of directors or submit shareholder resolutions for the next five years. Messrs. Disney and Gold have also agreed to dismiss all their pending lawsuits against the Company. In reestablishing ties with him and his family, the Company has named Roy E. Disney Director Emeritus and a consultant. The Company also reaffirmed its commitment to the rotation of committee members and chairpersons on its Board committees as currently required by the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines. In putting aside their differences, the Company noted Mr. Disney’s long time devotion to the Company and welcomed the reestablishment of a relationship with him and his family. Messrs. Disney and Gold expressed confidence in Mr. Iger’s leadership, and as Mr. Eisner retires after 21 years with the Company, they acknowledged his contribution to the Company over the years.

SongoftheSouth.net has been a proud supporter of Mr. Disney and Mr. Gold’s efforts. I wish them my best in reestablishing ties with the Walt Disney Company and hope that their valuable insight will be fully appreciated by the new leadership. As SaveDisney.com will now be shutting down, editor Merlin Jones has requested that his past articles written on Song of the South be preserved, which I am honored to do! So, you can now read Merlin Jones’ articles within the News Archives section. If you haven’t read them already, I highly recommend it!

Mr. Disney, thank you for standing up for a better Disney… and Song of the South.

Follow-Up to Rumored Song of the South “Sequel”

Back in May 2004 I received a few reports that actor Wayne Brady was involved in doing some voice acting for the character Brer Bear in what was rumored to be a Song of the South sequel/remake of sorts. This follow-up is long overdue, but better late than never!

As it turns out, Wayne Brady IS involved in vocal acting for a character named Brer Bear, but in a film completely independent from Disney. While the film has some Disney ties (Executive Producer is former Disney artist Tad Stones, Byron Vaughn is the Director, and Mary Thorne is the Line Producer), the film is “strictly through NBC Universal” according to Ruben Chavez, Lead Background Stylist of the Universal Cartoon Studios. The film about Brer Rabbit is going to be a direct-to-video release, the first of its kind for the studio that isn’t based off of a feature film.

More in-depth discussion about this work in progress is available in the Tad Stones Interviews, which I highly recommend reading! It sounds very unique and I am looking forward to seeing it when it is released. Thanks to Ruben Chavez and Joe Strike for the additional information on this project!

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.

Song of the South Removed From Disney’s Movie Finder… Again

Our readers have noticed that, once again, Disney has removed Song of the South from its Movie Finder. It was previously noted back in July 2004 that Song of the South‘s page had been removed from the Movie Finder, but was later reinstated. This time, the page remains, but all referencecs to it have been removed, both in the A-Z List and the Search feature. Kind of useless to have a Song of the South page if no one can get to it…! Once again, I encourage everyone to contact Disney and let them know how you feel about this.