Is there any truths behind this.

[MeTa]

Before I post it just to be warned it has to do with Fantasia and some racial cartoons from way back when. I did not find anything saying I can't post it but I don't want to get in trouble, so if I missed something and I wasn't supposed to please take it down ADMIN.

http://www.thememoryhole.org/arts/sunflower.htm

 

[Epcot82Guy]

Interesting. I was never aware of this. Disney has always had a very risk-averse approach to anything racially offensive (at least regarding the American South). So, it is not necessarily surprising, but an interesting tidbit nonetheless. Thanks for the educational link.

 

[Astro_Digital]

Disney does censor ..

"Song of the South" has not been released because it was deemed racist though I heard Disney may release it after all.

But I think I heard of this edit before.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Huh, this is interesting. I can see it being true.

It may have been drawn in as part of the sequence but never approved...which is why they denied it. Time may have ran out and it would've been too time consuming or costly to redo the entire scene so they just cut her out of the frame.

 

[MissM]

You can actually watch clips on YouTube with the missing footage.

#1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AKwCMmvI_U

#2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzT5-PD5S7s

#3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bek8ECIgkMc


Hope that helps.
-m

 

[slappy magoo]

I've heard of it before, and have seen that screenshot. I guess it could be an elaborate hoax. But as anyone can see by looking at some of the more politically sensitive cartoons in the Walt Disney Treasures series, this sort of thing was not completely absent from the Disney cartoon canon. White people having live-in "mammies" certainly wasn't unheard of throughout the 30s and 40s. Various Tom & Jerry shorts had a "mammy" character. And as long as the centaur wasn't coming across as an indentured servant to the white centaurs, the idea that the only black centaur was in a "mammy" position probably didn't even seem racist to many people at the time.

My feeling is, the scene probably did exist in the movie's original form, but there's no way to really know it without seeing an original print, which, I'm gonna guess, is probably hard to come by.

EDIT: I started writing my post before seeing Miss M's post.

 

[MissM]

Oh and here's an interesting auction that ended back in March 2006, of a cut-out book featuring the character as well.

http://www.hakes.com/item.asp?Auction=187&ItemNo=40867

-m

 

[Captain Barbosa]

I'm going to say Sunflower probably existed, but knowing Disney, it was a risk having her in the original film. Just look at what they had to do with Dixie Landing, people thought the word "Dixie" was offensive so they had to change the name of the hotel. I was kind of upset about that, people shouldn't be so whiney about things. Oh well, just my 2 cents.

 

[MeTa]

Cool, thanks for all the links, I just thought it wa interesting. But didnt know if it was ok to post. So i guess it was.

Thanks Again.

 

[brisem]

thanks for the info. Surprising that not much was made of this when they had the auction. You would think with all the bashers that they would have made a stink about the character.

 

[1disneydood]

Can't change the past, so why make it trivial by brushing it under the rug or hiding it? It's like "OK take out the scene, and I'll play along and not have to tell my child about things in the past that society overcame". :brick:

 

[mitchk]

"That's good old fashioned American racism." JUST KIDDING. That's a quote from Peter Griffin, from a Family guy episode. They went to Disney World, and Peter ran into the crows from Dumbo. It was offensive, but funny at the same time, kinda because it was true

 

[lpet11984]

Interesting...I just watched the clips on YouTube. I can see how this could be offensive, but (if this is real) it's too bad they had to cut out such a cute character. She adds a level of humor in the scene where she's putting flowers in one of the tails and rolls her eyes as the other centaur just walks away....I think we've all had some of those kinds of days, regardless of race.

 

[BrittanyRose428]

I'm going to say Sunflower probably existed, but knowing Disney, it was a risk having her in the original film. Just look at what they had to do with Dixie Landing, people thought the word "Dixie" was offensive so they had to change the name of the hotel. I was kind of upset about that, people shouldn't be so whiney about things. Oh well, just my 2 cents.

-random question- me and my mom were arguing about this last night... whats it called now???

 

[LuLaSue]

Reminds me of Gone with the Wind. Doesn't seem so out of the ordinary for that time period.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

-random question- me and my mom were arguing about this last night... whats it called now???

Port Orleans

 

[Scar Junior]

Umm... that looks very fake to me.

BTW, there was a lot of Fantasia that never made it to the screen. Thoughout the studio's existence there always has been alot of stuff that has been scrapped for one reason or another. The most important thing is that if it were real - which i doubt - it never was released to the public.