Category Archives: Song of the South

News related to Walt Disney’s Song of the South.

‘You Must Remember This’ Podcast Airs ‘Six Degrees of Song of the South’

Variety Magazine recently published an article about the ‘You Must Remember This’ Podcast releasing a 6-part podcast series on Song of the South: “In the new season of Hollywood historian Karina Longworth’s acclaimed podcast, “You Must Remember This,” the former film critic delves into the history of “Song of the South” — how it was made, the controversy that surrounded it from the get-go, and how Disney has managed to profit off of the film without ever giving it a home entertainment release.”

The article can be read on Variety.com:
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/song-of-the-south-disney-plus-you-must-remember-this-podcast-karina-longworth-1203379940

The podcast series itself, entitled “Six Degrees of Song of the South,” is being broadcast weekly as a series in 6 parts:

Thanks to Shawn Kelly for the news report!

New Disney+ Streaming Service Will Not Include Song of the South?

It is being widely reported that Disney’s new streaming service “Disney+” will not include their Academy Award winning and controversial movie Song of the South, contrary to Disney CEO Robert Iger’s quote that Disney+ would “house the entire Disney motion picture library.”

Ironically, the new streaming service is set to launch on November 12th, the anniversary of Song of the South’s worldwide premier in 1946.

It has also been reported that Disney will be censoring another piece of company history as well: the crows from Dumbo (1941). If so, this would join several other films from the 1940s that Disney has decided to edit over the years, including scenes and elements from Fantasia (1940), Make Mine Music (1946), and Melody Time (1948).

Disney Legend Whoopi Goldberg was interviewed at the D23 Expo in July 2017, and had this to say about both films:

“I’m trying to find a way to get people to start having a conversation about bringing Song of the South back, so we can talk about what it was, and where it came from and why it came out. I want people to start putting the crows, you know, in the merchandising. Because those crows sing the song in Dumbo that everybody remembers. So I want to… I want to highlight all the little stuff people sort of maybe miss in movies.”

http://www.songofthesouth.net/news/2017/07/16/disney-legend-whoopi-goldberg-wants-song-of-the-south-released/


Memorabilia Corner: Noel Dwelley Richards Song of the South Dolls

In this issue of Memorabilia Corner, we’re featuring a set of hand-crafted dolls made by Noel Dwelley Richards of Fort Pierce, Florida, from the 1950’s through the 1970’s. There is very little information out there on the Internet about these dolls, so it’s time we fixed that! While these dolls aren’t technically official Disney memorabilia, it turns out they were directly inspired by Walt Disney’s Song of the South.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, I caught my first glimpse of Mrs. Richards’ handiwork back in 2001, about when I started this web site. I was provided a photo of two stuffed animals that looked remarkably like Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox from Walt Disney’s Song of the South. There were no tags, so I filed the photo away in my “More Research Needed” folder. Fast forward to 2018, when I found and purchased a Brer Bear doll on eBay that looked remarkably similar to the other two dolls. I assumed they were early Disney dolls, but had no other information to go on.

Then, in March 2019, I was contacted by Mary Jo from Kentucky:

 I know your primary interest is the movie, but thought you may have some suggestions or guidance. In the 1970s, my mom bought me a set of handmade dolls made by Noel Dwelley Richards from Fort Pierce, FL (my mom’s hometown). I have Uncle Remus, Brer Bear, Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Tar Baby. 

My interest piqued, I thanked her for contacting me and asked to see photos. When she sent the photos, there they were! The very same stuffed animals, plus two more dolls I had never seen before (The Tar Baby and Uncle Remus). Not only that, but she provided me with a newspaper article from The Palm Beach Post (March 16, 1977) featuring the shop where her mother had purchased the dolls—The Emporium, which was located at 301 S. US Highway 1 in Fort Pierce, Florida. The article, which interviewed Noel’s son Nick Richards, states that these dolls were indeed directly inspired by Walt Disney’s Song of the South:

Richards family is still actively interested in the shop, and one of his best selling items is made by his mother, Noel Dwelley Richards, who patented her own line of stuffed dolls.

“When my brother and I were young mother took us to see the ‘Song of the South,’ and we liked it so much mother made us some dolls based on the Uncle Remus characters,” Richards said.

“Everybody liked them so much that she patented the patterns and has been making them ever since,” he said. “Now she sells them only through the store, but they are so popular I can’t get her to make enough,” he said.

Excerpt from “Emporium Preserves History” by John Bartlett, The Palm Beach Post, March 16, 1977, Section C

Mary Jo generously let me purchase the set of dolls, and I am happy to report their new home here in the Song of the South Memorabilia Museum! I believe this may be a complete set.

