Film #210 - Song of the South (1946)
Song of the South is a 1964 Walt Disney production that has never seen the light of day on home video in the United States due to issues of political correctness. Is the film broad and offensive in its treatment of black Americans? Not particularly. The problem seems to come down to two basic misundertsandings (intentional or not). For one, there seems to be a persection that this film puts a happy face on slavery with the character of Uncle Remus. The second comes from the portrayal of Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear as sterotypical blacks with many negative connotations included. There is some small validity to both of these issues, but not enough to justify the “lost” status of this gem from the Disney vault.
First, the issue of slavery. The problem with this argument is that the film does not take place during slavery. Uncle Remus is a free man, as evidenced by the fact that he chooses to leave at one point in the film. That, frankly, should be enough for anyone. He’s there because he wants to be, because he likes it there. Now, it’s true that even after the abolition of slavery and the end of the Civil War that things weren’t always rosy for the former slaves. In fact, things were often still terribly bad for them, left in a position where they were free, but still not able to leave their situation. But it is also true that some had it better than others and were happy enough with their circumstances. Is it a bit fanciful the way things are portrayed in Song of the South? Yes. Is it totally unbelievable? Not at all. And that’s all the license you need in Hollywood as far as I’m concerned.
As for the stereotypical portrayal of the animated characters, I’ve certainly seen a lot worse in once-mainstream fare. Try taking a gander at Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs if you want to see outrageous stereotypes. (And even that one isn’t so bad that it should be locked away forever.) If Disney had strayed too far from stereotype, he would have destroyed the essence of the characters, making them so bland that they would have been unrecognizable. As they are, they are as vibrant and engaging as any other mainstream Disney characters. What hiding them away has done is effectively eliminated a level of diversity from Disney’s lineup, rather than doing anyone any good.
What no one argues about are the artistic merits of the film. Song of the South has some of the best live action/animation hybrid sequences Disney has ever done. They’re stronger than those in the much later Pete’s Dragon, for instance, and stand up reasonably well against the height of the genre, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The songs are excellent and the performances match anything Disney had done at the time, including the kids. Bobby Driscoll as Johnny, Glenn Leedy as Toby and Luana Patten as Ginny all are able to make their characters believeable, if not exactly giving Oscar-worthy performances. Of course, James Baskett was given a special Oscar for his performance as Uncle Remus, and he deserved it. That wasn’t the film’s only Oscar, o course. It also won for Best Song (”Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”) and was nominated for its score. That it wasn’t even nominated for special effects is a darn shame. * It just goes to show you how far the worm can turn in Hollywood over sixty years. From celebrated to hidden from sight.
Ultimately, it is the public who loses when companies cowtow to special interest groups as Disney has in this case. It is particularly irritating because there has been no specific objection mounted to a release of this film. It’s more of a case of Disney being overly cautious. Hopefully, one day they will wake up and realize that you can’t fight these people, they will find offense anyway. (Just look at the made-up trouble Disney got into over the then-titled Frog Princess.) The best thing is not to hide from the past, but celebrate all that is good and understand the negative aspects. Song of the South deserves to be seen and, major opponent of bootlegging that I am, I fully support “extralegal” means in getting ahold of this film. Even if Disney chooses to ignore this film, that doesn’t mean you and I should.
* That award went to the ever popular Green Dolphin Street. No, I’ve never heard of it, wither