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!

Disney Selling New Splash Mountain Merchandise

Topher Wallace of WDW News Today has reported that Disney has started selling new Splash Mountain merchandise in Walt Disney World and Disneyland, including:

  • T-Shirt featuring Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, Mr. Bluebird, Brer Frog, and the Boothill Boys (Brer Buzzards). Brer Bear, Brer Rabbit, and Mr. Bluebird are singing, while Brer Frog plays the harmonica and Brer Fox plugs his ears in disdain. Priced at $24.99.
  • Beach Towel featuring the same graphics as above, priced at $26.99.
  • T-Shirt featuring “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” in script and a Splash Mountain logo in the corner. Priced at $32.99.
  • “Everything is Satisfactual” Tank Top priced at $24.99.
  • Brer Rabbit Plush Stuffed Animal (new design), priced at $19.99.

The new items are being sold in Walt Disney World, and presumably in Disneyland and possibly Tokyo Disneyland as well (though this is currently unconfirmed). If anyone can confirm the other two locations are selling these new items as well, please let me know and I’ll update this article. Thanks!

In WDW, the new merchandise is being sold at Splashdown Photos. Originally, Splash Mountain merchandise was sold in the Briar Patch shops adjacent to the rides, but lately merchandise has been moved to the area where photos from the ride are picked up (Professor Barnaby Owl’s Photographic Art Studio in Disneyland, and Splashdown Photos in Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland). I presume this was done both to maximize sales and because Splash Mountain merchandise has seemingly lessened over the years, no longer requiring as much space.

For photos of the new merchandise, head on over to WDW News Today. Thanks to Philip Kippel for sharing this on our Song of the South Facebook page!

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.

New Song of the South YouTube Channel

I have created a new YouTube Channel for Song of the South! No, I won’t be posting the movie (other people have that covered already) — my focus will primarily be posting rare audio recordings and other material that wouldn’t otherwise be available to the public.

My first video features the rare 1946 Radio Transcription Record (South 3), featuring a 15-minute radio show with Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers, Walt Disney, James Baskett (Uncle Remus & Brer Fox), Luana Patten (Ginny), Bobby Driscoll (Johnny), Nick Stewart (Brer Bear), Johnny Lee (Brer Rabbit), and Clarence Nash (Donald Duck):

I’ve had this record in my memorabilia collection for years, but up until now I had never been able to play it. 16″ transcription records were made primarily for radio stations. They’re much bigger than standard 12″ LPs and therefore won’t fit on most standard record players. They’re also fairly rare, because they were often destroyed after use!

Until now, this recording was nowhere to be found on the Internet. So of course it was my duty to fix that! I either needed to locate someone with a transcription turntable, or purchase one for myself. I decided to go the purchase route, and I’m glad I did. The plinth (wood base) is custom built, and the turntable is a vintage 1950’s era Rek-O-Kut model CVS-12 (variable speed 25-100 RPM). The tone arm is model S-120 and the cartridge is a GE VRII with dual heads so I can play both transcription and 78rpm records. Special thanks to Oleg for building it!

This is only the beginning. Look for more rare audio recordings in the future!

Memorabilia Corner: Featuring Song of the South Memorabilia

It’s hard to believe that I started collecting Song of the South memorabilia over 20 years ago. And next year will mark 20 years since I stood up my first Song of the South memorabilia web site on Tripod (remember them?) featuring my modest collection of 15 books and records.

A lot has changed since 1998. My Song of the South memorabilia collection is now approaching 500 unique items, and I think it’s time to feature some of these items from time to time in this new blog series I’m going to call “Memorabilia Corner” for now. Whether you’re a Disneyana collector or just looking to rekindle a fond childhood memory, I hope you enjoy!

Capitol Records’ Tales of Uncle Remus (CC-40) (1947)

For my first article, it’s only fitting that we feature the first piece of memorabilia I ever collected (and what subsequently got me to start collecting.) From 1946: Capitol Records’ “Tales of Uncle Remus” (CC-40) is a set of three 78 RPM records featuring the original cast from Song of the South, and the music of Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers. This was a very popular set, and if you’re looking for one they can often be found for under $30 on sites like eBay.

Don’t have a record player that plays 78 RPM? No problem! Thanks to YouTube, you can hear the album for yourself.

Sides 1-3:

Sides 4-6:

This set is the single most reissued Song of the South album I know of. Are you ready for this? In addition to originally releasing the album as CC-40, they also reissued it under the following albums (click on the links for more info on each):

  • c.1948: Tales of Uncle Remus (DC-116) – A reissue on “Superflex” (a trademark for their unbreakable 78 RPM records)
  • c. 1948: Tales of Uncle Remus (DCN-116) – Identical to DC-116 except it’s a box set instead of the book-style binding of the original.
  • 1949: Tales of Uncle Remus (CCF-3008) – 45 RPM set, highly popular due to its ability to play in modern record players. This one has so many different record labels that it will need its own article someday!
  • 1962: Tales of Uncle Remus (J-3265) – Reissued as a 33 1/3 album
  • 1975: Tales of Uncle Remus (L 6986) – Final release on 33 1/3 album in partnership with ZIV International/Wonderland Records. This is probably the least desirable of the above examples, as they decided to remove the story of Brer Rabbit Runs Away to make room for “Tickety Tock” on Side B.

