December 16, 2002

Leonard Maltin Supports Song of the South's Release

Leonard Maltin, one of the country's most recognized and respected film critics and historians, was recently interviewed in a December 3rd article from the Star Tribune entitled "Maltin is Goofy for Classic Disney." The article discusses the Walt Disney Treasures series. On these DVDs, Maltin himself introduces the cartoons which might now be considered "politically incorrect," explaining how times have since changed. The article mentions possibly using this same approach for Song of the South:

"'I very much hope that the folks at Disney will release "Song of the South" sometime soon,' Maltin said, 'and use this same approach -- to be responsible in explaining the times it depicts and the attitudes of the period in which it was made.'"

Such an approach to the film has been tossed around for quite awhile now, with even one unsubstantiated rumor of James Earl Jones doing the introduction. I personally support the idea, provided that the film remains unaltered, as did the cartoons which Maltin introduced. Thanks to Dave Strohmenger for informing me of this news item!

December 4, 2002

New Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Magical Musical Moments Pin Released; Features All Three Brers On December 1, the Disney Store released the Disney Magical Musical Moments pin series. Each pin represents a famous Disney song and plays that song! Among these, pin #81 is Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, which features Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah won an Oscar for Best Song in 1948. This pin is the most expensive of the series, retailing for $8.50. All the other pins in the series retail for $4.50. This pin (Pin #81) has also been confirmed to exist in four different background colors: Brown (#81A), Green (#81B), Pink (#81C), and Red (#81D). These pins are available exclusively at Disney Stores. Thanks to Mark Kratzner of the Yahoo Song of the South Enthusiasts Group for notifying us of this new pin.

November 18, 2002

Brer Rabbit Featured On New Critter Country Pin Disneyland Resort has released a new Critter Country pin featuring Brer Rabbit sitting atop the logo. This pin was released on November 2, 2002. It retails for $6.50 and has been declared open edition. It is available exclusively at the Disneyland Resort.

November 12, 2002

Song of the South Turns Fifty-Six; SongoftheSouth.net's 2nd Anniversary

On this day exactly 56 years ago, Song of the South made its debut in theaters. Happy birthday Song of the South!

Visit the Campaigns section for more information on the 1946 debut.

Also on this day exactly 2 years ago, SongoftheSouth.net made its debut on the internet. SongoftheSouth.net now averages about 225 unique visitors a day.

Take a trip back to what the site looked like two years ago!

October 25, 2002

Author Rod Bennett "Goes to Bat" for Song of the South

Author Rod Bennett of Wonder Magazine has written an excellent article entitled "Going to Bat for Song of the South." He defends the film wonderfully and I encourage you all to take the time to read it. Rod also generously included the SongoftheSouth.net banner.

There is one issue addressed in this article that I would like to clarify: while Song of the South may appear to have been set in an antebellum time period, I must stress that the movie is, in fact, set after the Civil War. Uncle Remus and the plantation workers are not being depicted as slaves.

October 10, 2002

Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear Appear on New Disney State Pins

On August 4, Disneyland Resort released 50 pins depicting all 50 states. Among them is Brer Rabbit, who appears on the Louisiana State Pin, and Brer Bear, who appears on the Georgia State Pin. These pins were also later released at the Walt Disney World Resort on September 24. It's a shame Brer Fox didn't make it this time around. Each pin is open edition, and retails for $8.50.

October 1, 2002

SongoftheSouth.net is LaughingPlace.com's Site of the Week

For the last year or so, every few weeks I would check LaughingPlace.com's Site of the Week page to see some of the better Disney fan sites out there. Just this very evening I was thinking about how long it had been since a news-worthy item had been posted to this news section. By chance, I pulled up the Site of the Week page and did a double-take!

SongoftheSouth.net is honored to be LaughingPlace.com's Site of the Week for 9/30/02 – 10/6/02. Thanks to all of our faithful supporters! And thanks to LaughingPlace.com for providing us all with our daily dose of Disney.

July 22, 2002

Memorabilia Section Revamped: Collectibles Added

Since Song of the South's last threatrical release in 1986, memorabilia all but ended there. Since then, merchandise related to this film has now entered a new era: collectibles. Disney is indeed known for its collectible market, to which Song of the South is no exception. It is with this realization that I have expanded the Memorabilia section to Memorabilia and Collectibles. You will notice two new sections have been added: Splash Mountain and Collectibles. These are the sections that will be seeing the most growth in the future as new items are released by Disney remembering this classic film.