I wanted to try to find out more about these dolls and the Richards family, so I did some more research. While I was unable to find any patents for Noel’s doll designs, I did find a 1952 copyright entry in the Library of Congress:

RICHARDS, NOEL DWELLEY ©. Cartoons in cloth. “Negro man and animals” Photo. ©29Oct52 JU7208.

Library of Congress – Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series, Pg. 232 (Link)

Based on the 1952 date, that would indicate that the Richards family had seen the original 1946 theatrical release of Song of the South. Noel passed away at the age of 79 in Fort Pierce on Thursday, January 8, 1998. Based on further research, it also appears that her son Nick Richards may have passed away on February 9, 2005. Based on the article above, Nick had a brother, but I have not attempted to contact him (I believe his name is William Brooks Richards Jr.) If anyone has any more information on these dolls, please let me know!


New Disney Streaming Service to Include Song of the South?

According to an article posted today over at Polygon, Disney’s new streaming service “Disney+” will include the “entire Disney motion picture library.” Presumably, that would include Walt Disney’s Academy Award winning 1946 film Song of the South, which hasn’t seen the light of day in the U.S. since 1986.

To quote Disney CEO Robert Iger at today’s investor meeting held in St. Louis:

The service, which I mentioned earlier is going to launch later in the year, is going to combine what we call library product, movies, and television, with a lot of original product as well, movies and television. And at some point fairly soon after launch it will house the entire Disney motion picture library, so the movies that you speak of that traditionally have been kept in a “vault” and brought out basically every few years will be on the service. And then, of course, we’re producing a number of original movies and original television shows as well that will be Disney-branded.

In the past, when shareholders have asked Robert Iger about releasing Song of the South, he has stated in no uncertain terms that the studio had no plans to re-release the film:

Iger (2011): I just don’t feel that it’s right for us to use company resources to make [Song of the South] available, whether it’s wide or whether it’s narrow… narrowly available. It’s a strong belief that I have— consulted with other top executives of the company. They all agreed, and I think, just remember it as it was, and don’t expect to see it again for… at least for awhile, if ever.

Maybe sufficient time has passed and they’re finally ready? Only time will tell if this is truly the entire Disney motion picture library, or just their usual fare. The service is slated to be released later this year, so “fairly soon after launch” could mean 2020 or beyond. We’ll be keeping an eye on this, however.

Thanks to James Moyner for the news report!

Movie Turns 72; 500th Memorabilia Item Added

Song of the South has officially turned 72 today! It premiered at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia on November 12, 1946. Song of the South has never been released commercially in the United States, so if you want Disney to know you want this film released, please be sure to sign the Song of the South Petition.

Also of note, the 500th memorabilia item has been added to the Song of the South Memorabilia Museum! Recently, I found a third party to assist me with purchasing Song of the South & Brer Rabbit (“Rabito”) memorabilia from Argentina, and it’s turning out to be bigger than I thought. It seems that Disney released dozens of books and comics in this country in the 1950’s through 1970’s.

The 500th item is a book from Argentina entitled “Rabito Pierde Y Gana” which translates to “Brer Rabbit Loses and Wins”. Usually I’m able to guess the synopsis of the story because it was also released in the United States, but in this case the story was completely unique and I’d never seen it before. Granted, there are pictures so I could get a very rough idea of what the story is about, but I wanted to get more detail. Now, I could type the entire book into Google Translate, but I decided to try the Google Translate app on my phone. All I can say is… WOW! I was able to point my phone’s camera right at the book and it translated it in real-time. While the translation was very rough, it was enough for me to get the gist and give more detail in my synopsis than I could have done just based on the pictures alone. Pretty cool! I expect to do the same for any other unique stories in foreign languages I happen to come across.

Expect more items to be added to the museum in the coming months! And as always, if you find a piece of memorabilia I’m looking for (please see the Wanted section), let me know!

Memorabilia Corner: Song of the South Soundtrack WDL-4001

WDL-4001 Album Cover (U.S. Pressing)

In this issue of Memorabilia Corner we’re going to talk about the first soundtrack album ever released on the Disneyland record label back in 1956: the venerable WDL-4001. It has never been re-released in any format, and sadly remains one of the few soundtracks still unavailable from Disney. Fortunately, this soundtrack can be listened to in its entirety on YouTube! (Note: The first track is incorrect; the actual first track can be heard here.)

So, what makes this record so special? There are a couple of reasons: 1) WDL-4001 was the first motion picture soundtrack released on the Disneyland record label in 1956. 2) While the popular songs from Song of the South were released on myriad of record albums over the years, WDL-4001 was the only album that contained the instrumental music from the movie interspersed with the songs. It contains three extra tracks compared to the more common DQ-1205: “Ginny and Johnny”, “Uncle Remus Leaves”, and the reprise of “Let the Rain Pour Down”.

