Have you seen Song of the south in its entirety

[jloucks]

I was a kid in the 70's and 80's and saw the movie many times in that timeframe. I loved those characters as a kid (and still as an adult), both animated and non-animated. Uncle Remus was up there with Mr Rogers for me as televised father figure. Several of the songs I can still sing from memory. I watched the movie as an adult about 6 years ago, and saw way more in it than I did as a kid. It is both overtly and covertly racist. Cringe level. Embarrassment level. Not suitable for children. However, when did not suitable for children apply to adults? The issue is some bone-head adults would just play it for little Karen and then she would go to school rocking some racist blackcent or verbiage and get intro trouble. *sigh*

I really don't care for Princess Frog all that much. Sure, it was ok. I've seen it 2-3 times and didn't dislike it, but for me to change up a beloved childhood love is hard.

But not that hard. Changing up the ride sends a strong message to folks that the movie it is based on was, and still is, not ok. Sending a beloved childhood memory into oblivion is a pittance of suffering compared to WHY the memory is headed for oblivion. Changing up the ride to Princess Frog amplifies the message (dare I say love) we are sending to the new generation.

Look, I get it, some of you are innocent (I am NOT insinuating anyone that loves Remus and his rabbit is racist). Love should triumph hate. But sometimes, love and hate are tied so tightly together that only thing you can do it cut them both loose.

 

[JTT]

I would like to, just to see what all of the fuss is about.

 

[thomas998]

I would like to, just to see what all of the fuss is about.

I'm fairly certain that you would walk away asking what the fuss was about. The live action portion of the show was not that entertaining, when I saw it the only parts that I walked out of the theater really remembering was the B-er Rabbit cartoons... but even then thought the Aristicats that it was double featured with was a much better cartoon.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Just watched it last night. Might even be a top 5 Disney film for me. Not quite sure.

 

[Goofyernmost]

...it really depends on who’s on the Pole and what music is playing

And how many drinks have been consumed??

 

[Phil12]

I would like to, just to see what all of the fuss is about.

You can watch it here:

Song of the South (1080p 35mm Restoration) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

 

[Stellajack]

I remember as a child reading a book from my school library of Uncle Remus tales. I was simply delighted by the stories and when Song of the South came along in movie form, my mom took me, my sister, and brother to see the movie. The movie was also delightful. It never occurred to us that this movie or these books by Mr. Harris were anything that we would come to be ashamed of. These were simply funny animal stories about a clever rabbit. None of these stories caused me to degrade other human lives. I do have a DVD purchased years ago (probably bootlegged, as someone has said) and we still enjoy the entertainment of these 'critters'. My favorite part of Splash Mountain was the music, miniature houses along the way, the frogs and every visual prior to the plummet down the flume. I will miss this.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

No

 

[TeriofTerror]

I own a bootleg copy on VHS that was gifted to me by a friend when the video rental store at which he worked closed.
Let's be honest; everything else aside, it's not a very good movie.

 

[Bpmorley]

I downloaded it from one of those peer to peer sites years ago. burned it to a dvd.

 

[91JLovesDisney]

I have - but only since I learned about the restoration - I really liked it! I think as much as I love all the human characters, I was probably mostly in it for Br'er Rabbit (who by the way, I think is SO MUCH CUTER in the movie!)

ive never ever seen it. Ive only heard of it. its obviously not available so i have no way to.

Maybe you're not looking in the right places

Song of the South (1080p 35mm Restoration) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

 

[Ghost93]

I've seen it three times. The first time I saw it was in the early 2000s when I was about eight years old. My aunt had a copy, which was probably a bootleg, but at that time I was completely unfamiliar with the banned status of the movie. I had grown up with the Disney Sing-Along Songs VHS tapes since I was an infant so I had already seen the "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" "How Do you Do?" and "Everybody's Got a Laughing Place" scenes before I had watched the full movie. The following year I went to Disney World and rode Splash Mountain. Because of the presence of the movie on the sing-along songs and in the Disney parks, I had no reason as a child to assume Song of the South was a banned/disowned movie as Disney was always promoting elements of it. And admittedly, when I was eight the racist stereotypes and slave/former slave aspect of it went completely over my head. I remember generally liking the movie and thinking it was cool to finally see the songs in their proper context.

I saw it a second time when I was 12, as one of my parent's friends' had a copy and said something to the effect of "Here's Song of the South, a Disney movie that's never been released in the U.S.!" And I remember saying "Isn't that the one with Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit and the boy that gets run over by a bull?" When I watched it at 12, I definitely noticed the awkward racial dynamics and stereotypes more, but I still thought the movie was fairly harmless and well-intentioned.

