Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.
Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.
And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize
First I want to deeply apologize if this entry comes across as offensive to somebody. But I still wanted to give it a chance and scrutinize this issue...
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| Don`t ask me what I have in my sack :) |
The part of a Black Sheep is an unfortunate, hampering
stamp that no movie would ever would like to receive. However, there are some movies that have gotten that staple. Sometimes it`s been deserved it and sometimes it`s been undeserved. But regardless of how some movies have gotten that trademark, there`s rarely been a movie that has received the staple of being downright controversial for racial reasons. But in Disney`s long history there have been many Black Sheeps. Some of them who has their fanbase and some who doesn`t have a huge following. From Walt`s era we have Alice in Wonderland and somewhat The Sword in the Stone. The former who`s gotten rid of that staple. Movies like Fantasia, Bambi and Sleeping Beauty were essentially minor Black Sheeps during their releases, but were regarded as classics afterwards.
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| Yes, they told me to sit like this for a long time :) |
From the first Black Era we have The Black Cauldron, but has it`s fanbase. From the Renaissance we have Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, two movies who were surrounded with controversy, but have their fanbases. From the post-Renaissance we have Atlantis The Lost Empire, Brother Bear, Home on the Range and Chicken Little. The two former movies who have their fanbases and the two latter movies who are still somewhat shunned. From the post-Revival era we have none other than Wish, a movie that has it`s small fanbase. But if we`re going to get to those Black Sheeps that has been shunned for being downright controversial, the contender wasn`t necessarily only a full-length Disney animated feature, but a movie that blended both mediums. And that was none other than Song of the South.General Information About Song of the South
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Released in November 1946 between Walt`s two first Golden Ages, Song of the South wasbased on the Uncle Remus stories. A narrator of a collection of African American folktales gathered. Adapted by Joel Chandler Harris, based on Br'er Rabbit storytellers who Harris met at his time at the Turnwold Plantation. Harris collected seven volumes Uncle Remus stories between 1881 and 1907. While it wasn`t the first live action/animated combo from Disney, it was the first one who wasn`t a documentary or a Package film. South starred Bobby Driscoll (his first role at Disney).
The animated scenes were directed by Wilfred Jackson and also Bill Peet. Milt Kahl, Eric Larson, Ollie Johnston, Les Clark, Marc Davis, Don Lusk and Hal King were animators. UB Iwerks did the Special Processes. Paul J. Smith did the cartoon score. Edward Plumb did the orchestration. Mary Blair was the color stylist. Al Dempster was the background artist. South premiered in Atlanta in November 1946 and actually was a financial success. But it`s final reputation is another matter of case.The Trademarks and Elements of Song of the South
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| We decided that our different sizes should decide who`s leading our squad :) |
In reality, Song of the South was steeped in Disney`s traditions. It was based on a litterary source. It was a movie (as aforementioned) that blended animation and live action. But it was a deliberate choice to blend the two mediums, to show the contrasts between the fairy tale and "real World". But despite how it has it`s contrasts, it still allows the two mediums combine. Especially in the ending. And yes, at the time it was hailed as groundbreaking. It even managed to have a huge, traditional Disney hit, Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah (which won the 1947 Oscar for Best Original Song).  |
| Br'er Bear wants to ousthine me, so that`s why I have an awkward pose :) |
Based on nonsense words in songs as Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo from Cinderella and Supercalifragilistic-expialidocious from Mary Poppins. But since it`s a live action/animated movie, it`s instantly comparable to the package films and following films like Poppins, Pete`s Dragon and Bednobs and Broomsticks. It also has animals who are typical for animation and for Disney: Rabbits, bears and foxes. Animals that the studio has used again and again in many ways in The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, The Fox and the Hound, Brother Bear and Zootopia. Despite how in South they`re
anthropomorphic and not naturalistic (despite how Disney has always been tangible of showing both naturalistic and anthropomorphic animals in their movies).
The Plot of Song of the South
Overall, 
Song of the South tells two stories in parallell: Of Johnnycoming to terms at his new place and his friendship with Uncle Remus (charmingly played by James Baskett in his final film role,
who also voiced a butterfly and Br'er Fox). And the tales of the anthropomorphic animals Br'er Rabbit (a Disney lead who`s remarkably cunning and flawed at the time), Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear in their animated World.