To date, I’ve collected pressings from the United States, Canada, and Australia, though I suspect it was also released in other countries as well. The earliest U.S. pressings are on the yellow Disneyland record label, and were manufactured by Hansen Records. Versions of the early yellow Disneyland labels exist both with and without “Hansen Records, Inc., New York” in an arc across the top of the label.

Later pressings have a red record label, and I have even come across a WDL-4001 record label with a DQ-1205 sticker placed over the record number. My best guess is they were either phasing out the more expensive WDL-4001, or had a surplus of them and/or a shortage of DQ-1205 pressings. In any case, it makes for an unusual find!

In Canada, the record was pressed and distributed by Sparton of Canada Ltd. The cover is almost identical to the U.S. pressing except “SPARTON” has been stamped in the upper right corner in black ink. The red record label is also unique (see photo).

In Australia, the record was pressed and distributed by E.M.I. (Australia) Limited. The album cover is similar to the U.S. pressing as well, but has the Disneyland Records Hi-Fidelity logo in the upper right corner. The red record label is also unique (see photo).

Yellow Hansen Records Label

WDL-4001 with a DQ-1205 Sticker Applied

Canadian Sparton Pressing

Australian E.M.I. Pressing

For those like me who are interested in the early history of Disneyland Records, this thread over at MagicMusic.net has some interesting relevant information.

The back side of the album explains how the sound track album came about, and is a wealth of information in and of itself! Here is a direct excerpt:

Disney directors and artists and even the Disney musicians themselves have always considered that most Disney film music had no place apart from the film. It took a couple of talented outsiders, visiting the Disney Studio to find material for the new Disneyland Record label, to discover the fabulous quality of the sound track music itself. These two; Tutti Camarata, the celebrated musician, composer, and arranger and Charles Hansen, of Hansen Publications, Inc., the firm which handles Disney educational music, dared to watch SONG OF THE SOUTH with their eyes closed. They believe they are the first people ever really to hear the score of the Disney film. They may be right because the visual impression of color and action in Disney features is often so over-whelming that one literally does not hear the music. Camarata and Hansen came out of the projection room convinced that they had discovered something which must command a place on long-playing phonograph records. Disney executives were dubious but, after some of the other Disney films were screened, including Pinocchio which the Disney officials also viewed with their eyes closed, the decision was made to produce original sound track albums from the Disney scores.

So, the idea for this original sound track album was born. But, having an idea and putting it into execution are sometimes separated by many problems and much time. Dialogue and distracting sound effects would have to be eliminated from the phonograph record. The portions of the music sound track to be used would have to be carefully selected and edited. Fortunately, the Disney method of sound recording involves many different sound tracks and the original components were still available. Also very fortunately, two of the men who were responsible for the original sound recording of SONG OF THE SOUTH, Sam Slyfield and Harold Steck, were still available and they, working with Bob Cook, Herb Taylor, Mel Poche and Ed Ornsten of the Disney Sound Department and especially with Evelyn Kennedy and Rusty Jones of the Disney Music Editing Department under the able supervision of Tutti Camarata, were able to produce this fine hi fidelity recording of the sound track of this classic Disney film. Final tape editing for the phonograph record master was done by Tutti Camarata.

The album originally sold for $4.98 (which was a fair amount in 1956) and was geared more towards adults than children. Today, the album is fairly desirable. Some price guides value this record album at $200-250, though I think that’s a bit on the high side. On average, I would estimate their value closer to the $75-150 range for the rarer pressings (Hansen, Sparton, EMI), and $50-100 for the later pressings. In any case, this album is a neat part of early Disneyland Records history!

Fan Works on Restoring Song of the South

An individual by the name of Notelu has put quite a bit of effort into restoring and releasing Song of the South in its entirety on Archive.org in 1080p (HD) resolution.

As you probably know, Song of the South has never been commercially available in the United States (yet Disney released it in many other countries). While portions of Song of the South (and even the whole film) have made its way onto YouTube over the years, and been unofficially distributed on bootleg DVDs and VHS copies, this is the first time I’m aware of that someone other than Disney has gone through the effort of restoring the film.

The amount of work put into this project is impressive. Notelu cleaned and color corrected the film from a 35mm print, included extra features like trailers and behind the scenes footage, and even compiled audio tracks from various other VHS releases (Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Portugese, Hungarian, and Italian.)

Visit https://archive.org/details/SongOfTheSouthHD for more information.

You can also watch Notelu’s trailer on YouTube:

Knowing Disney and their attempts to have the MPAA shut down my web site back in 2001 and 2003, they will likely try to shut down this project as well. So, to borrow a phrase from MST3K… “Keep circulating the tapes!” and enjoy watching it while you can. Thanks to Nick Fleming for the news report!

