November 12 - Song of the South

On this day, in 1946, Song of the South had it's world debut in Atlanta, Georgia. Controversial from its very opening, Song hasn't been officially seen in the United States for over thirty years now.

Walt had wanted to make a movie based on the stories of Joel Chandler Harris long before he started trying to get the rights to them. Even after he did secure the rights, he faced an uphill battle within the studio itself. Some people didn't think there was enough story to warrant the budget it would take, but most employees who raised objections did so along racial lines. Walt was well aware of the minefield he was steering into and but was a bit too overly committed to making the movie to not go full speed ahead anyways.

It was decided that Song would be a mixture of live action and animation, which certainly helped with the budget issues. When an ad was placed in the local newspapers for voice actors, James Baskett applied and was initially cast as a butterfly. Walt was intrigued with James' voice, asked to meet him and immediately wanted to test him for the film's lead. James passed the test and was cast as Uncle Remus and the voice of Br'er Fox (he got to remain in the role of the butterfly as well). Walt was so enamored with James' performance, he campaigned for an Oscar. His wish would be granted. James was awarded a special Academy Award for his virtuoso turn as Uncle Remus. Part of the film's controversy is of course the fact that it had to be a special award instead of a Best Actor award, but that's such a small part it's hardly worth mentioning. Ditto the fact that James didn't attend the premier because Atlanta was a severely segregated city at the time.

The biggest bone of contention with Song of the South is "confusion" over when the story takes place. While Disney has always maintained that the film takes place in the 1870s, and if you are a fashion expert the costumes apparently bear that out, the time is never mentioned in the film. Most viewers are going to assume that the story takes place pre-Civil War. The Hays Office had asked that the book at the beginning of the film clearly show the year of the action, but that, unfortunately never happened. As a result, the usual Disney sanitizing of locations and eras makes it look like the slaves on the plantation were just pleased as punch to be there. It was a notion that didn't really fly in 1946 (there were protests of the film even back then) and definitely doesn't fly now. Song wasn't helped by the fact that, as one reviewer put it, there wasn't enough charm to overcome the cliches.

Song's saving graces (doe's it have any, you might ask and the answer is yes, a couple) are the animated sequences and the songs. "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" has become a classic and also won the Oscar for Best Song. The animated bits and the characters of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox have been seen on television numerous times and quite frequently in the parks. The attraction Splash Mountain is based on the Tar Baby and Laughing Place sequences (although you obviously won't see any mention of a tar baby anywhere in it). Most American kids don't have a clue that the Br'er characters come from a movie, not a log flume ride.

That wasn't always the case. Song of the South was re-released in theaters several times successfully, grossing over 65 million dollars total. The last time was in 1986 for the film's 40th anniversary. It's never been released on home video in the US but has appeared in Japan and most of Europe. Song has also been shown on the BBC as recently as 2006. Every once in a while, Disney will make some sort of announcement about it, but don't hold your breath that it will appear in the US any time soon. I personally have never seen the whole movie (even though it wouldn't be hard to as several bootlegs exist various places online), but from what I understand, I'm really not missing much. The plot hasn't aged well at all and wasn't terribly exciting to begin with.