Another Song of the South thread....

Originally Posted By SIR at X-S Tech

<<... What it fails to acknowledge is that the blacks in Song of the South aren't merely contented; they are childlike and oblivious in their happiness. This is what is viewed as so offensive.>>

How can you tell that the blacks depicted are childlike and oblivious? Other than Uncle Remus and the boy (whose name escapes me now) and two women, very few other blacks receive much screen time. I don't think I could judge any of their personalities from the little time they are shown. The blacks that are shown seem pretty mature and competent to me.

 

Originally Posted By DVC_dad

I recently saw the movie again, for the first time since I was very young. You know, it really isn't that great.

 

Originally Posted By DVC_dad

I tend to agree with Trippy, it's Coors all over again.

Smokey and the Bandit is one of my top three movies of all time. ...Not sure that is relevant but there it is.

 

Originally Posted By basil fan

Brer Rabbit has always been one of my top 5 Disney characters. Is that reason enough to want to own his movie?

But I don't buy bootlegs. End of story.

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Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy

Then I hope you're patient.

 

Originally Posted By DlandDug

>>This isn't "Hot Lead and Cold Feet" we're talking here (which DID get remastered and released, BTW).<<
Hot Lead and Cold Feet (along with The Appple Dumpling Gang, Condorman, Charlie the Lonesome Cougar and so on) are not lightning rods for controversy. So they get (or will get) fairly routine digital transfers and releases.

>>This is one of the most requested unreleased movies ever, from any studio.<<
Have any facts or figures to back up this assertion? I know it is the object of much interest among Disney fans, but is the public at large really clamoring for this one?

>>Your choice is a PAL VHS from the UK (nuff said) or a pair of rare Asian laserdiscs mastered in the mid-80s from a faded and dirty print.<<
Yes, overseas releases, as I said, and the source of legal copies. If there was such an immense outpouring of support for this film, I suppose getting PAL compatible players (they do exist) wouldn't be an issue.

I don't want to get into a fight over this. I simply believe, based on all that I have heard and read on this topic, that Disney probably feels that potential profits from a SOTS video release would not offset the risks in releasing it. I don't like this, but I am willing to accept it.

 

Originally Posted By DlandDug

>>I recently saw the movie again, for the first time since I was very young. You know, it really isn't that great.<<

And that is another of the dirty little secrets about Song of the South. The animated sequences are brilliant, full of charm and genuine Disney magic. The live action, which is the bulk of the film, is stilted, awkward and, frankly, boring.

A few years ago a friend, a total Disney fanatic, found out I had a copy on VHS. He begged to see it, and I obliged. HE FELL ASLEEP. To this day I have only to whine, "Br'er Frog" to him and he gags.

It's been the same with just about anyone else who has tried to watch it. It's just not one of Walt's better efforts.

Sorry.

 

Originally Posted By pecos bill

But that wonderful, mid-forties technicolor animation certainly makes it worth owning. And didnt James Baskett's performance win him an honorary oscar, making him the first actor in a Disney film to be recognized by the Academy? Hattie McDaniel is another oscar winner who is in the film, and anything she is in is worth a watch.
Sorry Dug, but this film deserves more credit than you are giving it. Baskett's performance is outstanding, and the cinematic importance of this film can not be ignored.

 

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

"It's just not one of Walt's better efforts."

But neither is The Three Caballeros, and they seem to be pushing that like it's nobody's business. For all of the properties that Disney owns, they sure managed to pick a bunch of not particularly spectacular films to create attractions (Third Man on the Mountain, Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad, Song of the South, Three Caballeros, Tarzan, Swiss Family Robinson (the only reason I liked that movie when I was little was because it reminded me of the fun times at DL)). Clearly saying that it isn't the best movie out there doesn't mean that it isn't worth releasing. If nothing else, it can be like the Three Caballeros was for me when babysitting, and I used it like sleeping pills for the kids. The 3 hyper-sugar amped kids were all asleep within 20 minutes of it starting. Pure Disney magic.

 

Originally Posted By SIR at X-S Tech

<<You know, it really isn't that great.<<

Neither is Pete's Dragon or Bedknobs and Broomsticks, but I know several people who would count those at the top of thier list of Childhood favorites. What makes a film endearing isn't always as cut and dry as being "exciting" or "a good movie". Sometimes something just clicks with an individual. Intelectually I know that many of my favorite films aren't cinematic masterpieces but there's something about them that I can't get enough of.

With SOTS, for me, it's that great 40s animation.

 

Originally Posted By basil fan

I've seen Song of the South probably 5 times in my life and loved it every time. One man's meat, you know.

It's easy to say this or that film stinks, why should it be on DVD? I can say that about 90% of the movies in the video store. But that's just my opinion.

If you hate SOTS, it's just yours.

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Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy

SIR, I'm one of those who loves "Bedknobs and Broomsticks".

 

Originally Posted By SIR at X-S Tech

As do I.

My point was that nobody can really say "well the film is bad, so no one will mind if it's not released".

 

Originally Posted By mawnck

<a href="http://www.filmbuffonline.com/News/2007/April/RoyDisneySongOfTheSouth.htm" target="_blank">http://www.filmbuffonline.com/
News/2007/April/RoyDisneySongOfTheSouth.htm</a>

>>April 8, 2007- A potential DVD release for the controversial 1946 Disney film Song Of The South got a voice of support last night from Roy E. Disney, nephew of Walt Disney.

Speaking at the 16th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival, where he was receiving the fest’s Inspiration Award, Disney stated that a home video release of the film is overdue.

“I’ve got a bunch of cohorts working with me to convince the powers that be that it’s the smart thing to do,†Disney told the crowd at Philadelphia’s Prince Music Theatre.<<

>> “[Song Of The South] is a wonderful film that deserves to be back out in the public,†stated Disney. “All it needs is context. Some of that animation is stunning, even by today’s standards.â€<<

More at the link.

 

Originally Posted By pecos bill

Good ol Roy! One of the few people in the organization who has a sense of history and nostalgia.

 

Originally Posted By Pirate Mickey

Disney has made movies far more offensive than SOTS including from the studios of Touchstone and Miramax and no one has cried out to ban these movies with far more offensive sterotypes. I wonder why?

 

Originally Posted By Pirate Mickey

Chill out. It's just a movie fantasy. It was not real.

 

Originally Posted By mrichmondj

<< Disney has made movies far more offensive than SOTS including from the studios of Touchstone and Miramax and no one has cried out to ban these movies with far more offensive sterotypes. I wonder why? >>

Maybe because Touchstone and Miramax films are not typically used as babysitters for 5 years olds.

 

Originally Posted By threeundertwo

Why doesn't Disney just release a dvd with all the animated sequences? Are they offensive at all? I'm sorry, but I haven't seen this film since I was a kid.

 

Originally Posted By Sara Tonin

I recently purchased three copies of SOTS, one for grandma's house (mine), and one for each set of grandmonkeys. I haven't heard reviews from the grandmonkeys but I've watched it and found it charming in an old fashioned, un pc kind of way. I talked to my daughters before and made sure they would not be offended. They are both biracial, one with a black husband and the other with a white husband. (So we are truly equal opportunity family.) And the first one said she wouldn't be offended and talked about how she had recently read an article where the point of view was positive (Disney was hiring people of color during a time when many of the Hollywood studios weren't) about the movie. So we decided the kids probably would enjoy the movie. Besides, have you ever watched those Shirley Temple movies. And they are touted as family classics! I also think kids these days are savvy enough to know fantasy from reality.