Possible Release of Disney's "Song of the South"? (1 Viewer)

[Greg_M]

Yes I was kidding, but knowing Disney I wouldn't be surprised (Didn't they release just the animated portions of the film at one point?)

 

[MarkHastings]

Yeah, I mentioned before that they sell the songs on video and play them at the Disney store on the big screen!

 

[MatthewA]

No, but they had a sing-along video called (and featuring) "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah", released in 1987 and reissued many times since.

Also, the 1950 special "One Hour in Wonderland" has been available, with its SOTS clips intact, on the Laserdisc and DVD of the film it promoted, "Alice in Wonderland".

 

[EricSchulz]

From today's USAToday.com (Sunday, 3/25/07)

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/...thesouth_N.htm

Still non-committal, but at least there's a dialogue happening....

 

[Corey]

i remember singing to zippee do da on my disney sing-a-long tape.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Personally, I see that story--in a major national newspaper--as a very positive thing. It represents the public's interest in seeing the movie released, it contains positive statements from Iger about the possibility of a release...and it moves the debate into a very public forum. Maybe others will be called to action to let Disney know they want the movie on DVD.

Thanks for posting the link, Eric!

 

[Chuck Pennington]

SO DEAR TO MY HEART was released on DVD in Europe in PAL format - and in NTSC in Brazil. I have had both discs, and the video and audio quality is outstanding. There is about 30 minutes of outtake footage included as well with commentary. The Brazii DVD is region 6 AND region 1 encoded, and the menus are all in English on my player. The packaging is in Portuguese, but it is still an excellent purchase.

Here are some screenshots from that DVD:

Also, almost all of the bootleg SOTS DVDs are derived from the Hong Kong bootleg Laserdisc, which in turn was mastered from a PAL videotape. The Laserdisc even had some minor rot on it, and the speckling is quite apparent when one is looking for it. I made my own hybrid using the Japanese Laserdisc, the entire "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah" sequence from "One Hour in Wonderland", and the Hong Kong Laserdisc (for musical scenes with subtitles on the Japanese LD).

 

[Steve...O]

Eric, thanks for the link.

One wonders if Disney had this story "planted" to see what kind of reaction it would get. Certainly exposure in USA Today would ensure that a very wide audience would see it and even more would hear about via forums such as this.

If Disney doesn't get overwhelmed with threats of boycotts, etc. or other such negative responses it could bode well for the eventual release of a film that I've never seen and would like the opportunity to view to make up my own mind about it.

Steve

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I think SOTS would make a great release in the Legacy Collection, since Treasures' future seems to be somewhat cloudy and Destino is sceduled to be released in this line.

 

[Sam Favate]

Last night, I flipped on CNN as I was taking a DVD out of the player, and Paula Zahn's guest host and three guests were talking about Song of the South and whether it should be released on video. To make a long story short, all of them (conservative and liberal alike) agreed that it should be released. The consensus was that this is a product of its time and should be shown to modern audiences to educate them about those times and the attitudes that existed when the film was made.

I also found a story on CNN.com which was posted after the last post in this thread:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movi....ap/index.html

Let's hope all this attention gets things moving in the right direction at the Disney Co.

The transcript:

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez filling in for Paula Zahn.

"Out in the Open," possible plans to bring a controversial Disney classic out of the studio vaults of Disney. I'm talking about the film "Song of the South." Disney is now considers reissuing this movie on video and on DVD. Now, critics say the problem is that this movie is blatantly racist, blatantly offensive to African Americans, yet a growing number of people believe that it's about time that the movie is in fact, re-released. Interesting argument. Here's entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson with this one. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Disney's 1946 movie "Song of the South" has been locked in the company's vaults for decades. Never released for home viewing in the United States even though it won an Oscar for its song, "Zipideedoodah" and inspired the Splash Mountain rides at Disney's theme parks.

For years, the film has been blasted as racist for the way it depicts southern blacks. The primary character, Uncle Remus, is seen as a servile, happy go lucky simpleton bubbling over with "ain't nobody"s, "ain't never"s and "you tells them"s. A stereotype that for many dangerously glamorizes the harsh reality of post-slavery America.

NAJEE ALI, PROJECT ISLAMIC HOPE: That film is racially demeaning, it is insulting and it's offensive. It's a painful reminder of our past where blacks were depicted as buffoons.

