“What’s the Attraction?” Reviews Song of the South

Last month, “What’s the Attraction?” reviewed Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain, the popular attraction based on Disney’s Song of the South. The podcast, posted in two parts, talks about the history of the ride, a descriptive ridethrough, critical analysis, and even some background on Song of the South itself.

This month, by popular request, “What’s the Attraction?” is back to discuss the movie itself! Creators SurferClock and TAP-G have posted their first “Theme Park Reel-View”:

In this inaugural segment, we take a look at the 1946 film, Song of the South, discussing its story, music, characters, and animation before giving a final overall review and rating. Peppered in are nuggets of knowledge both widely-known and rather obscure, and we also discuss some of the elements keeping it from a re-release. Is this film really -that- offensive? And what do SurferClock and TAP-G think of it? Find out by tuning in!

So, what are you waiting for? Have a listen! http://youtu.be/INBy7DrY-vI

Special thanks to Kyle Blanchette for the news report, and to SurferClock and TAP-G for making the review!

“What’s the Attraction?” Podcast Reviews Splash Mountain

“What’s the Attraction?” is a weekly podcast dedicated to reviewing theme park attractions in the central Florida area. Creators SurferClock and TAP-G have recently posted Episodes 55 and 56, reviewing the ever-popular Walt Disney World theme park ride Splash Mountain. As you probably know, Splash Mountain is based on Walt Disney’s 1946 film Song of the South.

The two-part podcast is both informative and fun, going over the history of the ride, descriptive walkthrough, critical analysis, and even some background on Song of the South itself. With special guests Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and Uncle Remus, the review is interwoven with a story in true radio show fashion. The character impressions are spot-on, and I found the review to be very entertaining!

Episode 55 (Splash Mountain, Part 1)

Episode 56 (Splash Mountain, Part 2)

Even if you may know everything there is to know about Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain, I would highly recommend listening to the podcasts if just for the unique story and how it’s presented. Special thanks to Kyle Blanchette for letting me know about these podcasts, and to SurferClock and TAP-G for their hard work that went into making these. Keep up the great work!

You can read about the latest reviews from “What’s the Attraction?” on Blogspot, like them on Facebook, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

LoneStarCon Cancels Song of the South Viewing

LoneStarCon 3, the World Science Fiction Convention to be held in San Antonio, Texas, had planned to present Song of the South as one of several animated films and cartoons for its upcoming 71st annual convention. However, they have since canceled the presentation:

August 21 – Statement re. Song of the South

LoneStarCon 3 had previously announced a presentation of Disney’s Song of the South, to be shown in conjunction with a talk about the period when the film was made, the historical reality of the time, and the changing perspectives of the film in the light of the Civil Rights movement.

We accept that while we fully intended to show the film in context, this was not adequately explained in the text published on our website and in our Pocket Program. Moreover, to continue showing the film in the light of the public concern expressed over the last few hours would send entirely the wrong messages about our event’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. We will therefore no longer be presenting this film as part of our program.

We got this wrong, and we apologize unreservedly to anyone who has been offended, concerned, or in any way been given cause to doubt the welcome that LoneStarCon 3 will extend to all of our members next week.

The convention runs from August 29th through September 2, 2013. Thanks to Zack Paslay for the news report!

TCM Blog Discusses Song of the South

The official Turner Classic Movies blog, MovieMorlocks.com, has posted a blog on August 17th discussing Song of the South. Author David Kalat recently celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary at Walt Disney World (congratulations!), when he “ran across an interesting paradox”:

You see, over the years, Disney has retired some rides because their source material was deemed too obscure (bye bye Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride), and even some that didn’t seem all that obscure got the axe to make way for attractions based on the latest releases (bye bye 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea).

Given this policy, the enduring popularity of Splash Mountain at the Magic Kingdom is something to marvel at, since the ride is based on perhaps the most obscure work in the entire Disney canon, Song of the South. Weirder still, Splash Mountain debuted in 1989, a few years after its source material Song of the South was decommissioned and mothballed. It would have been easier to just forget Song of the South ever existed–but there’s something about this film that is not so easily forgotten.

