December 3, 2005

Splash Mountain Pin and Special Edition Sorry! Board Game Released

Also released is a special Splash Mountain edition of the popular board game Sorry! featuring the Brer characters. It is available at Disney theme parks for $40 and comes in a collectible tin case. To my knowledge, this is the first true game (not counting puzzles) to feature the Brer characters since the original Uncle Remus Zip! marble game released in 1947.

November 12, 2005

Celebrating 59 Years of Song of the South

On this day 59 years ago, Song of the South saw its worldwide premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. Happy Birthday!

And now, the countdown begins. With the widely publicized rumor back in February that Song of the South may finally be released on DVD for its 60th Anniversary, all eyes are on Disney now.

If you haven't already, please be sure to sign the Song of the South Petition, and send the link to family and friends as well. Every name counts! If there's ever been a time to add your name, it's now. Let Disney know how many people out there want this movie released!

October 28, 2005

James Baskett Inducted into Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame

This week saw the induction of 15 well-known radio performers into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame, including Indiana native James Baskett. Baskett, born in Indianapolis in 1904, memorably performed the role of wise Uncle Remus in Walt Disney's Song of the South, for which he won a special Academy Award. Apart from Song of the South, he was well known for his supporting role of the fast-talking lawyer Gabby Gibson on the Amos 'n' Andy radio program. For more information on James Baskett, please read his biography page. Thanks to Mark Kratzner for the news report!

October 4 , 2005

FilmThreat.com Article: "The Coming and Passing of Song of the South"

Today FilmThreat.com has published an article entitled "The Coming and Passing of Song of the South" by David M. Korn. In this extensive three-part article, David thoroughly examines the controvery surrounding the film and even gives a detailed synopsis of the movie's story. He also covers the entire range of Song of the South related history, from theatrical releases to Splash Mountain.

I would like to point out that the article examines the movie from the viewpoint that it is depicting the antebellum South; it needs to be clarified that Song of the South is actually set after the Civil War, just as the original stories by Joel Chandler Harris. This minor discrepancy does not detract from the overall article, however; his points are still very relevant and well-made. David has done an excellent job and I would definitely recommend reading it!

Part 1: http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=1584
Part 2: http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=1585
Part 3: http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=1586

September 13, 2005

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Included in New Walmart Exclusive CD

Walmart will be releasing an exclusive DVD & Music CD 2-pack, which includes the 2-disc Platinum Collection Special Edition of Cinderella, and the CD entitled "10 Favorite Disney Classics". Of special note is that "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" is likely one of those 10 songs. And how do we know that? Well, Uncle Remus himself is included on the cover! While this artwork is not new (it originates from the Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Sing-Along VHS first released in the late 80's), to my knowledge this is the first time this artwork has appeared on another release. This set will be released on October 4th and is available for preorder on Walmart's website. Thanks to Patrick Casey for the heads up!

Song of the South Included in Disneyland's List of Upcoming Releases

I received a report from Jennifer that the Upcoming Releases binder kept at the 20th Century Music Company store on Main Street in Disneyland lists Song of the South scheduled for a tentative release of November 2006. I visited Disneyland a few weeks ago and can verify this is true. BUT!!! Before you get your hopes up, the list is simply a printout of the same list featured on UltimateDisney.com, an UNOFFICIAL Disney site. So, while it's interesting to note, it doesn't add any credibility to the widespread rumor. Click here to read the original news report on the possibility of a November 2006 release for Song of the South.

July 24, 2005

Song of the South Relisted in Disney's Movie Finder

I've received several reports that Song of the South has been relisted in Disney's Movie Finder, both in the A-Z List as well as through its search engine. Back in May, Song of the South had been removed from both these pages, making it impossible for people to get to the page in order to contact Disney to request the movie be released. This is the second time so far that this movie has been removed from Disney's Movie Finder, the first time occurring a year ago in July 2004. Thank you to whoever relisted it!

July 17, 2005

Roy Disney and The Walt Disney Co. Reconcile Differences

In case you haven't heard: The Walt Disney Company, Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold recently announced that they have agreed to put aside the differences that have characterized their relationship over the past several years. Messrs. Disney and Gold have agreed not to run a rival slate of directors or submit shareholder resolutions for the next five years. Messrs. Disney and Gold have also agreed to dismiss all their pending lawsuits against the Company. In reestablishing ties with him and his family, the Company has named Roy E. Disney Director Emeritus and a consultant. The Company also reaffirmed its commitment to the rotation of committee members and chairpersons on its Board committees as currently required by the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines. In putting aside their differences, the Company noted Mr. Disney's long time devotion to the Company and welcomed the reestablishment of a relationship with him and his family. Messrs. Disney and Gold expressed confidence in Mr. Iger's leadership, and as Mr. Eisner retires after 21 years with the Company, they acknowledged his contribution to the Company over the years.

