Song of the South Release Rumor – Announcement This Month?

This information was taken from www.songofthesouth.net

July 1, 2003

Song of the South Release Rumor – Announcement This Month?

As with all release rumors, remember to take this with a grain of salt. According to an individual who recently visited Disneyland, one of the cast members in a shop on Main Street divulged that Song of the South would be released "in the not too distant future" and that an announcement should be made this month:

"I just got back hours ago from a mom's gift to herself weekend and while I was digging around the watch shop on Main Street for cool pictures, a woman checking out in front of me asked for anything and everything SONG OF THE SOUTH related. The man told her to try the Splash Mountain Briar Patch type shop. She said she had and not much other than beanie babies etc. He told her not to spread this around, of which his voice proceeded to get much louder so a large group of 20 or so heard but Disney finally gave their consent to release SOS on DVD in the not too distant future and an announcement should be made in the upcoming month of July. I know not to trust but my DVD player and I are hoping for extra pixie dust in the next few weeks. He said they have to finish negotiating with NAACP type organizations to decide whether to delete or add explanations, you know, to be politically correct. I hope I have stirred up a bees nest here but I was so excited, I thought I'd burst."

Either this cast member (or this individual) is making up tall tales to appease the Song of the South-seeking public, or there may actually be some truth to this rumor. As with all release rumors, only time will tell. Thanks to Tina of the Yahoo Song of the South Enthusiasts Group for passing this on.

Song of the South is one of our prized possesions here at my house. I think it'll be interesting to see the two after they edit it to please the NAACP.

As amazing as this would be, I really cant see it happening... It's a shame, though... I think it's a great movie that many people are missing out on.

Well, I believe no harsh changes are needed, only an explanation before the movie. That's why it'd be perfect for the Walt Disney Treasures line. They could have Maltin give all the explanations and point out particular scenes that people may find offensive, and also explain to the bone-heads out there what a milestone SotS is.

Grain of salt and all, here's my 2 cents of pixie dust in hopes of this one coming true! :sohappy:

http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/sots.htm

Aparently there is no problem with the NAACP.

This would be great if it is true, such a wonderful film.Keeping my fingers crossed.

Originally posted by MrPromey
http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/sots.htm

Aparently there is no problem with the NAACP.

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thanks for the link, Mr. Promey. interesting article. Here's hoping for another release of it.

I was recently talking with a CM and they said there was "no chance" this movie was going to come out.

Originally posted by dylan0511
I was recently talking with a CM and they said there was "no chance" this movie was going to come out.

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As MKT and others here can attest. The CM’s at WDW are all well aware of the release schedule for Buena Vista Home Video…

The truth is that whoever told you that told you for the same reasons that a lot of people who don’t work for Disney think it will never be released.

I could see it coming out as something along the lines of a Disney Treasure – marketed more to collectors than kids and with a good pre-amble that explains why the movie wasn’t considered controversial at the time it was made but why it might be viewed that way now. They had something like that with the Mickey in black & white because he does some not so nice things in a few of those shorts that we wouldn’t necessarily imagine the PC Mickey of today doing.

That being said, if it were coming out anytime soon, I think we would probably know about it by this point and I sort of doubt that the ‘leak’ would have come from a cast member in the watch shop at DL. Who knows though, I suppose it could happen. After all, there are still another 26 days in this month so I’ll keep my fingers crossed with everyone else.

I would love to see this happen! I would really like to finally see the movie that's behind Splash Mountain.

I saw this movie as a kid and loved it. I remember having a read-along book and record set too. Just another one of those things I wish I had kept!!!

Originally posted by Erika
I saw this movie as a kid and loved it. I remember having a read-along book and record set too. Just another one of those things I wish I had kept!!!

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Isn’t it funny how some things go full circle? I’d like to wring my 15-16 year old neck for some of the stuff I just plain threw out
because I considered myself ‘over it’…

Who would have ever guessed that I actually didn’t know everything at that age after all?