JAMES BASKETT, ACTOR: I knows that.

ANDERSON: Civil rights advocate Najee Ali is glad the film has been locked up all these years. And wants it to stay that way.

ALI: The Disney corporation is going to find out very soon that if they do release this film that African-Americans will be outside protesting, that bringing back up that painful reminder is a slap in the face to our ancestors.

ANDERSON: Despite the potential backlash, Disney chief Bob Iger is considering releasing the film saying quote, "There were depictions in the film that viewed in today's world might not be viewed as kindly or as politically correct as perhaps they may have been n that time. But we have decided that we would look at it again."

Niger Innis from the Congress of Racial Equality is well aware of the film's rocky history with blacks.

INNIS: James Baskett was the first live black actor hired by Disney to do this. Could not go to the premier of this film in Atlanta because he could not get a hotel room that would sleep him for the night because of segregation.

ANDERSON (on camera): However, unlike Ali, Innis believes Disney has been wrong to block the movie. He does want the studio to release the film as long as it's accompanied by special features to educate fans.

INNIS: For example, you could very easily have a documentary, the making of the film, Song of the South." Use entertainment to really educate and show a little bit of American history.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Should Disney decide to put the film on DVD, the title stands to become very profitable.

CHRISTIAN WILLIS, WWW.SONGOFTHESOUTH.NET: This is my first item. ANDERSON: Christian Willis has spent a decade collecting anything and everything related to "Song of the South." He says the film's fan base is massive.

WILLIS: I would say that there are hundreds of thousands of people out there that are hopeful.

ANDERSON: More than 118,000 people have signed a position now located on Willis' Web site urging Disney to make the move.

WILLIS: They all want to see this movie released. They don't see anything wrong with it.

ANDERSON: For now, fans and foes will have to wait and see if Disney's "Song of the South" buzzes onto store shelves or once again if the studio decides that would be a Zippitydoo-don't. Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Like I even have to tell you, right, that this is going to be a perfect topic for our "Out in the Open" panel. Joining us again, Roland Martin, Niger Innis, who you just saw in Brooke's piece, by the way. You look very handsome, I should add.

PEREZ: That was a good looking guy there. What happened?

SANCHEZ: Miguel ...

INNIS: Cheap shot.

SANCHEZ: Miguel Perez. Equally handsome.

PEREZ: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Should people see this again? Should people see this again?

MARTIN: I think first and foremost there are a number of movies that are out that were done during that period of time. If you applied that standard, don't show "Gone with the Wind." If you applied that standard, don't show an Al Jolson, don't show folks in blackface.

There's a lots of movies.

SANCHEZ: Don't show Moses. There were slaves in that one, too. Don't show "Roots."

MARTIN: Don't show Bill Bojangles.

"Roots" is a little different, again.

And the movie - in fact, the 30th anniversary of that movie is this Sunday and is being show on another network. The point is there are a number of movies that are being broadcast. That we see. So that -- it's a different kind of deal here.

SANCHEZ: So historically if it's put in perspective, it's OK? Is that fair?

MARTIN: But there are a number of movies that are not put in perspective. They are just shown on television. You can buy them in video stores. This is a different standard because Disney chose to lock it away in its vault.

INNIS: And let me tell you something. Roland is right. Not only a number of movies, but "Song of the South" is one of those movies that has been released as recently in this country in 1986 and it's been released in Europe in and Asia.

SANCHEZ: What do you feel like as African Americans when you watch this and when you watch people creating ridiculous caricatures of African Americans? At a time when it was done all the time?

MARTIN: First of all, I am more offended by the caricatures and the ignorance that I see in some movies today than I am in this particular movie.

SANCHEZ: Really?

MARTIN: Absolutely. Because, first of all, this is 2007. I mean, I understand that -- you know, in terms of what that setting was, at the same time, what also offends me is when they act like it didn't happen. So I'm not jumping up and down in terms of, oh Disney, don't release this film again. I'm more offended by what I hear and see today than this particular film.

SANCHEZ: There is a particular guy that wants this released. He's apparently got an ax to grind in this thing. This is what he says, I'm going to read it to you.

Will, if you could, put it up on the screen for us.

He says, "I must stress that Disney used only innocent stereotypes, that is, stereotypes that do not make fun of characteristics of people or things."

