Song of the South to finally be released?

Ashitaka

Ashitaka

Active Member
Original Poster
This appeared on imdb.com today. Not sure where they are getting the quotes from D. Cook, but it sounds promising that maybe in the next few years we'll be able to own this without buying an imported copy off of ebay.

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Disney May Finally Release 'Song of the South' on Video


The Kansas City Star, which has been running a daily feature saluting past Oscar winners in the run-up to the awards show on Feb. 27, today (Tuesday) selected Disney's 1947 film Song of the South, which won the best song Oscar ("Zip-a-Dee-Doo-dah") and a special Oscar for its star, James Baskett. It is the only Disney animated film never to have been released on home video in the U.S., largely because it was condemned during the civil rights era by the NAACP for "the impression it gives of an idyllic master-slave relationship." A website devoted to the film, www.songofthesouth.net, has collected over 60,000 names on a petition to encourage Disney to release the film, and Disney Studios Chairman D__ Cook is being quoted as acknowledging that it has received more requests for a DVD release of the movie than any other film. Cook noted that a similar complaint about racial issues was addressed when the studio released World War II material in the Walt Disney Treasures DVD series "through introductions that place the material in context." Cook said that he was "confident" that a similar solution could be found for Song of the South.
 
xfkirsten

xfkirsten

New Member
Call my cynical, but I'm still not getting my hopes up.

I want to see this movie on DVD just as much as everyone else... however, these statements seem very vague. I almost get the impression that they're patting us on the head just throwing us a bone so that it looks like they're making progress. :rolleyes:
 
Hobnail Boot

Hobnail Boot

Well-Known Member
I want pure, unadulterated Brer Rabbit! Screw the live action part lol.

But seriously, people need to remember what time this was created in. Blacks were still the "lesser" class, so a movie like this wasn't highly offensive to people. I doubt the "niceness" of the slavery in the movie wasn't THAT intentional. After all, it is a childrens movie. I wouldn't want my kids (not that I have any) seeing a poor soul whipped for not doing what his master ordered. People really need to stop and think before protesting something.
 
Lynx04

Lynx04

New Member
I remember reading that Disney was worried about the NAACP when the opened Splash Mountian in DL. Because of their worries Disney changed some of the lyrics in "How do ya Do". I have Songs of the South on my computer and the lyrics are different. I would love to get the video on DVD.
 
tigger248

tigger248

Well-Known Member
I won't get my hopes up until I see pre-orders being taken (or at least an official announcement of a release date).

I think it's sad that we have to lose such a great movie due to political correctness. The kids wanted to hear the stories. The slaves weren't really mistreated in the movie. We can't erase history and pretend slavery never happened. If Song of the South is so bad, why are the rides in the parks? They're quite popular and many people have no idea what it's based on. A girl on my cp asked about half way through the program about it after she'd worked at the ride for months. Working at the Disney Store, we even had African American guests asking for the movie. And, I can't tell you how many requests we would get in a day for the movie. The demand is very much there for it. If Song of the South is so bad, why is Gone with the Wind okay? It has slaves too. Maybe the people who insist on not releasing it should go work in the parks near the ride for just one day. Then they can explain to all the people requesting a DVD/Video of it why it's unavailable.
 
D

DarkMeasures

New Member
I got the England release on VHS. There is an English import store in Old Town near Disney world.

I never actually seen the movie yet but I heard the controversialness comes from a Tar Baby scene. So it is probably based on some Southern superstition.

I do want an American release mainly because PAL DVDs don't work very well on NTSC.
 
Ashitaka

Ashitaka

Active Member
Original Poster
So imdb.com was on the right track almost three weeks ago. They just didn't have the actual release date which Jim's inside sources were able to give him.

Thanks dxwwf3 for linking Jim's article on this thread.
 

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