But the main conflict in the movie is from Johnny`s mother, Sally, who actually goes against Remus` stories to Johnny. But sure,
But the main conflict in the movie is from Johnny`s mother, Sally, who actually goes against Remus` stories to Johnny. But sure,Sally has her own arc and the conflict gets resolved. As gets the split between Johnny`s parents, which was a new thing for Disney to show at the time. South also has two antagonists in the two bullies, Joe and Jake. The two older brothers of Johnny`s female friend, Ginny.
The Reasons For it`s Controversy
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| Don`t be fooled, it`s exhausting to be a model :) |
But the big question is whySong of the South has been shunned? The reason was fairly simple: It`s racial depiction and portrayal of African Americans. For depicting the post-plantation life as a idyllic utopia, which was racist. How Remus himself was a perky guy serving to white people needs. How the African Americans and the Whites got along. And how Toby just served for being a comic relief for White audiences. NAACP criticized a scene where the workers gather at Johnny`s window to sing spirituals, which was "Uncle Tomming" (being submissive to White people). All of these stereotypes were outdated. Even Walt himself was surprised over the controversy. But that`s the reason why Disney South on any home video format in the USA, despite how it`s been released on home video in other countries (some of the animated sequences have been released through other ways).
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| We`re scouting for fanboys :) |
But in that regard, South essentially shares a thing in common with Pocahontas: For being perceived as racist to an non-White American group. Which is a reason for why it`s been compared to South and getting a racist staple (despite how Pocahontas was a radical departure from the depiction of Native Americans in Peter Pan. Which was a deliberate choice with good intentions, despite how most depictions of Native Americans are unfortunately labeled as racist). And yes, another contender would be The Princess and the Frog. For featuring another African-American heroine. But despite Frog was scrutinized for it, it wasn`t as shunned as South. But let`s not forget the Mark Hehn-short John Henry and Pixar`s Soul, who also got criticized (and movies like Hercules, Atlantis The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stitch and The Incredibles featured African Americans, despite how it`s more tangible in Hercules).  |
| No, it`s just a tagline :) |
But yeah, the backlash is the reason why South will most likely never be on Disney Plus. However, the racial controversy wasn`t only to Disney`s version, as Harris wrote the stories in a dialect that was his interpretation of Deep South African-American language (which he was praised for). Walt was planning to adapt more of Remus` stories (with new animated shorts) and scrapped them for that reason. Many found the film underwhelming at the time. And yes, the scrutiny has outweighed support for South. James Baskett couldn`t attend the premiere because he wasn`t allowed in Atlanta, as it was a racially segregated city back then. Many African-American wanted to boycott the film, but didn`t do it because of the final results. The characters used to appear in the Disney parks and in Splash Mountain, but not anymore (with the exception of Tokyo Disneyland). The Ratings and Final Reception of Song of the South
However, regardless of it`s bad reputation, the truth is that Song of the South is somewhat cherished. While it got mixed reviews on it`s release date, critics praised the animation. If we`re going to look at it`s final reception, it has 6.9 on Imdb, 72% on Popcornmeter and 3.8. followers on Facebook. While South was re-released in theaters many times after it`s first release (in 1956, 1972, 1973, 1980 for 100th anniversary of Harris's stories, 1986 and 1989 for the Splash Mountain attraction at Disneyland), it became popular again in the 1970`s and 80`s. 
And it was re-released when the treatment for African-Americans was different. The characters from the film appeared in books, comics and other Disney media long after i`t`s release. And even in Kinect Disneyland Adventures in XBox. South was also a part of Variety`s list of "All Time Film Rental Champs" in the 90`s. And yes, there are some claims that it became successful in re-releases for it`s scrutiny. Cause it was requested. Behind the Scenes Information
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| Lucky Jack from Home on the Range learned me this pose :) |
Walt wanted to make a film based on Uncle Remus stories, having heard the stories as a child and looked for the rights to the stories in April 1938. Inspired by the success of Gone With the Wind. But World War II came and prevented the rights. In 1939, he bought the rights from the Harris's family for $10,000 (equivalent to $229,000 in 2025). Walt wanted the movie to be only animated. They were considered as two-reel animated shorts. The stories considered were Br'er Rabbit Rides the Fox and De Wuller-De-Wust. In another treatment, Uncle Remus gathers the critters for a prayer and to urge them to build a church that would bring peace between predators and prey. Also proposed was when Br'er Rabbit's addiction to gambling would lead to his adventures.