SongoftheSouth.net has been a proud supporter of Mr. Disney and Mr. Gold's efforts. I wish them my best in reestablishing ties with the Walt Disney Company and hope that their valuable insight will be fully appreciated by the new leadership. As SaveDisney.com will now be shutting down, editor Merlin Jones has requested that his past articles written on Song of the South be preserved, which I am honored to do! So, you can now read Merlin Jones' articles within the News Archives section. If you haven't read them already, I highly recommend it!

Mr. Disney, thank you for standing up for a better Disney... and Song of the South.

June 3, 2005

Follow-Up to Rumored Song of the South "Sequel"

Back in May 2004 I received a few reports that actor Wayne Brady was involved in doing some voice acting for the character Brer Bear in what was rumored to be a Song of the South sequel/remake of sorts. This follow-up is long overdue, but better late than never!

As it turns out, Wayne Brady IS involved in vocal acting for a character named Brer Bear, but in a film completely independent from Disney. While the film has some Disney ties (Executive Producer is former Disney artist Tad Stones, Byron Vaughn is the Director, and Mary Thorne is the Line Producer), the film is "strictly through NBC Universal" according to Ruben Chavez, Lead Background Stylist of the Universal Cartoon Studios. The film about Brer Rabbit is going to be a direct-to-video release, the first of its kind for the studio that isn't based off of a feature film.

More in-depth discussion about this work in progress is available in the Tad Stones Interviews, which I highly recommend reading! It sounds very unique and I am looking forward to seeing it when it is released. Thanks to Ruben Chavez and Joe Strike for the additional information on this project!

May 10, 2005

New Song of the South Petition

The original Song of the South Petition, created by James McKimson over at UncleRemusPages.com, has collected over 65,000 names from its creation up until August 2004. Unfortunately, James has not been able to update the list in some time (although he believes it has probably reached 100,000 names by now).

To help alleviate James of the monumental task of processing each name manually, I have created a new petition that is completely self-sufficient and requires no manual processing; your name is added instantly. I would encourage anyone who submitted their name to the old petition on or after August 15, 2004, to add their name to the new petition. While I have been unable to get in contact with James very recently, I want to make it clear that the petition is still very much James' brainchild and all of the 65,000+ names should be considered in addition to the names collected with the new petition.

Spread the word! You can also send this petition to family and friends by using the "Send to a Friend" feature.

May 1, 2005

Song of the South Removed From Disney's Movie Finder... Again

Our readers have noticed that, once again, Disney has removed Song of the South from its Movie Finder. It was previously noted back in July 2004 that Song of the South's page had been removed from the Movie Finder, but was later reinstated. This time, the page remains, but all referencecs to it have been removed, both in the A-Z List and the Search feature. Kind of useless to have a Song of the South page if no one can get to it...! Once again, I encourage everyone to contact Disney and let them know how you feel about this.

March 30, 2005

Disneyana Auction Unearths Rare Song of the South Items

Last night marked the end of the JustKidsNostalgia.com Disneyana auction, which showcased hundreds of very rare Disneyana items, including several from Song of the South. Among the most notable prices realized: a 1946 Six Sheet movie poster ($1,281.85); 1946 Three Sheet movie poster ($1,179.51); 1946 Campaign Book ($631.56); and a 1956 Six Sheet movie poster ($584.43).

While the theatrical posters were way out of my league, I was very fortunate to obtain three publicity photo sets, totaling 26 photos. These rarely-seen photographs were taken directly from Disney Key Book albums (reference guides used by the studio), and include shots of the original opening credits of the film, animators behind the scenes actually working on the film, and several publicity shots of Glenn Leedy, Bobby Driscoll, and Luana Patten. Of course I will be posting them on this website in the Archives section in the coming weeks, so keep a lookout!

March 28, 2005 SongoftheSouth.net Notable News SongoftheSouth.net's web counter recently hit 500,000 since I first began counting visitors in 2000. Alright! Also, I have spoken with James McKimson over at UncleRemusPages.com, home of the original Song of the South Petition. While James has not had the time to update the petition in several months, he believes that it has since risen to over 100,000 names. [Update 5/10/05: I have created a new petition to alleviate James from needing to manually maintain the list of supporters.] And finally, SongoftheSouth.net's Merchandise has received a much-needed product refresh. I've redesigned some of the t-shirt graphics, plus added several new products, including buttons, magnets, coffee mugs, mousepads, messenger bags, and even a much-requested bumper sticker. I've also taken $1 off the price of the white t-shirts. Now more than ever is the time to get the word out on getting Song of the South released once and for all!