Brer Rabbit Runs Away (CAS-3108)

In addition to the above albums, they also released each story separately on both 78RPM and 45 RPM records. These are neat to find with their original sleeves as they have unique artwork I haven’t found on any other piece of memorabilia:

These were released in the United States, New Zealand and Australia. They were likely released in other countries as well, but those remain to be discovered!

I hope you have enjoyed the first article. If there’s a particular piece of memorabilia you’d like to see me cover in a future article, please contact me and let me know! And, if you happen to have a piece of memorabilia that’s on my Wanted List, I am very interested in hearing from you as well. Until then… Keep Collecting!

Disney Ignored Song of the South Shareholder Proposal

As Disney shareholders may be aware, asking about Song of the South’s release became somewhat of a tradition at the Disney shareholder meetings starting in 2006. Back in 2011, shareholder Matthew Hansen asked Disney CEO Robert Iger about releasing Song of the South. In short, Iger responded, “[J]ust remember it as it was, and don’t expect to see it again for… at least for awhile, if ever.” Full transcript and audio can be found here.

Undeterred, Hansen began to work on a shareholder proposal. In September of 2015, on vintage Song of the South letterhead, he wrote to Disney:

I respectfully submit the enclosed shareholder proposal for inclusion in the 2016 proxy statement pursuant to the 2015 proxy statement of The Walt Disney Company and in accordance with Rule 14a-8 ofthe Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. I intend to present the proposal at the 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Disney received the proposal and responded to him, saying that the Disney Board of Directors would review it. A few weeks later, Disney’s legal team WilmerHale responded in a 6-page letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Basically, they asked them to allow Disney to ignore the proposal, “pursuant to Rule 14a-8(i)(7), on the basis that the Shareholder Proposal involves matters that relate to the ordinary business operations of the Company.” Here is an excerpt from Disney’s response:

In addition to interfering with management’s day-to-day operations, the Shareholder Proposal also seeks to “micro-manage” the Company. Specifically, the Shareholder Proposal instructs the Company to release one particular film (Song of the South) from among its approximately 2,900 titles, through a specific medium (Blu-ray) and within a specific timeframe (in connection with its 70th anniversary). Determinations about what, how and when to release a particular title are inherently complex, and shareholders as a group are not in a position to make informed decisions on such matters.

How’s that for arrogance? The SEC concurred, saying that they would “not recommend enforcement action to the Commission if Disney omits the proposal from its proxy materials”, effectively greenlighting Disney to ignore Hansen’s proposal.

The full document containing all correspondence between the parties is available for viewing on the SEC web site: https://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/cf-noaction/14a-8/2015/matthewhansen112315-14a8.pdf

Matthew Hansen kindly provided me with the following backstory, which I will include here in its entirety:

It has been an interesting journey that began when I asked Bob Iger at the 2011 Annual Meeting that took place in SLC, if they would release the film. His stern response (that can be heard in shareholder archives, or I have a copy of it downloaded) prompted me to want to attempt a shareholder proposal that would line up with the 70th anniversary – since we all know Disney obsesses over anniversaries with their home video catalog releases. (But apparently me specifying the 70th they claimed as “micro-managing” the company. Go figure.).

Since I had to hold a certain amount of shares for a year it required some waiting before I could move forward with anything. But once I did it has been interesting. Everyone I showed my proposal to loved it. I even received support from someone I felt was very important to my cause – animator Floyd Norman! I even met him twice this summer. To sum up what I gathered from talking with him – Bob Iger for some reason hates the film, and I fear while he is CEO it won’t see the light of day. I have a UK VHS of the film and watched a converted digital copy of it recently during a flight to CA and I can’t figure out why he would feel that way about it.

Anyways, one of their many reasons in their SIX pages to the SEC is that the film has not been a matter of widespread debate and as they claim only been brought up at a few meetings and requested by a few ardent fans – which I don’t believe. The fact that the then-chairman of the board John Pepper chuckled and said “We almost made it through the meeting” [without someone mentioning Song of the South] when I asked my question in 2011 because it was an almost annual question, which was then followed by the Rose Wagner theater packed full of shareholders cheering and applauding my question – makes it hard for me to believe them when they claim it has been only a “few” meetings and ardent fans requesting it.

Which is why I am hoping that we can maybe get some more discussion about the film to show them it isn’t just a small group of ardent fans that want this film. One friend I showed this to told me it is pretty sad that in a day when a film such as 12 Years a Slave can win Best Picture, they are still withholding Song of the South from being released – yet feel free to use just about everything from it to market their parks. One such instance, aside from the obvious ride, was an ad we received in the mail showing days kids had off from school in the fall as times we could plan to come to Disneyland and it called them “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Days” and had Mr Blue Bird to help advertise.

It seems that Disney is content with ignoring its shareholders and fans who wish to legally own this movie for themselves. But they certainly have no qualms about continuing to exploit and profit off of the film’s legacy via Splash Mountain and the Academy Award winning song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. It’s a sad reality, but one that needs to be shared with the public. A sincere thank you to Matthew Hansen for his efforts, and perhaps someday Disney will stop snubbing some of the very people that help keep them profitable.