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!
On October 22, Disneyland Resort released four new Splash Mountain 15th Anniversary pins, two of which depict the Brer characters. The first pin, entitled “Paddle Wheel,” depicts Brer Rabbit aboard the Zip-A-Dee Lady, the large showboat seen at the end of Splash Mountain. What’s cool about this pin is that you can turn the paddle wheel! This pin retails for $12.50 and is limited to an edition of 1500.
The second pin, entitled “The Drop,” depicts Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox all plummeting down the Splash Mountain plume, while Brer Vulture (a.k.a. one of the Boothill Boys) looks on. This same scene is pictured on many Splash Mountain publicity items from the early 90’s. This pin also has a neat feature, the log slides up and down. This pin retails for $10.50 and is also limited to an edition of 1500.
The other two pins, entitled “The Descent” and “The End”, depict Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. They are Open Edition pins and retail for $6.50 each. These pins are available at the Emporium, La Mascarade d’Orleans, the Plaza Pavilion carts, Greetings from California, P.T. Flea Market, World of Disney, and Mickey in Paradise.
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:
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!
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!
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…?
Several readers have noted that BBC2 will be showing Song of the South on Thursday, August 5 at 11 AM (although the BBC2 website actually says 10:30 AM). Thanks to everyone for the heads up!
During a periodic check of my web site’s links page today, I noticed that Song of the South is no longer listed on Disney.com’s Movie Finder. As I first reported back in January 2002, Disney’s Movie Finder had a page for Song of the South that included previously unissued ISBN and UPC numbers (hinting at a possible upcoming release) and had a direct link to inform Disney that you were interested in this movie being released on VHS or DVD. Apparently they no longer want to hear from us.
So, now I’d like to take this opportunity to share with you folks how you can STILL let Disney know you want this movie released:
And that’s not all we can do. Please, check out my FAQ for more ways we can help get this movie released.
Update: See August 3 news article above.
July 17 marked the 15th anniversary of Disneyland’s Splash Mountain, the popular water ride featuring Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and all the other critters. Two limited edition items were issued to commemorate the event. The first item, released on July 1, was a commemorative watch featuring Brer Rabbit in front of Splash Mountain among briars that spell out “15”. The accompanying artwork is signed by the artist, Eric Scales. I was honored to be able to meet Eric in person when I picked up my watch. Special thanks to Andy Knobloch for making that possible! The watch was limited to an edition of only 15 and cost $200.
The second item, released on July 11, was a pin featuring Brer Bear hanging from the sapling trap (shown on right). His arm holding his hat is movable. The pin was limited to an edition of 1500 and cost $10.50.
A new essay written by Merlin Jones details the common themes between Walt Disney films such as Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Pollyanna, The Three Lives of Thomasina, and Song of the South: “all center on the concept of a distant parental figure lost in the trappings of adult society.”
I encourage everyone to read this excellent essay to help broaden their understanding of Walt’s vision for Song of the South and his other films discussed as well. Thanks to Tim Hauser for informing me of the article!
“Before there was Splash Mountain, there was Disney’s Song of the South. Before there was Song of the South, there was Uncle Remus Stories. Before Uncle Remus, there was Joel Chandler Harris.”
LaughingPlace.com guest contributor Mark A. Thompson has written a great article entitled “The Wren’s Nest, Birth of the Laughing Place,” which gives an overview of Joel Chandler Harris’ life and highlights The Wren’s Nest, the true birthplace of the Laughing Place. Includes plenty of interesting photos, too. Have a look!
