Song of the South (1946) (1 Viewer)

[WillG]

Because it's not worth the headache. The $$$ Disney would make from a home video issue of "SotS" pales in comparison to all the negative publicity they'll receive.

Yeah, I know - the movie has an unfair reputation and it's not the "slaves R great!" movie people seem to think.

Doesn't matter. Its rep makes it toxic. If Disney thought they could make massive bucks from it, they'd withstand the headache, but it's not a movie that's gonna sell boohoogles of copies, so they'd rather just ignore it...



I suspect that "PatF" has a very substantial audience with Black families.

I have some Black friends with kids in the movies demographic - it's their favorite.

It was a big deal to the Black community to finally get a Disney princess who shared their skin color!

why not just release it into the public domain? People could see it if they want. Disney doesn’t profit (I get that the twitter mobs would still come for them, but seems like a logical solution)

 

[Jasper70]

If Disney were to release SOTS on DVD and Blu-ray they’d make millions. They’re not going to, that’s obvious. At one time I looked on Amazon just to see if bootlegs were being sold. There were over 10,000 reviews of the movie and every one I read was the person pleading for them to release the movie on DVD. Some of them even stated “I am black, there is nothing wrong with this movie, it’s part of our history, please release it”.
I bought the Japanese laserdisc release years ago. So I have my copy but it would be awesome to see it get restored and released to Blu-ray.

 

[Dave Upton]

why not just release it into the public domain? People could see it if they want. Disney doesn’t profit (I get that the twitter mobs would still come for them, but seems like a logical solution)

I happen to have a 720p scan/encode of a mediocre 35mm print. It is nice to at least have seen the film, which is basically impossible at my age.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

why not just release it into the public domain? People could see it if they want. Disney doesn’t profit (I get that the twitter mobs would still come for them, but seems like a logical solution)

They won't do that because there are derivative works like "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" that are still too valuable to Walt Disney.

It will likely enter the public domain in 22 years anyway, given that Congress has shown no appetite in recent years for extending copyright protection further.

If Disney were to release SOTS on DVD and Blu-ray they’d make millions. They’re not going to, that’s obvious.

It's too bad that Disney doesn't have a product line like Warner Archive or the old 20th Century Fox Studio Classics line. That sort of framing and promotion would seem like the right strategy, especially if they had a brief introductory video that played before the movie providing historical context and explaining that parts of it are problematic and why.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

If Disney were to release SOTS on DVD and Blu-ray they’d make millions.

No they wouldn't. I don't know if they'd have made "millions" with DVD sales of "SotS" 15 years ago when physical media was still huge, but now?

"SotS" would sell decently for DVD/BD due to the controversy, but not enough to make "millions".

And as I stated, whatever $$$ wouldn't be worth it to them because of the bad publicity they'd receive.

Especially now. Not exactly a good climate to put out a product that comes with such a negative reputation as racist!

If Disney had released "SotS" on DVD 15 years ago, they'd have gotten blowback, but now it'd be 10X as much...

 

[Harry-N]

No, this surely isn't the right time to be releasing SONG OF THE SOUTH. I too have a LaserDisc copy from Japan. Back in the days when there were actual LaserDisc stores, I remember the title showing up and costing around $100. That wasn't too uncommon a price for a LaserDisc - I recall the STAR WARS films selling for a list price of $79.95. But priorities were priorities, and SONG OF THE SOUTH wasn't really on my radar at that time.

About eight or so years later, Ebay was becoming a thing and I spotted someone selling the Japanese LaserDisc of SONG OF THE SOUTH for a couple hundred dollars. By then, its non-release in the US was becoming legendary, so I opted to buy the thing. It still resides in my dwindling library of LaserDiscs, and I've done the best I could with it to transfer it to DVD-R for ease of watching.

The print is what I'd call passable for a professionally-released title. The images are reasonably sharp and clear, but the colors are quite faded. Whenever a song comes on, there are hard-coded Japanese subtitles. Still, it's the best I'm going to get and am happy to have it.

 

[Jasper70]

No they wouldn't. I don't know if they'd have made "millions" with DVD sales of "SotS" 15 years ago when physical media was still huge, but now?

"SotS" would sell decently for DVD/BD due to the controversy, but not enough to make "millions".

And as I stated, whatever $$$ wouldn't be worth it to them because of the bad publicity they'd receive.

Especially now. Not exactly a good climate to put out a product that comes with such a negative reputation as racist!

If Disney had released "SotS" on DVD 15 years ago, they'd have gotten blowback, but now it'd be 10X as much...

I’m not saying now is a good time to release it, it’s quite obvious that would be a terrible idea. But I still think it would sell hotter than any of their new releases.

Not a Disney release but look at Rad, VS sold out in a matter of hours, I read it was 12,000 copies limited release. Never released to DVD now on BD/4K. Collectors went nuts over that.

Disney may have more collectors than any other genre of movies. They’d buy a BD in droves.