That's Christian Willis, by the way.

MARTIN: What does that mean?

SANCHEZ: It's interesting. He runs the fan site for "Song of the South."

Do you think that's harmless? Is there a difference?

PEREZ: I guess some people want us to think that they were happy slaves. Those two things just don't go together. I mean, it's a myth to try to make people believe. SANCHEZ: A stereotype is a stereotype is a stereotype.

PEREZ: A stereotype is a stereotype.

SANCHEZ: The only difference is the person who's being stereotyped tends to take it a little differently than the person who's not. It's all about perception.

INNIS: That's for sure. You don't want to create an artificial, superficial image of what life was like. And the interesting thing about this movie, "Song of the South," it was based on a number of articles written by Joel Chandler who was a white boy, a real person, a white boy that grew up around former slaves and got these stories. Black folklore stories from these former slaves and here you have this rich piece of history. It was actually printed in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" in the 1870s or 1880s.

Here you have -- Disney has this opportunity to grasp the bull by the horns and Roland is dead right. There are so many movies that are the reflection of that period and the mindset of whites against blacks. Here's an opportunity to do something educational.

MARTIN: Bill Bojangles and Shirley Temple. Come on, take your pick.

PEREZ: To answer your question, it should be released so that it can stimulate this kind of debate, so that we can educate people. I mean, this is going to fight ignorance.

INNIS: A whole generation of Americans that need to know what life was life after the Civil War. And even in 1946 when this was released.

SANCHEZ: And if this even fosters intelligent discussion in this realm, then it is a good thing.

MARTIN: Absolutely. As Niger said, if we understand the back story. We couldn't go to the film, Hattie McDaniel, when she couldn't do certain things, she won on Oscar. Again, when you understand that, if puts it in context versus just the film.

 

[David Deeb]

The odd thing about this whole thing is that once this DVD ever gets released, films critics & historians will lather it with attention & praise it for being an American treasure. People will not take to the streets in protest. Disney will reap great rewards.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Also, whether it's released or not released won't change history or the present condition of people who think their problems are caused by how their ancestors were depicted in old movies.

And after it's released, and gets on the news for two days at the most, people will move on to the next manufactured "problem" and forget all about it. So release the darn thing already!

 

[oscar_merkx]

Thanks for all the great links.

To me it looks like Disney hired a PR company to get maximum exposure for an eventual DVD release and sell out completely

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I will be one of the first in line to pick this one up. I've never seen it (Disney rereleases didn't always make it to my neck of the woods growing up), and am dying to, as an animation buff.

 

[Matt Hough]

The animation is truly superb, among the best even done for a Disney feature, and the blending of live action and animation is also well done for the time in which it was filmed.

I honestly don't see the problem with the film. It's a period drama which looks to be set right after the Civil War, so the plights of its black characters seem legitimate. The language they use seems no worse than the similar lingo used in other films set in the same period and made during the 1930s and 1940s. And the fact is that the Hattie McDaniel and James Baskett characters are the most grounded and most sensible adults in the movie, and the children adore them.

And have the Disney folks forgotten that James Baskett's warm and wonderful characterization was awarded a special Oscar? That's NOTHING to be ashamed of.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

When I saw this in 1956, the cartoon segments had the most vivid color I've ever seen in my life. On reissue in 1972, the colors had faded and were all pink and purplish. It was a disaster.

It goes without saying that if this thing really happens, I hope they restore the color to the way it looked originally. They play around with the color these days, you know (as the "Peter Pan" thread here shows.)

 

[John Whittle]

Sounds as if the first print you saw was a Tech IB release (which would have been common) and the second print a faded Eastman Positive. In any event, the original was three strip Technicolor so that neg should be fine.

John

 

[MatthewA]

I was under the impression that Disney used IB Tech for prints from its introduction with Flowers and Trees until its discontinuation in 1974. In fact, the last feature to come off the dye transfer line was the 1975 reissue printing of Swiss Family Robinson.

Maybe Joe saw a mistimed print. Supposedly Technicolor let the quality of their IB prints slide in its later years.

 

[ScottR]

When I saw the 1986 reissue, the colors were glorious.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Well, I hope Disney's PR isn't looking to Louisville because there was a small story on the news this morning with three preachers putting the film as racist.