“Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” Played at D23 Event

D23, the Official Disney Fan Club, recently held a “Destination D” event at the Grand Ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, CA on August 12-13. This event was celebrating 75 Years of Disney Animated Features. Tickets cost $225 and were available to D23 members only.

The event kicked off with a welcome from Steven Clark, head of D23.  There were several presentations throughout the first day, including Golden Age of Disney animation, the contributions of Roy Disney, and screenings of current Disney shorts. Of special interest was the following, which I will quote from Tom Bell’s DisUnplugged Blog:

“The afternoon continued with some never-before-seen or rarely seen Disney animation, including “Back to Neverland” with Walter Cronkite and Robin Williams, Roger Rabbit short “Tummy Trouble” and several commercials featuring Disney characters.  There were two highlights of the presentation.  The first was a strange idea that was considered for the “Pomp and Circumstance” section of Fantasia 2000 that included a procession of Disney prince and princesses followed by Dumbo and several storks delivering babies to the happy couples.  The second, which took the audience by surprise, was the entire Zip A Dee Doo Dah section of the seldom-seen “Song of the South”.

Disney is well known for re-using the Academy Award-winning song from Song of the South in its promotions and such, but it is a rare thing for them to actually exhibit footage from the film itself. Perhaps this could be the start of a refreshing change in policy?

You can read more about the Destination D event over at Tom Bell’s DisUnplugged Blog here:

Day 1: http://www.disunplugged.com/2012/08/12/destination-d-75-years-of-disney-animation-features-day-1/

Day 2: http://www.disunplugged.com/2012/08/14/destination-d-75-years-of-disney-animated-features-day-2/

Special thanks to long-time reader Joey for the news report!

Amazon.com Briefly Lists Song of the South DVD “Release Date”

In an apparent error, Amazon.com’s DVD placeholder page for Song of the South listed the movie as slated for release on July 15, 2012, with the option to pre-order. However, this release was not official (the page showed the distributor as “Klassic Movies”, not Disney), and was quickly pulled today.

Interestingly, as of this article’s writing the page still shows buying options from other sellers, despite being unofficial (bootleg) copies. It will be interesting to see how long they remain up. You can view the other sellers here. Thanks to Joe and Cheryl for the news reports!

20th Anniversary WDW Splash Mountain Pin Released

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain. To commemorate this occasion, on July 5th Disney has released a limited edition pin featuring Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox.  It is limited to an edition of 1000, and retails for $11.95. SKU #6680426.

Splash Mountain is the theme park ride based on the animated sequences of Song of the South. Disneyland’s Splash Mountain was the first to open in 1989, followed by Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland in 1992. You can watch the grand opening video over in the Splash Mountain section.

Revamped Store, Petition Back Online

Hi everyone, here are a couple of site updates:

1) SongoftheSouth.net Merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, buttons, etc.) has received a much-needed overhaul, with literally dozens of new merchandise added. When I initially created these t-shirt designs back in 2005, CafePress.com (the company that makes these) had a very limited selection to choose from. Since then, they’ve added dark-colored clothing, baby clothes, and lots more. I thought it was high time I took advantage of this. I also created a new design as well. Check out the revamped store!

2) Song of the South Petition. Since approximately mid-April, the Song of the South Petition was no longer being updated with the latest signatures. I contacted PetitionOnline.com, but to no avail. Apparently Change.org is now the owner, and they’ve all but abandoned support for the old site. I was seriously considering starting a new petition over at Change.org, but their petitions have a maximum age of one year, so I would have to start a new one every year. Fortunately, the original petition has started working again! Unfortunately, anyone who signed the petition from April to mid-June probably didn’t get added. You might want to check and see if your name is there, and if not, try adding it again.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading!

Academy Awards Website Shows Footage of James Baskett

One of our readers has brought to our attention that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has updated their website with a section called Oscar Legacy, featuring all of the previous Academy Award ceremonies from 1927 to present.

