Song of the South

[Soupermom]

Help. I tried to get an answer to this question in a discussion forum, but it sort of turned into a heated debate and I never really got an answer, so maybe one of you kind folks could help...

We--DH, dd10, ds7, and I, were at WDW for the first time in June. We all loved Splash Mountain and although I kind of remember Unlce Remus, no one else in my family has a clue. I know you can get copies of Song of the South from lots of sources, some I'm guessing are illegal. I did a search at Amazon and found two sources, one is a UK copy in VHS; the other comes is DVD ($40) or VHS ($30) and has been digitally reinhanced or something. (HTCS or something like that...I have no clue what this means!) Do any of you Dis experts know if these are 1)legal, 2) Good quality, and 3)good value? I'd really like to get a copy for the kids before we go again, (Okay, maybe it's really for me!)

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[nordtrjr]

Hello Supermom - I understand where you are comming from. On our first trip to WDW spring of 2003 my oldest daughter's (8 at the time) favorite ride was Splash Mt. She was very interested in the "theaming" of Splash and I told her it was all based upon an old Disney movie called "Song of the South". As she has seen nearly every Disney movie she asked about getting "Song". I had to explain to her that Disney has never released Song in the US. Well, I vaguely recall seeing this movie in the theaters during one of it's many re-releases in the 70's. But honestly, I really didn't remember much of it. So, I began the quest to obtain a copy.

Due to alleged "racial" undertones Disney is basically too afraid to release this title in the US and probably won't do so any time soon. They did do a limited release on VHS and laser disk in Europe and Asia but even they were discontinued about 2 years ago. So, if you is see copies on Amazon or Ebay they are likely "international" versions or illegal copies.

That said you can do what I did and buy one of the European VHS tapes (New or used) off e-bay, etc. and have it converted to US standard NTSC. European VHS is PAL formant and will not play on US VCR's. Some sellers offer to convert it for you or you can take it to a local video editing shop and hove them do it for you.

It is really a shame that this movie likely won't see the light of day any time soon. It's really a wonderful film and my kids just love it. Good luck!

 

[Soupermom]

I appreciate your info. How much did you pay on e-bay, if you don't mind me asking. The DVD from Amazon was already in the NTSC form (WHAT does that mean?????), so I'm wondering if the $40 is a good price since if I pay less elsewhere, I"ll have to have it converted. The UK VHS they had was around $20 I think and they claimed it was already in the format for american players. I've heard that those on e-bay are in the $20 range, too. Thanks again!

 

[nordtrjr]

I think I paid about $40 for a new (un-opened) tape from England and spent about $15 getting converted for US VCR's. We just watch the "copy" and keep the original in a safe place (we can't watch that version anyway).

As far a DVD is concerend to my knowledge Song of the South was never officially released on DVD anwhere. So any DVD you see is likely some sort of "copy". Transfers can be made to DVD from Tape/Laser Disk if the seller has the equipment to do so. Just keep in Mind that it will not be true DVD quality. Also, make sure you know about the main spoken language and if there are any subtitles. Many "imports" from Asia have distracting subtitles. Since my tape was from England I had no problems with either.

Hope this helps.