Song of the South’s 71st Anniversary and Other Site News

Today marks the 71st anniversary of Song of the South. The movie premiered at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia on November 12, 1946. There hasn’t been much news on the movie front, so if you hear anything please let me know! Take a step back in time and view photos of the movie’s premier, or check out the memorabilia section.

Other SongoftheSouth.net Site News

I’m continuing to collect Song of the South memorabilia and have at least 10-15 new items waiting to be posted to the Memorabilia section. Most are from other countries including Spain, Australia, and Italy. I’ve been collecting this memorabilia since 1998, and I’m continually amazed at how much I’m still discovering! This just goes to show how widely publicized and promoted this movie from the 1940’s through 1970’s.

I’m also working on a “newest additions” page/area where you can see the latest items added to the memorabilia database, and a search page, so you don’t have to scroll through every category. The database is getting that big! Also, a couple of visitors have noted that the Miscellany section is empty. I apologize for that, but I’m still trying to figure out what I’ll be putting in there. Items will be added soon!

I’ve also started playing around with HTML5. My web site has adapted over the years as screen resolutions have increased (my original site was designed for 640×480 screens and was written in HTML 3.3!) and now that demographics have shown a major shift towards mobile devices and tablets, I’m working on making this site more mobile friendly. I have a lot of work and testing to do, and I don’t have a ton of spare time but I hope to make it a reality in the coming years.

Thanks for visiting! I’m always open to suggestions, so if you have an idea on how to make the site better, please feel free to reach out to me.

Disney Legend Whoopi Goldberg Wants Song of the South Released

Yesterday at Disney’s D23 Expo, the very talented Whoopi Goldberg joined the illustrious group of Disney Legends. She has the distinction of being the only Disney Legend to hold an Oscar, Tony, Emmy, and a Grammy to date. In an interview after the awards ceremony, she was asked by Yahoo! Movies Superfan interviewer Kevin Polowy what her favorite Disney movie was:

Polowy: “D23 is a celebration of all things Disney. What is your all-time favorite Disney movie?”

Goldberg: “You know what? I… I don’t know if I have an all-time favorite Disney movie, but I love them, I really love them all because they all have different things, you know. I… I’m trying to find a way to get people to start having a conversation about bringing Song of the South back, so we can talk about what it was, and where it came from and why it came out. I want people to start putting the crows, you know, in the merchandising. Because those crows sing the song in Dumbo that everybody remembers. So I want to… I want to highlight all the little stuff people sort of maybe miss in movies. So I don’t know if I have a favorite one… I love them all.”

The interview can be seen here:

This is truly wonderful to see Whoopi join other Disney Legends who support Song of the South’s release. Other Disney Legends who have shown their support over the years include Marc Davis (class of 1989), Alice Davis (class of 2004), Roy Disney (class of 1998) and Floyd Norman (class of 2007).

I sincerely hope she is successful in her efforts. Thank you Whoopi, and congratulations to you!

Fan Artist Henrieke Goorhuis Published in WDCS

I was recently contacted by Song of the South fan artist Henrieke Goorhuis. In 2006, Henrieke submitted a drawing of Brer Rabbit to me, and it can still be seen in the Song of the South Fan Art section.

Hi there! In your fan art section there’s a fan drawing I made directly after first seeing Song of the South when it got aired by the BBC in 2006. The next year a cover I drew featuring Brer Rabbit got published in the Netherlands, my first comic publication. Now, another 10 years later, a Brer Rabbit comic I drew last year got published in the US. It’s actually for the first time since quite a while that a (new) comic got published in the states, and it was uncertain for a while if they were putting it in or not, and it is also uncertain if they’ll do it again. I thought it was pretty neat and that I’d let you know as a SotS collector! The story isn’t too interesting, but I had fun drawing the characters. The magazine is for sale right now in the US, WDCS 738.

That is certainly an accomplishment to have a comic published in Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories! As some Disney fans may already know, WDCS has been in publication since 1940, and is the longest-running Disney comic book series in history. Over the decades it has featured many a Brer Rabbit comic (some of which can be seen in my Memorabilia section), but this is the first time in recent memory that a brand new Brer Rabbit comic has been published in the U.S.

The story is entitled “The Carrot Colossus”, and it was originally published in 2016 in the Dutch comic book “Donald Duck”. For Issue 738 in the U.S., it’s Story #4 in the comic book, and is now on sale as of May 24th!

The Carrot Colossus
Writer: Ruud Straatman
Artist: Henrieke Goorhuis
Colorist: Erik Rosengarten and Sanoma
Letterer: Nicole and Travis Seitler
Translation and Dialogue: David Gerstein with Henrieke Goorhuis and Erik Rosengarten

My sincere congratulations and thanks to Henrieke and the others involved for keeping Brer Rabbit and friends alive and well in the Disney comic books! I hope the feedback is favorable and more will be seen in the future.