July 15, 2002

Epinions.com Author Posts Article on Song of the South

Author Casey Stewart of Epinions.com has written an article on Song of the South, providing the reader with a thorough review, synopsis and the issues currently surrounding this film. Casey was also kind enough to mention this web site. I encourage all of you to read this excellent article.

http://www.epinions.com/content_69568597636

June 6, 2002

Anchor Bay Entertainment Possible Release Avenue?

Anchor Bay Entertainment has been known in the past to release older Disney live action films, such as One Little Indian and The Black Hole, lesser-known movies that Disney would most likely otherwise shun. Is this a possible avenue to take in getting Song of the South released onto video and DVD? Why not send an email to suggestions@anchorbayentertainment.com and express your interest in this possibility. And if you haven't already, see what other steps you can take to persuade Disney to resurrect this classic by visiting the FAQ section. Thanks to Howard Bowers for this information.

May 24, 2002

"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" Ring Tone

This isn't so much news as it is just plain fun. Yesterday, I broke down and bought a cellular phone. (I know, I know...) Among the things you can customize on your phone is its ring. I've heard that you can actually download a ring that plays "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" for a fee, but because I'm musically inclined, I decided to try punching it out myself on my phone's keypad. It worked! So I decided to share the love. Here's how you can have your very own Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah ring tone for yourself! Just create the following ring tone (if you don't know how, consult your phone's manual):

4e1 8- 8e1 4f1 2g1 2c2 4- 4a1 8- 8f1 4a1 1g1 4- 4c2 4- 2c2 4a1 4g1 4e1 4c1 4e1 4c1 4e1 1d1 4- 4e1 8- 8e1 4f1 2g1 2c2 4- 4a1 8- 8f1 4a1 1g1 4- 4a1 8- 8b1 4c2 2e2 2c2 4- 4d2 8- 8a1 4b1 1c2

Click here to hear how it sounds. This was created on a Nokia 3395, so consequently it's the only phone I know for sure this will work on. This is yet another way we can subtly remind the public about this lost classic!

May 14, 2002

Bill Peet, Song of the South Writer, Passes Away

Today, sadly, Bill Peet passed away at age 87. Peet, along with Ralph Wright and George (Vernon) Stallings, wrote the cartoon storyline for Song of the South. Bill was one of the "Nine Old Men". His other works included Dumbo, Cinderella, Alice In Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, and 101 Dalmatians. He will be missed. Thanks to Charles Luna for this report.

May 7, 2002

Song of the South Release Rumor: Coming Soon?

As reported by Alex Reece today:

"I have GREAT news.  I have a friend who works at the Disney Store and in the May newsletter under Movies Coming Soon, Song of The South was on the list!!!!!  Unfortunately there was no date."

If any Disney Store employees out there can confirm this, please let me know!

[Update: No confirmation or proof has been received regarding this rumor.]

May 1, 2002

Song of the South Playing This Month on Australian Television

For our friends in Australia, Song of the South is playing this month on the Disney Channel (Ch. 16 on Austar, Ch. 20 on Optus, and Ch. 27 on Foxtel):

Wednesday, May 1 at 7:30 PM; Sunday, May 12 at 6:30 AM; Monday, May 13 at 7:30 PM; Saturday, May 18 at 6:30 PM; Sunday, May 19 at 1:00 PM; and Tuesday, May 30 at 7:30 PM.

As previously noted in January below, Song of the South is still regularly broadcasted there. Thanks to Glen Vandervord in Australia for the information!

April 15, 2002

SongoftheSouth.net Reaches 100,000 Visitors;
UncleRemusPages.com Celebrates Five Years

Well, the counter finally hit 100,000! That's quite a milestone. Thanks to all of you who continue to support this web site and get the word out!

Also of note is my friend James' web site, UncleRemusPages.com, home of the Song of the South Petition. James is currently celebrating five years of web presence! Go have a visit!

April 1, 2002

New McDonald's Toys Include Brers Rabbit, Fox & Bear

Much to my pleasant surprise, out of the 100 figurines McDonald's is including in happy meals celebrating Disney's 100 Years of Magic, 3 are none other than our old pals, Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear, and Brer Fox! The figures appear to be quite good both in quality and likeness. After examining McDonald's complete character list, I found that only a few films were honored with the inclusion of more than two characters, and Song of the South was one of them! That's fantastic news, because our lovable trio deserves no less!

March 25, 2002

Google Groups Discusses Song of the South

Greg Collins emailed me this morning with a link to a very interesting thread over in Google Groups. The poster says he spoke with a "mid-level exec at Disney Home Video" and discussed the Disney Treasures line. This brought up the subject of Song of the South, to which the exec replied "we were just talking about that one." Here is an excerpt:

"He confirmed that it is THE most requested video out of their vault, by far, but that as yet, they don't have an official release date. He said it will come, but they have to figure a way to 'temper it'."

