Song of the South
Song of the South, American semianimated musical film, released in 1946 by the Disney Company, that is rarely aired or shown in the United States because of controversial “racial” aspects of the film.
Based on the Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris, the film is set in the American South of the latter half of the 19th century and traces the adventures of a little boy, Johnny (played by Bobby Driscoll), who moves with his family from Atlanta to a rural plantation. After his parents argue and his father goes back to Atlanta, Johnny runs away from home. He befriends Uncle Remus (James Baskett), who can seemingly communicate with animals and charms him with fascinating tales (told in animation) of the quick-witted Brer Rabbit. Uncle Remus’s stories always have morals that Johnny applies to his life.
Song of the South introduced the famous song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” which won an Academy Award. Baskett was also awarded an honorary Academy Award “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.” Although the film was a box-office success, it was disparaged by some critics and such African American organizations as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for the character of Uncle Remus, who was seen as subservient and demeaning to African Americans. The film was also criticized for its depiction of 19th-century Southern life, in which simple African Americans happily work for white plantation owners. The Disney Company rereleased the film theatrically on several occasions, most recently in 1986, but has since withheld it and has never released it in the United States on home video.
Production notes and credits
- Studio: Walt Disney Productions
- Directors: Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson
- Producer: Walt Disney
- Writers: Bill Peet, Ralph Wright, George Stallings, Dalton Reymond, Morton Grant, and Maurice Rapf
- Music: Daniele Amfitheatrof, Charles Wolcott, and Paul J. Smith
- Running time: 94 minutes
Cast
- Ruth Warrick (Sally)
- Bobby Driscoll (Johnny)
- James Baskett (Uncle Remus/Brer Fox-voice)
- Luana Patten (Ginny)
Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)
- Song* (“Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”)
- Score