Song of the South [1946]

Product Information

My purpose has been to preserve the legends themselves in their original simplicity, and to wed them permanently to the quaint dialect—if, indeed, it can be called a dialect—through the medium of which they have become a part of the domestic history of every Southern family ; and I have endeavoured to give to the whole a genuine flavour of the old plantation. Farber, Manny (2009). Farber on Film: The Complete Film Writings of Manny Farber. London, New York: The Library of America. p.824. ISBN 978-1-59853-050-6. I grew up in the 90's watching songs like Zippity Doo Dah on Sing-Along-Song tapes but with none of the context of the actual film. Here on Archive.org was the first time I've actually had the opportunity to watch the film in its entirety. It's an excellent piece of film history. Amazing that this was Walt Disney's first live-action film. Let's not forget, this is NOT a documentary, it was a fictional film and a musical. Obviously it was going to depict things in an artificially rosy light. As all musicals do. Do you honestly think that chimney sweeps in Edwardian England went around dancing and singing happily as they toiled away on the roof tops at night? Most of them were child laborers working for pennies a day. The Music Man was a happy little film about a man committing felony fraud on an entire town's population. Song of the South • That's What Uncle Remus Said • Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah • Who Wants to Live Like That? • Let the Rain Pour Down • How Do You Do? • Sooner or Later • Everybody's Got a Laughing Place • All I Want Barnes, Brooks (June 25, 2020). "Disney's Splash Mountain to Drop 'Song of the South' Depictions". The New York Times . Retrieved December 9, 2020.

For those who haven't seen the film, which won an Oscar for Best Original Song for "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," the movie is a combo of animation and live-action, with a story based on Joel Chandler Harris' "Uncle Remus" books. In the movie, a young boy named Johnny (played by Bobby Driscoll) gets told stories that teach him a number of lessons from former slave Uncle Remus (James Baskett). I think we all end up being very biased when we try to evaluate Disney movies—perhaps because they will always be inevitably connected to the nice memories of our first viewing experience as children. Hill, Jim (July 5, 2007). "As "Tarzan" swings off Broadway, is Beyoncé getting ready to play Aida in Disney's next big movie musical?". Jim Hill Media . Retrieved July 6, 2007. It was Walt's first live action film, and if you read Jim Korkis' book, you will learn about what I mean when I say 'incompetence' and rookie film school mistakes. To his credit, during production, Walt did ask people from the NAACP and the Urban League for consultation and input on how this film can be made and invited them to the set and they turned his offer down. Walt Disney goes over the storyboards with Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten in a publicity photo for the film.

Nominate Song of the South to be added to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. The National Film Registry was established to preserve and safeguard U.S. films that are"culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Each year they select 25 films. It's important to note that nominations do not carry over from year to year, so if you nominated Song of the South previously, you should re-nominate each year (and they encourage you to do so). During one of Disney’s annual shareholder meetings, Iger answered an audience question about what will and won’t be made available to stream from the Disney library, adding that this film is “not appropriate in today’s world” and therefore will not be re-released. I really enjoyed watching it again, it made me cry with the nostalgia, it's such a beautiful film.. I keep reading on here about the MILLIONS of Poor AMERICAN slaves this movie insults... I have to wonder if those statements are made from ignorance or from a place of greed and malice? The song "Look at the Sun" is marketed as one of the songs from the movie, though it is not actually in the film. There are only five minutes of the movie without any music.

Walt Disney Classics (1992) - The Sword in the Stone, Dumbo, Song of the South, and Alice in WonderlandUncle Remus Said": Written by Eliot Daniel, Hy Heath, and Johnny Lange; performed by the Hall Johnson Choir

When the film was first released, Walter Francis White, the executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) telegraphed major newspapers around the country with the following statement: So I'll note that there are 3 social classes in the movie, much the same way that there still are in the south The film premiered on November 12, 1946, at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. [24] Walt Disney made introductory remarks, introduced the cast, then quietly left for his room at the Georgian Terrace Hotel across the street; he had previously stated that unexpected audience reactions upset him and he was better off not seeing the film with an audience. James Baskett was unable to attend the film's premiere because he would not have been allowed to participate in any of the festivities, as Atlanta was then a racially segregated city. [32]James Baskett received an honorary Academy Award for his portrayal of Uncle Remus, dispenser of life-lessons for Bobby Driscoll’s Johnny, who moves from Atlanta to his grandmother’s plantation. The character of Uncle Remus, originated in the collected stories of Joel Chandler Harris, epitomizes the Magical Negro trope that persists in Hollywood today. Baskett won the Oscar in March 1948, but died later that year from complications from diabetes. Solomon, Charles (November 21, 1986). "Movie Review: Animation Sings in 'Song of the South' ". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 19, 2019. Inge, M. Thomas (September 2012). "Walt Disney's Song of the South and the Politics of Animation". Journal of American Culture. 35 (3): 228 . Retrieved July 2, 2016. Let the Rain Pour Down": (downtempo) Written by Ken Darby and Foster Carling; performed by the Hall Johnson Choir Song of the South was re-released in theaters several times after its original premiere, each time through Buena Vista Pictures: in 1956 for the 10th anniversary; in 1972 for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney Productions; in 1973 as the second half of a double bill with The Aristocats; in 1980 for the 100th anniversary of Harris's classic stories; and in 1986 for the film's own 40th anniversary and in promotion of the upcoming Splash Mountain attraction at Disneyland.