This thread makes for a very interesting read. Go read it!

March 11, 2002

Song of the South Discussed on Mike Gallagher Show

On Friday, March 8, I noticed my daily site traffic doubled. I figured that either it was a fluke or that Song of the South had been mentioned somewhere. Sure enough, my answer came shortly afterwards when a listener, Lawrence Whitney, contacted me:

Mike Gallagher is a conservative radio talk show that host a daily show across the nation on various stations at various times. .... Today, somehow the fact that the movie...is not available in the US, but is overseas, due to the racial stereotyping of blacks. He dwelt on it for quite a while with maybe a dozen callers who either had a comment or information. I probably like many others went to the internet after listening today and found your site.

It's very interesting how much publicity Song of the South has been receiving lately and we hope this is just the beginning!

February 20, 2002

Song of the South.net Radio Interview with Geoff Metcalf

Today at 5:30 I was honored to be interviewed on the air by Geoff Metcalf on his daily radio program, The Geoff Metcalf Show. In my half hour with him, we discussed many things, including the reason behind Song of the South's unavailability, what we can do to try to persuade Disney to bring back Song of the South, and my personal interests with the film. He requested to put my Frequently Asked Questions up on his web site, WorldNetDaily.com, which I encouraged.

My sincere thanks goes out to Geoff for his true effort in helping with the continuing fight for this film's survival!

February 8, 2002

More Song of the South Release Speculation

As noted in the January 19 news release (see below), Song of the South was assigned ISBN and UPC numbers. Many readers contacted me regarding this. Here are the results so far:

UPC #717951531032 : The first six numbers tell us it belongs to Miramax Home Entertainment. This prefix matches several recent Disney UPC numbers, seen on both DVD and VHS. UPC numbers are bought in 100,000 number chunks, and so far I have not noticed any order as to their assignment. A list of currently known UPC numbers for Miramax Home Entertainment can be found here.

ISBN #1-55890-501-4 : This number didn't prove to be as helpful. While I have found several Disney VHS tapes that have the same first six numbers, so far I have not found any that were released later than 1998. One fairly close match includes The Mighty Ducks (VHS).

As an additional note, Amazon.com has Song of the South listed on DVD noted as "Not Yet Released". This is old news. However, Paul Sauberer noted that on subsequent pages, such as Technical Information, it states "Coming Soon--Preorder Today"! Could Amazon.com get away with such strong words if it wasn't true? Hmm... [UPDATE]: Amazon has removed the "Coming Soon" comment. Looks like it wasn't true after all.

February 1, 2002

Vote For Song of the South on Disney.com

Whether you're convinced that Brer Rabbit could outsmart Mickey Mouse or Song of the South could out-sing Snow White, here's an opportunity to make your vote count. Show Disney where Song of the South stands with the American people!

Vote for Song of the South as Favorite Animated Movie.
Vote for Song of the South as Favorite Musical.
Vote for Song of the South as Favorite Movie of the 1930's/40's.
Vote for Brer Rabbit as Favorite Classic Animated Character.

January 19, 2002

Song of the South Nearing Release?

Now don't get all excited just yet! But I and many other readers have noted that Disney's Movie Finder has assigned ISBN and UPC numbers to their Song of the South VHS title even though it is "not currently for sale". Here is the page.

Here are the numbers: ISBN #1-55890-501-4; UPC #717951531032

Can anyone verify these numbers as being unique and accurate? If so, this may be very good news indeed! Contact me.

January 6, 2002

Alabama's Mobile Register Posts Song of the South Article

Mike Brantley, editor of the TV & Media column of the Mobile Register in Alabama, has posted an excellent article on Song of the South, urging Disney to release this classic onto DVD. In the article he mentions several sources, including this web site and uncleremuspages.com. Thank you, Mike! The positive exposure you have given to the online Song of the South fan community is a great contribution.

Read the entire article here. [Note: Article is no longer on their website, but has been archived.]

January 4, 2002 (updated January 19)

Song of the South Playing This Month on Australian Television

For our Australian friends, Song of the South is playing this month:

Optus television, Disney Channel (CH.20):
Jan. 6 at 1pm; Jan. 10 at 7:30pm; Jan. 22 at 7:30pm; Jan. 27 at 6:30pm.

Foxtel television, Disney Channel (CH.27):
Jan. 22 at 7:30pm; Jan. 27 at 6:30pm.

Our source also suspects the schedule may be repeated in February as well. Thanks to Heather in Australia for this info!