 

[cinemel1]

No, this surely isn't the right time to be releasing SONG OF THE SOUTH. I too have a LaserDisc copy from Japan. Back in the days when there were actual LaserDisc stores, I remember the title showing up and costing around $100. That wasn't too uncommon a price for a LaserDisc - I recall the STAR WARS films selling for a list price of $79.95. But priorities were priorities, and SONG OF THE SOUTH wasn't really on my radar at that time.

About eight or so years later, Ebay was becoming a thing and I spotted someone selling the Japanese LaserDisc of SONG OF THE SOUTH for a couple hundred dollars. By then, its non-release in the US was becoming legendary, so I opted to buy the thing. It still resides in my dwindling library of LaserDiscs, and I've done the best I could with it to transfer it to DVD-R for ease of watching.

The print is what I'd call passable for a professionally-released title. The images are reasonably sharp and clear, but the colors are quite faded. Whenever a song comes on, there are hard-coded Japanese subtitles. Still, it's the best I'm going to get and am happy to have it.

I also bought the LD of Song of the South from a store on Long Island called Laserland. It was $69, I believe. I always had a warm place in my heart for the film. it was the first time I had seen it in almost 40 years. I was surprised at how little animation there was in the film. It’s basically restricted to 4 sequences, 3 Brer Rabbit tales and the classic Zip-a-dee-doo-dah song with mixed animation and live action. I liked the film so much as a child (about 5 years old) my mom bought the Golden Book Tales of Uncle Remus which included the stories from the film and about 20 other tales from Joel Chandler Harris’ animal stories. My mother didn’t like the southern dialect used in the book so she translated it into proper English. Fast forward to
1985: I’m a teacher in Bedford-Stuyvesant and every February we would celebrate Black History Month. I had just bought the SotS LD and wanted to show the animated sequences to the kids. So I gave the principal, an amazing African American woman, the film to watch to get her permission to show it. She took it home and showed it to her family. They all loved it and I got permission to show it. I put in context and explained that James Basket won an honorary
Oscar and the song was best song. The kids, mostly Black, some Hispanic, loved It. The kids wrote about it. It’s a shame that this classic is condemned to the vaults. Maybe someday...

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I can’t claim to have seen the whole film (just bits and pieces), but my AP US History teacher in high school showed my class the “tarbaby” sequence when we were covering the Reconstruction (this setting seemingly being a detail these PC lunatics are overlooking), and no one in the class was offended, so it’s probably not as offensive as has been claimed.

I have seen the film, first at a drive-in theater in the early 1970s and then after that at some point. It's nowhere near as offensive as something like Gone with the Wind, I mean not even close. It does present characters speaking in what is considered a "stereotypical uneducated black voice" but it is not attempting to intentionally demean people of color. Gone with the Wind is more offensive due to the attempt to paint that period as if it were some sort of fairy tale. That is overall far more disgusting and as I recall there is nothing like that really in Song of the South.

That's why I posted the interview with Floyd Norman, Disney's first black animator. He loves Song of the South and personally lobbied Disney's legal department to allow it to be released...they completely ignored him. He also tells a story of taking a print of the film from Disney and showing it to an all black audience in a church...and they loved it. So, again I don't think the film is offensive and neither does Mr. Norman but if they would not listen to him, they won't listen to anybody.

The picture is not ever going to see the light of day through Disney.

 

[Robert Crawford]

That's why I posted the interview with Floyd Norman, Disney's first black animator. He loves Song of the South and personally lobbied Disney's legal department to allow it to be released...they completely ignored him. He also tells a story of taking a print of the film from Disney and showing it to an all black audience in a church...and they loved it. So, again I don't think the film is offensive and neither does Mr. Norman but if they would not listen to him, they won't listen to anybody.

The picture is not ever going to see the light of day through Disney.

With all due respect that doesn't mean a good portion of the African-American community would view it the same way. I have a sister that thinks it's offensive. I respect her POV, but I'm a staunch anti-censorship advocate and she's not. She doesn't want young children exposed to this film which is a different demographic than the participants in this thread. It's not surprising many of you don't think it's offensive because you're not looking at it from other people's POV. Furthermore, there will always be a difference of opinion and thought between groups of people as well as within a particular group/demographic of people. It doesn't matter what their ethnicity is because each of us have a mind of our own and see things from our own prism. Disney has made a calculated business decision that this movie isn't worth the trouble in their business strategy. I don't agree with it, but I can't really blame them either.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

With all due respect that doesn't mean a good portion of the African-American community would view it the same way. I have a sister that thinks it's offensive. I respect her POV, but I'm a staunch anti-censorship advocate and she's not. She doesn't want young children exposed to this film which is a different demographic than the participants in this thread. It's not surprising many of you don't think it's offensive because you're not looking at it from other people's POV. Furthermore, there will always be a difference of opinion and thought between groups of people as well as within a particular group/demographic of people. It doesn't matter what their ethnicity is because each of us have a mind of our own and see things from our own prism. Disney has made a calculated business decision that this movie isn't worth the trouble in their business strategy. I don't agree with it, but I can't really blame them either.