The full blog post goes into detail on the background and controversy surrounding Song of the South, and includes several screenshots of both the film and the Splash Mountain ride. There’s a good discussion going on in the comments section as well:

http://moviemorlocks.com/2013/08/17/zip-a-dee-doo-dah/

Thanks to Stephen Cooke for informing me of the blog post, and to David Kalat for posting it!

Ain’t It Cool News Features Song of the South

Quint over at Ain’t It Cool News has posted his Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day for Friday, entitled “Please don’t throw the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day in that briar patch!”

This backlot photo features James Baskett (Uncle Remus), Bobby Driscoll (Johnny), Glenn Leedy (Toby), and Luana Patten (Ginny). It was also used in 1986 for Song of the South’s final theatrical release (as line art). This photo appears courtesy of the D23 fan club magazine.

Also of note is the article, in which Quint talks about speaking to an unnamed ex-Disney executive a few years ago, asking him if we’ll ever see this film released on DVD or Blu-Ray. “His response: ‘Never.’ I asked why. ‘Because it’s racist,’ he exclaimed. I know that’s the general perception of this film, but I was still taken aback. I thought for a second and asked, ‘Have you seen it?’ Incredibly he said he hadn’t and that right there is the root of the problem.”

Indeed, this is the exact problem that Disney has created by not releasing this film: it perpetuates the stigma surrounding this film. When Disney’s own executives haven’t seen this movie, yet condemn it as “racist”, something is wrong here. And with that I’ll step down from my soapbox too.

I would encourage everyone to read Quint’s short article that accompanies this great behind the scenes photo. Thank you to the anonymous person that alerted me to this article, and thanks to Quint over at Ain’t It Cool News for posting it!

New York Post Article: “Exclusively on YouTube”

Print edition of the New York Post article “Exclusively on YouTube”, published 4/7/2013,

Chief Film Critic Lou Lumenick of the New York Post recently published an article on April 7th titled “Exclusively on YouTube“, which chronicles a few different films that are, essentially, just that: movies that the studios have not released on video or DVD and live exclusively on YouTube.com.

One of those films is Disney’s Academy Award-winning and controversial movie “Song of the South”. I was contacted by Mr. Lumenick back in March to get my thoughts on this. Also contacted was Disney historian Jim Korkis (who recently published the book “Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South?“)

So, if you still haven’t seen Song of the South and don’t want to purchase one of the numerous bootleg copies available on the Internet, now’s your chance to go check it out on YouTube. It will be interesting to see whether Disney decides to tighten their enforcement.

The other films mentioned that are currently in the same boat as Song of the South are The Great Gatsby (1949), Christmas Holiday (1944), and Once in a Lifetime (1932). Here’s hoping that all of these pieces of cinematic history get the preservation they deserve and eventually make their way to a home video release. Special thanks to Lou for publishing this article!

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!

Jim Korkis Publishes Book: “Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South?”

“Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South?” by Disney Historian Jim Korkis

Disney Historian Jim Korkis, well known for his columns on MousePlanet.com (including articles about Song of the South, under the pseudonym Wade Sampson), has just released the first ever book primarily focused on the history of Walt Disney’s Song of the South.

The book, entitled “Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South?” weighs in at 291 pages, with nearly 100 pages dedicated to the history, controversy, secrets and more surrounding the film. The remaining chapters detail many, many other “forbidden stories” about Disney. You are guaranteed to learn a lot from this book (I certainly did!)

The foreword is written by Disney Legend Floyd Norman, Disney’s first African-American animator and storyman. The book is also praised by film critic Leonard Maltin, CartoonBrew.com webmaster Jerry Beck, MouseTracksOnline.com webmaster Greg Ehrbar, and yours truly.

The book is currently available on Amazon.com in paperback ($19.95) and digital Kindle edition ($7.99). If you are interested in Song of the South, or just Disney history in general, this book is an absolute must read!

