In an article written on June 11th, Richard Ruelas of the Arizona Republic details the ties of Song of the South to the state of Arizona. The state has two important links to this movie: First, it was at a Phoenix school playground where Glenn Leedy was discovered by a talent scout and recruited for the role of Toby; and second, the majority of Song of the South‘s outdoor scenes were actually filmed at a ranch in Phoenix.

The full article is available here. Thanks to Tom for the news report!

In light of the recent censorship of the controversial cartoon series South Park, Claire Suddath of TIME Magazine looks back at the top 10 cartoons that have “caused a ruckus”. Walt Disney’s Song of the South comes in at #4 (though the list can be re-ordered by readers.)

Suddath states, “…there’s no denying the fact that by today’s standards, the film is rather racist. Set in the post–Civil War South, the movie — in which a former slave named Uncle Remus regales children with amusing stories — depicts an offensively “idyllic” master-slave relationship, as the NAACP once described it. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. considered the feature’s depictions of happy slaves an “insult to American minorities.” Disney has declined to release the film on video in the U.S., fearing an outcry over the crude stereotypes.”

Here is the list (in order): South Park and Muhammad, The Censored Eleven, The Simpsons and Brazil, Song of the South, The Boondocks, Family Guy and Sarah Palin, Pokémon Panic, Aladdin, South Park and Scientology, and the character Speedy Gonzales. It’s interesting to note that out of the ten, Song of the South is the only one to contain live action sequences (considered by many to be the most controversial aspect of the film). Also, only Song of the South and Aladdin (both by Disney) are full-length movies — the rest are TV episodes or short subject cartoons. And thirdly, it is one of only two entries from the 1940’s. So, have cartoons gotten more offensive, or are we just more sensitive? Both? Food for thought. The full article can be read here.

Song of the South has made some other “top” lists in the past as well, including Movies.com’s “The 25 Most Controversial Movies of All Time” (2007), and MSNBC’s “10 Least Politically Correct Movies Ever” (2006). Personally, the list I’d really like to see this movie on is Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. So if you haven’t already, please vote for Song of the South to be added to the 2010 National Film Registry!

One more list… Amazon.com’s “Top 100 All-Time Sign-Ups.” Which movie is still #1? Yep, you guessed it.

Jerry over at Cartoon Brew has asked the question, “Who’s afraid of Song of the South?” (That’s what we’d like to know too!) While at Comic Con, he picked up Issue 16 of Hogan’s Alley, which contains a 19-page article on Song of the South. In the article, the author Korkis “documents the complete story of the project, from pre-production to latter day reissues – with all the controversy inbetween”. According to Jerry, this is a must-read. I just ordered my copy as I write this, and I’m looking forward to reading it!

The Cartoon Brew article also shows some rare Ub Iwerks notes and production boards from Song of the South, from the collection of Mike Van Eaton. These are definitely worth viewing. Special thanks to Merlin Jones for the news report!

The full Cartoon Brew article can be read here:
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/whos-afraid-of-song-of-the-south.html

To subscribe to Hogan’s Alley or order a copy of Issue 16, visit:
http://cagle.msnbc.com/hogan/subscribe.asp