Song of the South

When I was about five years old, I saw this film with my older cousins who were in their twenties at the time and I don't remember hearing them saying anything negative about it. This is ironic, because I am African-American. Everyone must remember that this film was released in the 1940's before the civil rights movement and before "Roots". Now because of political correctness, we have all but forgotten this classic film, which was one of the first to combine live action and animation. Even though I do agree that this film does show slavery in a positive light you also should look at the fact that it dared to show the friendship between an African-American and a Caucasian, something that would never have even been thought about in those days. Next thing you know, someone might get the bright idea to ban "The Cosby Show" because it supposedly doesn't portray how the average black person really lives.

Political correctness having been pounded into our heads by the media, I can understand the underlying racial issues that have blunted this Disney film's reputation--no one really wants to be reminded of this particular era (the post-Civil War) when rich Southern white folks called the shots and the black folk did all the hard work--but I can't imagine any film-goer of any color passing up the chance to see James Baskett as Uncle Remus (this was his swan song, dying about a year after this film's original release and just a few months after winning a special Oscar for his contribution). I saw this in the 1970s at a drive-in theater and the experience was magical, it stuck with me for years. It's an emotional, lovely movie about childhood, the friendship between kids and adults, and the confusion about right and wrong. There are no issues here about white and black, but then, this isn't the proper film to address those issues. It is the South at the turn of the century, and in that regard it's not much different from "Gone With The Wind". There are beautiful animated interludes and a handful of terrific songs, Brer Bear is a riotous Disney character, and the live-action youngsters (Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten) are wonderful--the scene where he gives her his fancy collar is quite poignant. Driscoll and Patten were later teamed in Disney's "So Dear To My Heart", which is also worth finding. "Song of the South" is a film with a great big heart that needs to come out of the vaults. Let viewers judge for themselves.

Let me start by saying I'm surprised I found this movie. I didn't even think copies online of this film existed but here we are. It must've just been hard copies. Anyways, I grew up hearing the classic song of "Zippity Doo Da" and knowing of Song of the South because of Splash Mountain and so on, but I of course never saw the film since it's been banned due to controversy. Not many films are banned unless it's for a good reason. After I finally saw Song of the South, I'll finally come out and say that this movie should not be hidden. It doesn't deserve to be and here's why: Song of the South was really the first Disney movie to pioneer the live action/animation hybrid that made Mary Poppins so famous. The acting is charming, the songs are among the most classic of Disney, and the characters are fairly memorable. Now to address the hard part of this film. This film is not so much racist as it is insensitive. The Walt Disney Company had actually made this film to celebrate African American culture while racism was still very prominent in America (the lead actor for Uncle Remus wasn't even allowed to see the film). It depicted slaves as being treated fairly equal and living a life that they seemed to be fairly content with, and that's something that is definitely bound to cause heated controversy. There were also some animated characters that very much fell into the category of African-American stereotypes, and that can definitely offend people. Yet, the movie was not malicious in its intent. This movie continues to be hidden because of its controversy but for some reason, the 1915 film "Birth of a Nation", which unapologetically celebrates the Ku-Klux Klan is available to all? Better yet, literal Nazi Propaganda Films such as "Triumph of the Will" and "The Eternal Jew" are also available for all to see but an insensitive children's cartoon isn't? A 1970s drama film called "Pretty Baby" that features actual exploitation and sexualization of a minor is available to all but this fairly insensitive but mostly harmless film, which just so happens to be a film for families isn't available? If anything, Song of the South says volumes about censorship and controversy in film. It's an insensitive, sometimes painful look into history for people but it's an important milestone that shouldn't be hidden, especially when the filth that I just mentioned is free game for anyone to watch.

C.

The black people in this movie aren't depicted as lazy or stupid or criminal. Uncle Remus is depicted as a wise and caring man. It's true that the black people are depicted as subservient, but what movie from this period doesn't portray them as such? It would be historically inaccurate to depict the opposite. Should EVERY movie from this period with black people in it be banned? Disney is run by politically correct buffoons. Ironically, the song Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. is played at Disneyland. The animation in Technicolor is beautiful. Some of the acting is rather stiff, but it's a warm hearted tale, and the Bre'r Rabbit stories are fun.

This film will never receive a clean bill of political correctness, but neither will any film made before the 1960s. In fact, Song of the South presents some of the least offensive portraits of African Americans you can find from the time. If you really need to compare, go find any other film starring Hattie McDaniel – start with Gone With the Wind – and note how much more dignity she has in the Disney movie. Uncle Remus (James Baskett, who is utterly, utterly exceptional) is perhaps the most charming character you'll find. He's much more stereotypical of an elderly man than a black man. A smart man with strong morals and a clever way of delivering them, he seems to see things more clearly than anyone else in the film. No, Uncle Remus is a kind man who loves humanity, and this love is infectious. The movie made me very happy to be alive. A more politically correct version of the film would have him rebelling against white society with violence. It's kind of sad that we can't abide blacks and whites actually getting along, preaching brotherhood. The live action bits are very good (although I think Bobby Driscoll is a bit weak in the lead), but it is the animated pieces (and the live action/animation sequences) that make Song of the South great. Br'er Rabbit, Fox, and Bear are wonderful characters, and these three segments represent some of the best animation Disney ever did. The mixed scenes are amazing (was this the first time it was done?). I especially liked when Uncle Remus went fishing with Br'er Frog. Uncle Remus lights his pipe with an animated flame, and blows an animated smoke ring that turns into a square (which is, of course, also politically incorrect). I suspect that the biggest reason this film stirs so many negative emotions is the black dialect used in the film. I think that bugs people a lot. Really, though, blacks from the rural South have and have had their own accents and ways of speaking just as they have and have had in any other region. While the accents in this film are somewhat fabricated, I'm sure, I think that it would be a far cry to think of them as harmful to anybody. The hurt that people feel over this movie is the real fabrication, induced by PC thugs who seem to want to cause rifts between peoples. I think that a re-release of Song of the South could possibly have a beneficial effect on race relations in the United States, as it does depict dear friendships and respect between the races, something that I think we quite need at the moment.