My sincere thanks goes out to Jim for all his time and effort to make this book a reality, and to editor Bob McLain of Theme Park Press. Read the full press release here.

Song of the South Turns 66; DVD Being Sold?

Song of the South’s worldwide premier was on November 12, 1946. Happy 66th Birthday!

Photo Credit: Lynn Hobbs/Staff of The Eatonton Messenger

On the DVD front, we’ve received several reports that Song of the South is being sold on DVD at the Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton, Georgia. An article published by the Eatonton Messenger sums it up the best:

“…Uncle Remus Museum bookkeeper Bill Watterson said the local museum is one of several venues that carry the movie on DVD.

Watterson said he’d been searching for a good copy of the movie for quite a while, because “over the years, we’ve had a lot of requests for it.”

It wasn’t until early this summer that he found one through one of the museum’s book publishers.

“It’s much better quality than you normally see. That’s why we carry it,” Watterson said. “Being self-supportive, we can’t afford to have poor-quality products.”

….

The DVD costs $25 at the museum and includes bonus features such as music by Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers, interviews with Walt Disney and cast members, rare behind-the-scenes footage, and “Tales of Uncle Remus” audio book.”

You can read the full article by Lynn Hobbs here. It should be noted that Disney has never officially released this movie on DVD. The version that the museum is carrying is technically an unauthorized copy, though it will be interesting to see if Disney takes any action on this.

Over the past several years, bootleg (unofficial) DVDs of Song of the South have become more and more prevalent (including Amazon), and YouTube offers clips of the movie that Disney is no longer attempting to remove. In fact, the last time any action was taken on unauthorized distribution (that we know of) was April 2004, in which a South Carolina man was arraigned for pirating Song of the South on VHS and DVD (read article here).

Has Disney essentially given in and turned a blind eye, allowing fans to distribute the film as a way to ease demand while avoiding responsibility? Only time will tell. Thanks to everyone for the news reports!

Entertainment Weekly Lists Song of the South Among Worst Disney Movies

Christian Blauvelt of Entertainment Weekly has compiled a list of 30 Best/Worst Disney Animated Movies. Among the worst is Song of the South:

“It’s a great irony of Disney’s filmmaking history that one of its most technologically progressive efforts should also be among its most socially regressive. Based on Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus stories, Song of the South is a disturbingly idyllic presentation of Reconstruction Era southern plantation life, glutted with racial stereotypes — as such, it’s never received any home video release. But it’s also one of the earliest, and most ambitions, attempts at mixing live-action photography with animation, an enduring technique also explored in 1949’s So Dear to My Heart, 1964’s Mary Poppins, 1987’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and 2007’s Enchanted. Despite the film itself being kept under lock and key in the Disney Vault, Song of the South‘s characters and setting inspired the Disney theme parks’ wildly popular Splash Mountain rides. And of course, this was the movie to give the world ”Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.”

Also listed as the Worst Disney Animated Films: Robin Hood (1973), Home on the Range (2004), Chicken Little (2005), Brother Bear (2003), The Black Cauldron (1985), Hercules (1997), Sleeping Beauty (1959), Tarzan (1999), and The Great Mouse Detective (1986).

The following are what Entertainment Weekly considers to be the Best Disney Animated Films: Tangled (2010), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Mulan (1998), The Little Mermaid (1989), Cinderella (1950), Fantasia (1940), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Dumbo (1941), Pinocchio (1940), The Aristocats (1970), Aladdin (1992), 101 Dalmatians (1961), The Lion King (1994), Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), Peter Pan (1953), The Jungle Book (1967), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and Bambi (1942).

Interestingly, some of the movies in the “best of” list have been criticized for stereotypes as well, such as the crows in Dumbo, the Indians in Peter Pan, and the Siamese cat in the Aristocats. It’s also curious why Song of the South made it into the Disney Animated Films category, while other animation/live action hybrid films such as So Dear to My Heart and The Three Caballeros were listed among their Best/Worst Live Action films.

Thanks to Maggi for the news report!