I bought Song of the South off Ebay for European VCR's and got it transfered to US format, but the sound quality is no good. I would love to have an official copy.

That would be awesome.

Many people my daughter's age (late teens to early 20s) probably saw excerpts from the movie on the Disney Channel (back when they showed more classic movies and cartoons) I obviously saw the original in re-releases (believe it or not, I WASN'T around for the original release! ) but also remember seeing some of the animated sections presented as shorts when my daughter was little. I also have Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah on a Disney song tape.

Originally posted by The Mom
Many people my daughter's age (late teens to early 20s) probably saw excerpts from the movie on the Disney Channel (back when they showed more classic movies and cartoons) I obviously saw the original in re-releases (believe it or not, I WASN'T around for the original release! ) but also remember seeing some of the animated sections presented as shorts when my daughter was little. I also have Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah on a Disney song tape.

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Those are my memories of Song of the South. Back when "Mousterpiece Theater" and other shows like that were on the Disney Channel, they used to show excerpts from the movie. Why is it, though, that they can release a sing-a-long, but they cant release the movie?

Originally posted by The Mom
Many people my daughter's age (late teens to early 20s) probably saw excerpts from the movie on the Disney Channel (back when they showed more classic movies and cartoons) I obviously saw the original in re-releases (believe it or not, I WASN'T around for the original release! ) but also remember seeing some of the animated sections presented as shorts when my daughter was little. I also have Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah on a Disney song tape.

Click to expand...

That's where I remember bits and pieces of it from.... I wish I could see the whole movie though, especially since there is so much controversy around it.

It's really a shame that more people are not able to see this fantastic film because of the controversy surrounding it. The overall theme of the movie is beautiful!

Yes, I would love to see it back.

Isn't it funny how this movie is destructive (despite historical perspective) to some, yet the drugs, cussing, rape, crime, and general womanizing that permeates rap and other "pop" music today is "freedom of speech."

Which is more destructive? I'll vote for a movie that passed along fables and showed where people have come from (and even an outdated view -- more for understanding images and times), than gangsta rap.

I would like to see the black civil rights leaders actually take a stand against gangsta rap and fatherless children, rather than spend their time on this. So far, according to SpongeScott, at least they have not spent too much official energy against it. Maybe if it comes out with appropriate notations, it will actually help race relations.

from what I have read, and been reading, it seem to me that the slavery issue is a smoke screen of some kind, I don't know why?. since the NAACP hasn't offically condemed it I'm at a loss, with that in mind, I can't seem to come up with a reasonable explaination for the morotorium on Song Of the South

During my last trip to Disney World, my dad said that he would love for Song of the South to be released again (cause he remembers the initial release) ... which got me on a search for it when we got home. To my surprise, it had gotten a whole bunch of flak because of its 'insensitivity to slavery' or something to that effect. However, it shows much about the culture of that very important time in American history.

Which got me thinking, why would a film be put out of commission when so much has come of it that Disney presently uses?

One of the most popular rides (a landmark), Splash Mountain, is themed around this movie. "Watch out for Brer Rabbit's Briar Patch!" is the tagline for the attraction. Brer Rabbit... I'm sure a lot of young people today wonders where that character came from. And while I'm ranting, let's go back to the culture. Nobody calls their brother "brer." Just another one of the idioms that is part of America's history.

Another thing is the popular song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah." If the movie isn't available for people to enjoy, why even use the song from it? I'm sure a lot of new Disney fans wonder which movie that came from, even if they could GUESS it came from a movie!!

I'm from the south, and I have to say, people down here deal with racism a whole lot better than up north or elsewhere. It's the idiots who have got their panties in a wad. Not only does Jesse Jackson run around making babies, he's got time to point the finger, and ruin everything that is good and right. Yea, I said it!

Now isn't that something; he's a reverend and doesn't have a church...

I've been wanting to get that out for a while now. Thanks for the space.


Kyle