Song of the South
Song of the South is a 1946 American live-action/animated musical film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures, based on the collection of Uncle Remus stories as adapted by Joel Chandler Harris. Set in the southern United States during the Reconstruction era after the American Civil War, the film has been criticized for its stereotyped portrayal of African Americans and glorified depiction of plantation life.
- Directed by Harve Foster (live action) and Wilfred Jackson (animation). Written by Morton Grant, Maurice Rapf, and Dalton S. Reymond (live action) and Bill Peet, George Stallings, and Ralph Wright (animation).
Uncle Remus
[edit]- Now, this here tale didn't happen just yesterday, nor the day before. 'Twas a long time ago. And in them days, everything was mighty satisfactual. The critters, they was closer to the folks, and the folks, they was closer to the critters, and if you'll excuse me for saying so, 'twas better all around.
- Once upon a time - not your time, nor yet my time, but one time - I was goin' fishin', and I was just thinking how the flowers and critters was curious things. They can look into your heart and tell when it sings, if it's whistling a tune, or singing a song, and they all say "Howdy" when you come along.
- Brer Rabbit, bein' little and without much strength, he's supposed to use his head 'stead of his foots.
- You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far.
- It happened on one of them zip-a-dee-doo-dah days. Now that's the kind of day where you can't open your mouth without a song jumping right out of it!
[sings] Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin' my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
- [after telling the tale of the Tar Baby] Well, sir, you ain't never seen nobody that had humble-come-tumbledness down as fine as what Brer Rabbit had it then. Poor little critter, he learned a powerful lesson. But he learned it too late. But it just goes to show what comes of mixin' up with somethin' you got no business with in the first place. And don't you never forget it.
- Yes sir, that's the way with Br'er Rabbit, sure as I'm named Remus. About the time he get it stuck in his mind that there ain't nobody can outdo him, up somebody'd jump an' do him scan'lous. "What you laughin' 'bout?" says Br'er Fox, says he. An' Br'er Rabbit, he couldn't say nothin'. "Well, then," says Br'er Fox, says he, "I'll settle your hash right now!" And with that, he grab Br'er Rabbit by the tail and made for to dash 'im agin' the ground. But just then, Br'er Rabbit's tail snap off real short, an' he tuck through the cotton patch like the dogs was after 'im. An' from that day to this, the only tail that Br'er Rabbit's got to his name was a little ol' ball o' cotton.
Br'er Rabbit
[edit]- Please don't throw me in that briar patch!
Dialogue
[edit]- Johnny: I wish I had a Laughing Place.
- Ginny: Me, too.
- Uncle Remus: What makes you think you ain't? Course you got a Laughing Place.
- Johnny: Really, Uncle Remus?
- Ginny: Really?
- Remus: Everybody's got one. The trouble is, most folks won't take time to go look for it.
- Johnny and Ginny: Where's mine?
- Remus: Well, now, that I can't exactly say. 'Cause where 'tis for one mightn't be where 'tis for another.
- Johnny: Come on, Ginny. Let's start looking.
Quotes about Song of the South
[edit]- What I take away from the movie, is the following: That Uncle Remus is a warm, good-hearted character who captures the imagination of a lonely little boy who happens to be white. The boy is absolutely colorblind, and the audience relates to him. There is an incredible moment when Uncle Remus takes the boy's hand in his, and there is an insert of the white and black hands clasped together. It's the emotional climax of the movie.
- Leonard Maltin, Should 'dated' films see the light of today? (in en-US). Los Angeles Times (2003-05-07).
- While Walt Disney can be fairly criticized for his rather naive approach to the post-Civil War South, the Old Maestro can also be praised for his heart warming story of a kindly old gentleman helping a young boy through difficult times.
- Floyd Norman, first black animator at The Walt Disney Company, Disney Animator praises "Song of the South" (in en-US). The Disney Blog (2015-03-31).
- An insult to American minorities [and] everything that America as a whole stands for.
- Adam Clayton Powell Jr., congressman from Harlem, Watts, Steven (2001). The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life. University of Missouri Press. pp. 276–277. ISBN 0-8262-1379-0.
- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People recognizes in Song of the South remarkable artistic merit in the music and in the combination of living actors and the cartoon technique. It regrets, however, that in an effort neither to offend audiences in the north or south, the production helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery. Making use of the beautiful Uncle Remus folklore, Song of the South unfortunately gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship which is a distortion of the facts.
- Walter Francis White, executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Cohen, Karl F. (1997). Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc.. pp. 64. ISBN 0-7864-2032-4.
Taglines
[edit]- We're headin' for the Laughin' Place!
- Here Comes The Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Show!
- The Story of Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear & Brer Fox.
- Walt Disney's first live-action musical drama
Cast
[edit]- James Baskett - Uncle Remus
- Bobby Driscoll - Johnny
- Luana Patten - Ginny Favers
- Glenn Leedy - Toby
- Ruth Warrick - Sally
- Lucile Watson - Grandmother
- Hattie McDaniel - Aunt Tempy
- Erik Rolf - John
- Mary Field - Mrs. Favers
- Johnny Lee as Br'er Rabbit
- James Baskett as Br'er Fox and Br'er Rabbit (Laughin’ Place segment)
- Nick Stewart as Br'er Bear
External links
[edit]
- Song of the South quotes at the Internet Movie Database
- Song of the South at Mojo