February 22, 2005

Song of the South Special Edition DVD To Be Released in 2006?

Today, Jim Hill over at Jim Hill Media posted "what he just heard from his sources deep inside Buena Vista Home Entertainment." In the article, Jim claims that a Special Edition Song of the South DVD will finally be released in the fall of 2006, just in time for Song of the South's 60th Anniversary.

Why would Disney finally release this movie? Well, Disney's financial reports for the first quarter of 2005 show that DVD sales are down by 20%. According to the source, BVHE is hoping to sell 10-12 million units of this movie, which would translate into big bucks (and certainly put the bootleggers out of business, which Disney has long been losing more and more money to.) Combine that with the fact that Song of the South is Disney's most requested movie, plus its 60th anniversary on the horizon, and you have a potentially winning combo here.

There is a lot more to this claim than what I have mentioned here, so I encourage you to read Jim Hill's full article and see for yourself:

http://www.jimhillmedia.com/mb/articles/showarticle.php?ID=1313

February 17, 2005

New Rendition of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" on Disneymania 3 CD

February 8, 2005

Song of the South In The News

Recently, Song of the South has been featured in three news articles:

• The most recent article, published today in The Boston Globe, is entitled "'South' Deserves A Fresh Look" written by Renée Graham. It's a great article and definitely worth a read.
  
  
• Yesterday saw the column "Black To The Future" posted over at Jim Hill Media. The author, Floyd Norman, discusses "the fateful day that he brought Uncle Remus out of retirement" during his days as a writer in Disney's publishing department. Another great read!
  
  
• On January 31st, The Kansas City Star featured Song of the South in the article "Disney Headed 'South' For Live-Action Movie." They chose Song of the South as their fifth featured Oscar-winning movie in their "Month of Oscar" countdown. (Free registration required.)

In addition to the above articles, several other news sources have picked up on Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook's hopeful comments regarding Song of the South (see Jan. 1 news below). All of the above, combined with SaveDisney.com's recent article, has brought unprecedented traffic to SongoftheSouth.net, but more importantly, has kept Song of the South in the public eye. Thanks to Rebekah Moseley, Ryan, and Merlin Jones for reporting these news articles to me!

January 22, 2005

New SaveDisney.com Article: In Defense of Disney's Uncle Remus

"Song of the South is a reaffirming story of the bond between two friends that refuse to be separated by race, class, age — a friendship that is forged and held against all odds. Merlin Jones makes a case for the release of Walt Disney's suppressed classic."

I must say that Merlin's article is simply the best Song of the South article I've read to date. It is well worth the read! It's also a valuable source of information for rebutting anyone who is dead set against this movie. Thank you for writing this article, Merlin! You have done the Song of the South and Disney fan communities a great service, and we appreciate it.

[Update: This article is no longer available at the original address, but has been archived here.]

January 17, 2005

Ruth Warrick, "Sally" in Song of the South, Passes Away

January 1, 2005

Song of the South Fan Art Contest Results

January 1, 2005

More Hope for a Song of the South DVD Release?

A recent thread over at the Home Theater Forum has brought out some very interesting news. Dick Cook, Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, spoke at the Summer 2004 Annual Convention of the NFFC. The September/October 2004 issue of the FantasyLine Express (the club's newsletter) reported part of his talk:

"After the formal part of his presentation, Cook took questions from Conventioneers. Among the issues on Conventioneers' minds:

Will Song of the South ever be released on DVD?

"Yes. Cook said that the public has requested a DVD release of Song of the South more than it has requested any other film. That said, Disney also is aware that some elements of the film reflect the time in which it was made and don't reflect current attitudes. He said that the Studio has encountered similar issues with other older material. In some cases, such as some of the World War II material in the Walt Disney Treasures DVD series, they've addressed the issue through introductions that place the material in context. He said that Disney hasn't yet found the ideal solution for Song of the South, but he was confident that they would."

Coming from the Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, this sounds very hopeful. We now have confirmation that the studio recognizes it is the single most requested movie and that the studio is exploring ways that it can appropriately present this film to today's audience. We just hope they leave the original film unaltered. Thanks to Lars Karlsen for the initial heads up!

This topic is also being discussed over at UltimateDisney.com, and a couple of other sites have since picked up on this story as well: ign.com's "Will Song of the South Be Heard?" and FilmRot.com's "Song of the South Ban Lifted?"