Just watched "Song of the South"......

[pat fan]

and I have to say I don't get why it is "banned" from Disney and completely unavailable to buy.

Yes, it depicts slavery and a time people would like to forget, but certainly nothing worse than Gone With the Wind (for example) which is supposed to be a "classic". Am I ignorant?

Would it have been made the same way if it was made now, with the speech patterns and the like? No. But it is a movie of it's time, yes? Is it just that WDW is trying to sanitize it's image?

What do you think?

BTW, as far as the animation, storytelling and such goes, I completely enjoyed it!

 

[topolino]

I completely agree with you, it's Disney obviously steering clear of it due to any potential controversy.

Of course they don't mind reaping the benefits gained from the attraction based on the "controversial" film though.

 

[happygirl]

I have never seen it

 

[PeterPan09]

How did you get to see it?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I wish I could see it to form an opinion.

 

[disney1990]

I have the movie - and I don't think it's any worse than a lot of other movies out there. Some parts of it are really cute.

 

[okw19]

I have it too. I think it's really cute and it's a shame many Disney fans will never see it.

 

[laurie31]

It doesn't actually depict slavery; it takes place during the Reconstruction after slavery. The African Americans are servants, but not slaves. Uncle Remus was free to leave when he chose, after all.

I think the film is delightful and the stories of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear should be preserved as part of African American culture. My parents read them to me as a child (yes, I'm white, but my parents were big on reading such tales. We read lots of Rudyard Kipling too. ).

If you want to see the movie now, you will have to google, order online, and hope for the best. It's a shame, as the interaction between the live actors and the animation was ground-breaking, and Uncle Remus is the hero of the story. It's not demeaning at all. Everyone should see it!

 

[Goofyluver]

It doesn't actually depict slavery; it takes place during the Reconstruction after slavery. The African Americans are servants, but not slaves. Uncle Remus was free to leave when he chose, after all.

I think the film is delightful and the stories of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear should be preserved as part of African American culture. My parents read them to me as a child (yes, I'm white, but my parents were big on reading such tales. We read lots of Rudyard Kipling too. ).

If you want to see the movie now, you will have to google, order online, and hope for the best. It's a shame, as the interaction between the live actors and the animation was ground-breaking, and Uncle Remus is the hero of the story. It's not demeaning at all. Everyone should see it!

I completely agree with you, it's Disney obviously steering clear of it due to any potential controversy.

Of course they don't mind reaping the benefits gained from the attraction based on the "controversial" film though.

But Uncle Remus is nowhere to be found!

 

[SandrA9810]

At least other animation studios were able to speak up and say "it was a product of the times". It's really amazing to look back at old cartoons that we all thought we funny as kids to finally understand it from an adult view. Song of the South isn't the only thing Disney has done that's a bit on the edge. I think the biggest difference with it, is that it was live action and animation. Society is more accepting of animation than live action. Think the Simpsons, South Park, or Family Guy. The Boondocks is another interesting look at societies views of racism.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I agree OP. It is a really well done film and a reflection of both the time it was set and the time it was made. I think Disney is wrong to keep in unavailable.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I agree. I wish the movie would be released.

 

[pat fan]

How did you get to see it?

Someone I know had a copy.

It doesn't actually depict slavery; it takes place during the Reconstruction after slavery.

Wasn't sure of the time-line. I thought from some of the conversations that the dad (being a newspaper man writing things people were mad about) had Northern leaning feelings and was printing anti-slavery things in the paper.

Any-who, I wish more people could see it. I bawled at the end, so it must be a typical Disney movie!

 

[Geoff_M]

It doesn't actually depict slavery; it takes place during the Reconstruction after slavery. The African Americans are servants, but not slaves. Uncle Remus was free to leave when he chose, after all.

Additionally, few "slaves" would choose Atlanta as their destination to run away from their "owner".

 

[chellewashere]

I love the movie!!! Wish you could buy it here. Im afraid to get it from overseas even though they say its converted.

I always say this is one of the best movies my DD will never be able to see. She loves the Splash Mountain ride and asks a lot about who the characters are.

So sad she will never know zippity doo dah.

 

[Sorsha]

I love the movie!!! Wish you could buy it here. Im afraid to get it from overseas even though they say its converted.

I always say this is one of the best movies my DD will never be able to see. She loves the Splash Mountain ride and asks a lot about who the characters are.

So sad she will never know zippity doo dah.

I have a "converted" copy that I bought from ebay.

Process was (I believe) they converted a Pal VHS to a Region 1 VHS copy, then burned the Region 1 VHS onto a DVD. When I purchased it they sent me both the Region 1 VHS and the DVD copies.

Both play fine, but the picture quality is atrocious. However, since that's the only way I am likely to own it, I deal.

 

[Christopher Robin]

Its available online at Youtube. Broken into several parts. Loads well, good quility. Worth watching.

 

[NY Disney fan]

It doesn't actually depict slavery; it takes place during the Reconstruction after slavery.

The Reconstruction was a dangerous time for black people. This period gave birth to the KKK (sometimes called the Knight Riders). And the dreaded Black Codes. The scariest thing about the KKK was it wasn't started by a bunch of crazy, ignorant farmers but by a group of educated lawyers. Although to be fair, in the mid-1800's law school was optional really. Abraham Lincoln became a lawyer on the job. Am I rambling?

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I would love to see Disney release the Brer Rabbit stories alone, without the live action sequences that were a part of Song of the South. I have very fond memories of this as a child, but I realize that it really is not something that today's society can face or tolerate. Released the cartoons alone would allow generations to come a chance to enjoy these stories as well.

 

[novajeanjellybean]

I think this is the movie that themed Splash Mountain, no?

I rode it for the first time this past summer and had no idea what to expect other than a log flume ride. We could definitely see the racial undertones of the characters. I thought it was just me but my sister and her husband rode it at a different time and they actually asked me if I had noticed. The ride was great, BTW, but it was totally noticiable (sp?) in the characters. IMHO, of course.

I don't think Disney should release it as it could be viewed as controversial and could possibly hurt their image and cause them to . I'm sure they wouldn't want that with this economy.