It's hard to believe that an animated Disney film could be considered obscure, but Song of the South manages to be just that mainly because the film has been considered "permanently retired" by the Disney corporation, because of content in the film that could be construed as racist and insensitive to African-Americans. Now, depending on your age, you may have never heard of this film, but if you've been to Disneyland, you are probably familiar with the main characters, Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear, from the ride Splash Mountain.
The film is simultaneously a live-action and animated feature, the live-action portion is the source of the narrative, set on a plantation in Georgia sometime during the 19th century (though no specific date is mentioned). The story revolves around an old slave named Uncle Remus entertaining Ginny and Johnny (the grandchildren of the plantation owner) with stories of Brer Rabbit and his run-ins with Brer Fox and Brer Bear. The stories involving Brer Rabbit are the animated segments of the film, and are based off tales by Joel Chandler Harris, as is the character Uncle Remus. The film is very much a musical in both the live-action and animated segments. All of the songs on the Splash Mountain ride come from the film, including the popular Disney song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah".
Now, despite the film being permanently retired by Disney, which in my opinion is a nice way of saying "banned", because of the racially sensitive content, one who is not familiar with the film might think that it depicts hateful or shocking material, but this is not the case. Remember, this is a Disney film, and it's pretty clear they went to great pains to make this film as inoffensive as possible, while still maintaining the historical accuracy of the time the film is set. There's nothing really hateful that shows up in the film, but the themes of slavery and black people not being as intelligent or responsible as white people still resonates in the live-action portions of the film, even though it's not directly stated by the film. I think the main problem that many would have with the film is that the whole master/slave relationship present in the film is almost idealized. None of the slaves show any real disdain toward their masters, or the fact that they're slaves, nor does the film demonize the concept of slavery. There is one scene in the film that is blatantly racist, and that scene is the animated segment of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby. The scene, which is based on one of Harris' stories, involves Brer Fox and Brer Bear constructing a doll out of tar, and they set it down in Brer Rabbit's path in an attempt to catch him. When Brer Rabbit comes across the Tar Baby, he greets it, but becomes upset when the doll does not return his greeting. Brer Rabbit, thinking the doll is alive, considers it's silence as bad manners, and continues to try to greet it, with no reply. Finally, out of anger, Brer Rabbit punches the doll and gets himself stuck in the tar, allowing Brer Fox and Brer Bear to capture him. If you can't figure what about this scene is offensive, then I just don't know what to do with you.
All in all, I can see why Disney doesn't really want to acknowledge this film. You might be wondering how I've seen the film, since it hasn't ever been released in the US. Well, the interesting this is that the film has been released in its entirety in other countries, such as the UK, and Japan ( the reason it's available in Japan is because the film is considered public domain there, due a court ruling that decided that any film made before 1953 is public domain in Japan.) So it's not impossible to see this film, just very difficult. Personally, I think the film is beautifully made, and is a historical part of Disney cinema. I do, however, understand that the film is not appropriate for children in this day and age, because Disney films, for children, are more than just films. Disney characters become their friends, and some children may model their behavior on the behavior of a Disney character, so I don't think the film should get a release for mass consumption. However, I also don't think the film should be outright banned either. I think the film should be made available for adults, film buffs, Disney collectors, or animation collectors in general, via some sort of special ordering service, or an online exclusive release. It's a film that deserves to be appreciated for what it is, which is historical animation, and NOT for what it originally was, which was a film made to entertain children.
Paul Schifferli - Paul Schifferli