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| You`re a piñata, so it will be fun to receive candy from you :) |
In November 1940, Disney visited the Harris's home in Atlanta for research.Mary Blair was also sent there to visit a local artist and historian. But Disney's brother Roy doubted the project was big enough for it`s budget of $1 million. Disney planned to produce a series of Uncle Remus films if the first one was successful, each with the same live-action cast but different animated shorts. Walt wanted to have the script written by studio animators, but sought professional writers. Walt hired Southern-born Dalton Reymond as the screenwriter, who had never written a screenplay before or afterwards. But when Censor Board read an early treatment, they had to censor it to not offend anyone. In December 1944, filming for South began. A plantation set was made for the outdoor scenes, in Phoenix, Arizona, and Disney left to look for atmospheric shots. While other scenes were filmed in Samuel Goldwyn Studio, Hollywood.
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| Yes, this was without our mountain :) |
The Hays Office looked at Reymond's outline and removed racial terms. Walt hired African-American writer Clarence Muse to look at the the script, but left when Reymond ignored Muse's ideas to portray African-American as dignified. And Muse objected the issue. Walt claimed that Muse attacked the film for not being allowed to play Remus.
Maurice Rapf, a writer for live action features, was asked to co-write with Reymond to look for bad racial references. But Raph was against that Walt should make the picture. Rapf wanted to make Remus a stronger character. And saw the animal stories as metaphors for slave resistance. And wanted to make Br'er Rabbit a small African-American and his predators. Rapf accepted when he learned that most of South would be live-action and that he could make changes.
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| I (Rabbit) was inspired by the card soldiers from Alice in Wonderland :) |
Rapf worked on the movie for seven weeks. The father was going to be Joel ChandlerHarris himself. But Reymond disagreed with Rapf`s ideas. When he clashed with Reymond (cause he used Rapf`s name to chase a studio mail girl), he was fired. Walt agreed with Rapf`s ideas, but always got a new one. Sometimes they were good and other times awful. And it was hard for Rapf to truly satisfy him. On May 10, 1944, the title was changed from Uncle Remus to South. James Baskett was cast as Remus after auditioning for a butterfly. Walt told Baskett's sister Ruth that he was the best actor discovered in years. Walt kept in touch with him and also urged that Baskett would be given an Oscar. And Baskett won one in 1948. The budget was originally $1.35 million. Since color was new to live action movies at the time, it was a challenge to have South color. But when the backlash came, Rapf was blamed for it, but confessed it was written in a offensive way. And yes, Disney had high hopes for the film, as they hoped it could be their first post-War hit.
Epilogue
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| I`ve should`ve been in Glee for being so happy :) |
At the end, Song of the South is a movie that`s unfortunately stuck with a bad reputation. And it`s rightfully to say that it`s unfairly so. As for my own personal experience with the film, I never saw it during my childhood, despite how I knew about Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. But I remember having the Sing Along Songs edition of Aladdin, where How Do You Do? was featured. And I found the song catchy and endearing enough. But watching the movie for the sake of this entry, I happened to like it a lot.
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| We`re following the leader :) |
It`s enchanting and endearing, with catchy songs, great animation and it`s mellow as a whole. It would be fair to say that Song of the South will unfortunately never get rid of it`s bad reputation. But it truly doesn`t deserve it`s bad staple. And despite it`s controversy, it`s nice that it has it`s fans overall. And yes, it`s hard to believe that it`s now been 80 years old since it was released. But considering
that this entry was meant to synergize with it`s 80th Anniversary,
there`s nothing left than to wish Song of the South Happy 80th Anniversary and may you continue to have many more.
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References:
Disney`s Most Notorious Film: Race, Convergence and the Hidden Histories of Song of the South (Jason Sperb)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ARX0-AylFI&t=1397s (Lindsay Ellis: Pocahontas was a Mistake, and Here`s Why)
Mouse Under Glass (David Koenig)
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