Category Archives: Uncle Remus

News related to either Disney’s or Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus stories.

‘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!

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!


Old Song of the South Petition Host Shutting Down

PetitionOnline.com, the site that has hosted the Song of the South petition since 2005, is shutting down today. Since I began hosting the petition there, we have received 36,543 signatures of people who “support the official release of Walt Disney’s 1946 Classic ‘Song of the South’ on DVD”.

The original Song of the South petition was hosted by James McKimson over at UncleRemusPages.com, and at final tally had 101,780 names.

We have started a brand new petition over at Change.org. Our current goal is to reach 100, so if you haven’t already, please sign your name, and pass this on to friends and family who also support this movie’s release!

Song of the South Turns 67; Wren’s Nest Celebrates 100 Years

On this day 67 years ago, Song of the South debuted at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Click here to view photos from the worldwide premier.

Also of special note: The Wren’s Nest is celebrating 100 years! The Wren’s Nest was the home of Joel Chandler Harris from 1881-1908. Harris authored the Uncle Remus stories that Walt Disney himself grew up with, and was the basis for Song of the South.

Photo courtesy of Lain Shakespeare.

The Wren’s Nest. Photo courtesy of Lain Shakespeare.

The Wren’s Nest has been operating as a museum since 1913, was the Uncle Remus Memorial Carnegie Library until 1930, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962. If you want to learn more about Joel Chandler Harris, there’s no better place!

For more information about The Wren’s Nest and Joel Chandler Harris, please visit the Wren’s Nest official web site at www.wrensnest.org.

TCM Blog Discusses Song of the South

TCM Blog: Zip A Dee Doo DahThe official Turner Classic Movies blog, MovieMorlocks.com, has posted a blog on August  17th discussing Song of the South. Author David Kalat recently celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary at  Walt Disney World (congratulations!), when he “ran across an interesting paradox”:

You see, over the years, Disney has retired some rides because their source material was deemed too obscure (bye bye Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride), and even some that didn’t seem all that obscure got the axe to make way for attractions based on the latest releases (bye bye 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea).

Given this policy, the enduring popularity of Splash Mountain at the Magic Kingdom is something to marvel at, since the ride is based on perhaps the most obscure work in the entire Disney canon, Song of the South. Weirder still, Splash Mountain debuted in 1989, a few years after its source material Song of the South was decommissioned and mothballed. It would have been easier to just forget Song of the South ever existed–but there’s something about this film that is not so easily forgotten.

The full blog post goes into detail on the background and controversy surrounding Song of the South, and includes several screenshots of both the film and the Splash Mountain ride. There’s a good discussion going on in the comments section as well:

http://moviemorlocks.com/2013/08/17/zip-a-dee-doo-dah/

Thanks to Stephen Cooke for informing me of the blog post, and to David Kalat for posting it!

Academy Awards Website Shows Footage of James Baskett

One of our readers has brought to our attention that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has updated their website with a section called Oscar Legacy, featuring all of the previous Academy Award ceremonies from 1927 to present.

Of special interest is the 20th Academy Awards, which was held at the Shrine Civic Auditorium on Saturday, March 20, 1948, honoring movies released in 1947. (Even though Song of the South premiered November 12, 1946, it was counted among the 1947 films.)

Song of the South won two Academy Awards: James Baskett received an Oscar “for his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world, in Walt Disney’s Song of the South.” Also, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah won the award for Best Music (Song).

What makes this page special is a film clip from the UCLA Film & Television Archive, featuring a news reel from the 1948 Academy Awards. Here we get to see Mr. Baskett receive his Oscar, narrated in the first person by “Oscar” himself:

The second special award is to be made by Ms. Ingrid Bergman who presents me to Mr. James Baskett, so that my gleaming image may be a reminder that he gave us all a glowing and nostalgic happiness with his splendid Uncle Remus in the “Song of the South”.

The film clip can be viewed here:
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/20th.html

Sadly, James Baskett passed away just four months later on July 9th at age 44, but his legacy will live on as being the first African American man to receive an Academy Award. (Incidentally, the first African American woman was Hattie McDaniel, who played Aunt Tempy in Song of the South). A special thanks to Bradley West for the news report!

Dummies In The Attic: Joel Chandler Harris & The Wren’s Nest

Last month, Rachael Maddux of Paste magazine published an article entitled “Dummies In The Attic“, a story about Joel Chandler Harris’ home the Wren’s Nest, which he built and lived in until his death in 1908. Lain Shakespeare, the great-great-great grandson of Joel Chandler Harris, is interviewed in the article and is currently the executive director of the Wren’s Nest museum.

Interestingly, the article pictures two mannequins that until recently were collecting dust up in the attic of the Wren’s Nest. According to the article, they were originally given to the Wren’s Nest by Walt Disney for the premier of Song of the South in 1946. Now, over 60 years later, Uncle Remus and Johnny are seeing the light of day once again. According to Lain: “They’re part of Wren’s Nest’s history — and I thought it would be a cool thing to show people.”

Read the full article here: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/06/dummies-in-the-attic.html

I would also encourage you to visit The Wren’s Nest web site: http://www.wrensnestonline.com/

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!

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.]

LaughingPlace.com Feature on Joel Chandler Harris

“Before there was Splash Mountain, there was Disney’s Song of the South. Before there was Song of the South, there was Uncle Remus Stories. Before Uncle Remus, there was Joel Chandler Harris.”

LaughingPlace.com guest contributor Mark A. Thompson has written a great article entitled “The Wren’s Nest, Birth of the Laughing Place,” which gives an overview of Joel Chandler Harris’ life and highlights The Wren’s Nest, the true birthplace of the Laughing Place. Includes plenty of interesting photos, too. Have a look!

http://laughingplace.com/News-ID508500.asp