I last saw the movie when I was 24 on the Internet Archive, after a recent trip to Disney World. By that point in my life, I was much more familiar with the troubled history and controversy surrounding Song of the South, and I had read the books "Disney's Most Notorious Film" by Jason Sperb and "Who's Afraid of Song of the South" by Jim Korkis. Watching the movie as an adult was a much more uncomfortable experience as pretty much every scene had some problematic or racist element to it. It's one of those movies where there isn't one shocking scene on the level of the "What Makes the Red Man Red" sequence in Peter Pan, but rather subtle forms of racism that permeate the entire movie. And since I was more educated on the horrors of slavery at the age of 24 compared to when I was eight, the cheery/cutesy tone of the movie felt REALLY inappropriate considering the plantation setting. Uncle Remus, who I adored as a child, often made me cringe on this rewatch with how cheerfully subservient he was to the white family and how his entire life revolved around the happiness of the white boy Johnny. I still think James Baskett gave a great performance, but it's a character who fully embodies the "Magical negro" and "Uncle Tom" stereotypes.

I can see why Disney is uncomfortable with the movie and why so many Black people find it offensive. I do think the movie is interesting from a Disney history perspective, but today's kids don't need to see it.

 

[ILOVEWDW Pete]

No dialogue needed, and just be honest. How many of you have seen the movie beginning to the end.. and for you old timers remember it

I own a DVD and a Blue Ray of this movie. Love it. I echo Whoopie Goldberg when she implored Disney to "release Song of the South." She did this on the TV show, The View.

 

[elcheapo]

If you look deep enough anything can be stretched into the “woke “ absurdity now that’s among us. What a great song that came out of that movie too. We need to stop the insanity

 

[WDWmazprty]

It's a great movie. Great songs and memorable characters.

 

[cookiee_munster]

whats sad about it is the main kid in the film went on to voice peter pan, and then lived a pretty miserable life afterwards eventually dying (presumably) of a drug overdose and being buried in an unmarked grave. Grim...

 

[Number_6]

I saw it with my dad when it was re-released in theaters back in the 80s. I can certainly understand the problems that exist regarding this movie, but would still like for Disney to release it on DVD/Blu-Ray, with the disclaimer about cultural depictions. As for the Splash Mountain thing, I personally loved Princess and the Frog, so I'm all for updating the attraction to that, and look forward to seeing what they do.

 

[Dead2009]

I've seen it three times. The first time I saw it was in the early 2000s when I was about eight years old. My aunt had a copy, which was probably a bootleg, but at that time I was completely unfamiliar with the banned status of the movie. I had grown up with the Disney Sing-Along Songs VHS tapes since I was an infant so I had already seen the "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" "How Do you Do?" and "Everybody's Got a Laughing Place" scenes before I had watched the full movie. The following year I went to Disney World and rode Splash Mountain. Because of the presence of the movie on the sing-along songs and in the Disney parks, I had no reason as a child to assume Song of the South was a banned/disowned movie as Disney was always promoting elements of it. And admittedly, when I was eight the racist stereotypes and slave/former slave aspect of it went completely over my head. I remember generally liking the movie and thinking it was cool to finally see the songs in their proper context.

I saw it a second time when I was 12, as one of my parent's friends' had a copy and said something to the effect of "Here's Song of the South, a Disney movie that's never been released in the U.S.!" And I remember saying "Isn't that the one with Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit and the boy that gets run over by a bull?" When I watched it at 12, I definitely noticed the awkward racial dynamics and stereotypes more, but I still thought the movie was fairly harmless and well-intentioned.

I last saw the movie when I was 24 on the Internet Archive, after a recent trip to Disney World. By that point in my life, I was much more familiar with the troubled history and controversy surrounding Song of the South, and I had read the books "Disney's Most Notorious Film" by Jason Sperb and "Who's Afraid of Song of the South" by Jim Korkis. Watching the movie as an adult was a much more uncomfortable experience as pretty much every scene had some problematic or racist element to it. It's one of those movies where there isn't one shocking scene on the level of the "What Makes the Red Man Red" sequence in Peter Pan, but rather subtle forms of racism that permeate the entire movie. And since I was more educated on the horrors of slavery at the age of 24 compared to when I was eight, the cheery/cutesy tone of the movie felt REALLY inappropriate considering the plantation setting. Uncle Remus, who I adored as a child, often made me cringe on this rewatch with how cheerfully subservient he was to the white family and how his entire life revolved around the happiness of the white boy Johnny. I still think James Baskett gave a great performance, but it's a character who fully embodies the "Magical negro" and "Uncle Tom" stereotypes.

I can see why Disney is uncomfortable with the movie and why so many Black people find it offensive. I do think the movie is interesting from a Disney history perspective, but today's kids don't need to see it.

There's a lot of films kids shouldn't be seeing, but this probably isn't one of them. If Song of the South offends people over other modern films, then they're just looking for something to be offended over.

 

[Namaari]

I watched it online when I was an undergrad back in the mid-2000s. I'll just simply say that it's very transparent why it's a problematic film today.

 

[Lady Liberty]

I saw the movie when I was a child, I remember I enjoyed the movie and I didn't find anything wrong with it. I also thought the ride at WDW was really cute. I did't ride this ride often because I HATE the drop. I'm sorry to see it being changed but like so many other things at WDW go chalk it up to progress. I guess if the ride is going to be changed the Princess and the Frog would probably be the easiest change to make base on the fact that the current ride is a water ride in a swampy like environment.

FYI Song of The South is available on Amazon.