Dear Disney, re-release Song of the South..

Consider this my first controversial entry. I think that the 1946 Disney film, "Song of the South", should be re-released either into theaters or release onto DVD. A limited DVD. Many people don't even know what "Song of the South" is. Well, you know the song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah", (yeah, the one that is pretty much the Walt Disney Company's theme song) it originates from this movie. And you know the classic Disney theme park ride Splash Mountain? The story behind the ride originates from this movie as well.

The movie takes place in the "deep south" just after the Civil War. A little boy, Johnny, moves to a plantation with his grandmother and mother while his parents are dealing with their marital issues by separating. Johnny runs away and comes across Uncle Remus telling two other children the tales of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear, and the Briar Patch (as seen in Splash Mountain). I'm not going to reveal the rest of the story because I don't want to give away the ending. If you wish to know the full synopsis, wiki it!

Now, I haven't seen the film hence why I call for its release. Remember back to the time of the story: a segregated country, racism, etc. A very controversial subject for the forties and for the "magical and perfect" Disney Studios. People believed that this film would show African-Americans in a negative light. I haven't seen it, so I can't verify. Let's just say, at the Atlanta premiere of the movie, the actor who played Uncle Remus was not allowed entry into his own movie. Terrible.

The film has never, ever been released onto VHS or DVD in its entirety. Only short clips of the film have been released. The film has only been rereleased into theaters 3 times since its original premiere. The last time it was released was in 1986. That was 24 years ago!!! I think it's time to release it once again.

Now, Disney's chairman has stated that the film will NOT be rereleased for the time being. According to Wikipedia, movie critic Roger Ebert supports Disney's conservativeness in keeping the film to themselves. His reason is because "most Disney films become a part of the consciousness of American children, who take films more literally than do adults." A good argument. I can understand that Disney doesn't want to ruin its perfectness and conservative morals by releasing a film that has been dubbed racist.

I believe that the film should be rereleased once every ten years. They don't need to advertise for it. They shouldn't look for money doing it. But you can't be the studio in the possession of the Film Critics Society's 67th greatest animated film of all time and never let anyone see it. They could even release it under one of there other studios (Miramax, Touchstone, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, etc.) to keep their Disney name intact.

So, they should quietly release it limitedly back into theaters OR release it on a limited or exclusive DVD. Going back to my post about the Disney Movie Club and how I joined because it was the only place I could purchase DuckTales: The Movie… it could be released exclusively and you need to join to purchase it.

All I'm saying is I really want to see this film, but I may never at this rate. I just want to know the story behind Br'er Rabbit and the Briar Patch.