Of special interest is the 20th Academy Awards, which was held at the Shrine Civic Auditorium on Saturday, March 20, 1948, honoring movies released in 1947. (Even though Song of the South premiered November 12, 1946, it was counted among the 1947 films.)

Song of the South won two Academy Awards: James Baskett received an Oscar “for his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world, in Walt Disney’s Song of the South.” Also, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah won the award for Best Music (Song).

What makes this page special is a film clip from the UCLA Film & Television Archive, featuring a news reel from the 1948 Academy Awards. Here we get to see Mr. Baskett receive his Oscar, narrated in the first person by “Oscar” himself:

The second special award is to be made by Ms. Ingrid Bergman who presents me to Mr. James Baskett, so that my gleaming image may be a reminder that he gave us all a glowing and nostalgic happiness with his splendid Uncle Remus in the “Song of the South”.

The film clip can be viewed here:
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/20th.html

Sadly, James Baskett passed away just four months later on July 9th at age 44, but his legacy will live on as being the first African American man to receive an Academy Award. (Incidentally, the first African American woman was Hattie McDaniel, who played Aunt Tempy in Song of the South). A special thanks to Bradley West for the news report!

Rumor: Song of the South DVD Release in France?

Before I start, let me remind everyone that tomorrow is April 1st (April Fool’s Day). As is almost always the case, there is at least one obligatory “rumor” out there regarding Song of the South that pops up around this time. That being said…

According to the French Disney fan site Les Grands Classiques, Disney France has obtained exclusive permission from The Walt Disney Company to release Song of the South on DVD. They, in turn, reference this site. Without going into too much detail (Google Translate can only do so much), the site claims that it will be released exclusively in France beginning April 16, 2012 by international retail chain Fnac, and features a foreword by French actor Omar Sy.

So, is this a legitimate rumor or an early April Fool’s Day present? Well, as always, time will tell. I think you know which one I’m betting on.

Now, about that special Blu-Ray release of Song of the South featuring a commentary by Strom Thurmond… you can read that one over at campusbasement.com.

Thanks to Bobby and Marc for the news reports!

Update (4/15/2012): Oliver J. H. Kosinski of Lesgrandsclassiques.fr has confirmed that this was indeed an early April Fool’s:

“I confirm to you that the ‘French exclusive DVD of Song of the south’ does not exist. This joke was done in collaboration between 10 French fan’s sites, under the original idea of ChroniqueDisney.fr as you can see here: http://chroniquedisney.fr/grenier/billetHS7.htm#fnac

Outside of my fan made DVD’s, there is therefore no official French DVD.”

Nostalgia Chick Reviews Song of the South

In what is perhaps the first-ever online video review of Song of the South featuring actual clips from the film, Nostalgia Chick over at That Guy With The Glasses has put together a witty and entertaining look at Song of the South. In the review, she covers just about everything, including comparisons to other Disney films and landmark Hollywood films. Song of the South seems to be summed up in one word: boring… but her review is anything but. I highly recommend watching this!

Bumper art by Andrew Dickman. Follow Nostalgia Chick on Twitter and Facebook. Special thanks to Kyle for the news report and to Lindsay for the excellent job. You have a new fan!

More Details on Splash Mountain Video Game

As we reported last month, Disney released a brand new video game, Kinect Disneyland Adventures for the Xbox 360, on November 15th. The game is essentially a virtual Disneyland with interactive meet-and-greet characters (including all three Brers) and “mini-games” for each main attraction in the park (including Splash Mountain). Details were initially scarce, but now that the game has been out for a few weeks, we’ve got YouTube clips of the experience! Without further ado…

Part 1: The Briar Patch. The adventure begins with Brer Rabbit (voiced by the talented Jess Harnell) leading the player through a briar patch, collecting coins in the process. Meanwhile, a new instrumental rendition of “How Do You Do?” is playing in the background. Once the player has reached the end of the Briar Patch, they arrive at Brer Fox’s house. Brer Rabbit advises the player to hop into a nearby log floating in the river, while he delivers a “present” to Brer Fox and Brer Bear (a beehive full of angry bees).