Yes, I am not at all saying that I think most of the African American community would like it and not find it offensive...many would and I understand that. I was comparing it to Gone with the Wind and personally find it far less egregious than that picture. I, like you, do not think these films should be banned and should be left intact and shown as they were made.

I personally think when you attempt to hide something, well, you look worse. So, I think Disney's take on this does them more harm than good. Though, suddenly releasing a picture like this now, in this climate of intense racial unrest, would be a horrible idea.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yes, I am not at all saying that I think most of the African American community would like it and not find it offensive...many would and I understand that. I was comparing it to Gone with the Wind and personally find it far less egregious than that picture. I, like you, do not think these films should be banned and should be left intact and shown as they were made.

I personally think when you attempt to hide something, well, you look worse. So, I think Disney's take on this does them more harm than good. Though, suddenly releasing a picture like this now, in this climate of intense racial unrest, would be a horrible idea.

Perhaps, but Disney has clearly moved on from that movie. We can gripe all we want about it, but I don't think any of us will ever see this movie released in any format from Disney in our remaining lifetime.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Perhaps, but Disney has clearly moved on from that movie. We can gripe all we want about it, but I don't think any of us will ever see this movie released in any format from Disney in our remaining lifetime.

I agree, I don't even think they would license it to a boutique label. Disney seems content with leaving it to the bootleg market.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Don Lemon discussed SoTS and Gone with the Wind with his mother on his latest (June 25th) podcast. (Just one person's opinion of course, but if you are looking for another perspective, worth a listen.) Jacqueline Stewart talks about Gone with the Wind and other films with him as well.

Silence is Not an Option with Don Lemon - Podcast on CNN Audio

This season of Silence is Not an Option, hosted by Don Lemon, is all about fearless individuals who stand up for what’s right — even when it means breaking the rules.

www.cnn.com

- Walter.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Don Lemon discussed SoTS and Gone with the Wind with his mother on his latest (June 25th) podcast. (Just one person's opinion of course, but if you are looking for another perspective, worth a listen.) Jacqueline Stewart talks about Gone with the Wind and other films with him as well.

That was a really good listen. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Don Lemon discussed SoTS and Gone with the Wind with his mother on his latest (June 25th) podcast. (Just one person's opinion of course, but if you are looking for another perspective, worth a listen.) Jacqueline Stewart talks about Gone with the Wind and other films with him as well.

Silence is Not an Option with Don Lemon - Podcast on CNN Audio

This season of Silence is Not an Option, hosted by Don Lemon, is all about fearless individuals who stand up for what’s right — even when it means breaking the rules.

www.cnn.com

- Walter.

Wow! I enjoyed that podcast very much so thank you for posting it here. Listening to his Mom reminds me of a conversation I had with my sister about SOS. My sisters are 5-6 years older than me so the first time I watched that movie they took me. I was only about 8 or 9 years old. They were teenagers during the Civil Rights movement so their perception of the movie was a lot different than their kid brother. I watched it again about 3 or 4 years later, but I was old enough to see it on my own. I've might have been with some buddies as I can't remember, but one thing I do recall is that I didn't think much of the film. I liked the song, but the movie as a whole didn't have a grasp on me. I was closer to my sisters age when I viewed that movie a second time so even my perception of it changed in only about four years.

 

[jayembee]

I never saw PatF, but my kids randomly requested it on Disney+ a couple weeks ago from just seeing a thumbnail of it and they’ve watched a few times already. They seem to really like it.

I have a copy of it on UHD. I've watched it. I like it. Is it a Classic Classic like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty? Hell, no. Is it a Neo-Classic like The Little Mermaid or The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Hell, no. But it's still an enjoyable film, and better than a number of their latter-day animated films.

 

[jayembee]

I can’t claim to have seen the whole film (just bits and pieces), but my AP US History teacher in high school showed my class the “tarbaby” sequence when we were covering the Reconstruction (this setting seemingly being a detail these PC lunatics are overlooking), and no one in the class was offended, so it’s probably not as offensive as has been claimed.

With all due respect, Jack, it isn't any one person's place to decide for someone else what is or isn't offensive. It may not be offensive to you, it may not be offensive to me, it may not be offensive to that guy over there in the corner. But it is offensive to a significant number of people, and they have as much "right" to be offended as you do to not be offended.

The question at the heart of censorship -- whether self-censorship, or censorship imposed from outside -- isn't whether the work in question is or isn't offensive, but whether those who are offended should have the power to deny the non-offended people access to the work. And that's too complex a question for an easy answer.

 

[Mr. Handley]

I would argue that it's racist to not let the public see the wonderful performance of James Baskett in this film (he even won an honorary Oscar for it).

 

[Garysb]

Here are two youtube videos .