Part 2: The Log Flume. Brer Rabbit hops in with the player, and off they go on their adventure, leaving a fuming Brer Fox and Brer Bear at the dock. This portion of the game has the player steering the log and trying to avoid obstacles while collecting coins. Meanwhile, Brer Fox and Brer Bear are scheming to get back at Brer Rabbit and hurling objects at them along the river bank. An instrumental rendition of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” plays in the background.

Part 3: The Barrel Run. Brer Rabbit and the player find themselves hurtling downwards into a water-filled cavern. They take some nearby floating barrels and continue on, dodging more obstacles including falling stalactites and swooping vultures, and of course collecting coins. In this segment, an instrumental version of “Everybody Has A Laughing Place” is playing.

Note: The YouTube clips shown above do not depict the full gameplay; namely, we don’t see what leads up to the waterfall, and we don’t see the game’s conclusion. You know one thing’s for certain though: Brer Rabbit triumphs! (Sorry, Brer Fox. Better luck next time.)

Meet and Greet Characters: Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and Brer Rabbit are also found outside Splash Mountain, in Critter Country. The following video clip shows the locations of Brer Bear and Brer Fox, and the entrance to Splash Mountain. Brer Rabbit is apparently an unlockable meet-and-greet character, requiring the player to first help Brer Fox lure him out of hiding.

So, there you have it! This is the Brers’ single biggest animated appearance since their cameos on the House of Mouse (2001-2003), and their first ever computer animated appearance. I was very pleasantly surprised to see them so prominently featured in the game, and I applaud Disney for not trying to further bury this maligned movie. Thanks to Nicholas Fleming for the news report!

Song of the South Turns 65

"Uncle Walt" reads the Uncle Remus stories to Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten.

Today marks Song of the South’s 65th anniversary. Song of the South premiered at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia on November 12, 1946. This year we haven’t seen any special collectibles commemorating the anniversary like we did for Song of the South’s 60th, 55th, and 50th anniversaries, but that’s not to say Disney won’t pull something out of their hat. Also of note:

  • Since Song of the South was added to Facebook in August, there are 408 people who like the movie, and we’re sure there are more. Please spread the word!
  • The Song of the South Petition has gathered 33,756 signatures so far. Let Disney know you want this movie to be released!
  • SongoftheSouth.net turns 11 today! This web site was officially launched on November 12, 2000. A lot has changed since then, but one thing remains the same: we’re still waiting for Disney to release this movie!

Splash Mountain Characters’ Video Game Debut

In case you haven’t heard, Disney fans are abuzz with a brand new Disney video game in town. Kinect Disneyland Adventures is a truly virtual Disneyland for the Xbox 360, and I must say the graphics are quite impressive. There are many interactive meet-and-greet characters throughout the park, and all of the park’s main attractions are interactive “mini games”.

If you’re wondering, “Does that include Splash Mountain?” I am happy to report yes! Even Brer Bear and Brer Fox appear as animated meet-and-greet characters near Critter Country. On Song of the South’s Facebook page, Philip Marc shared with us a link to a YouTube video clip that briefly shows Brer Bear and Brer Fox, and the façade to Splash Mountain.

As the game isn’t scheduled for release until November 15th, details are still a little scarce, and I haven’t been able to find any screenshots or video clips of the actual Splash Mountain attraction. But, if the demos of other attractions are any indication, expect to see at least a few “Brer” cameos from the ride! More will be posted as soon as we get more info. It should be noted that this is the first time any characters from Walt Disney’s Song of the South have made it into a video game (that I’m aware of).

Kinect Disneyland Adventures is currently available for preorder on Amazon.com. The game requires a Microsoft Xbox 360 with the Kinect add-on.