Song of the South (1946)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Directors:

Harve Foster
Wilfred Jackson

Writers:

Joel Chandler Harris (book)
Dalton S. Reymond (story)

Release Date:

2 December 1946 (Brazil)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Music

Tagline:

Only the magic of Walt Disney could bring you the tales of Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit . . . live actors with cartoon background!

Plot:

The kindhearted storyteller Uncle Remus tells a young boy stories about trickster Br'er Rabbit, who outwits Br'er Fox and slow-witted Br'er Bear.

Plot Keywords:

Rabbit | Young Boy | Fox | Tar | Bear

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ruth Warrick	...	Sally
Bobby Driscoll	...	Johnny
James Baskett	...	Uncle Remus / Br'er Fox - voice
Luana Patten	...	Ginny
Lucile Watson	...	Grandmother
Hattie McDaniel	...	Aunt Tempy
Erik Rolf	...	John (as Eric Rolf)
Glenn Leedy	...	Toby
Mary Field	...	Mrs. Favers
Anita Brown	...	Maid
Georgie Nokes	...	Jake Favers (as George Nokes)
Gene Holland	...	Joe Favers
Nick Stewart	...	Br'er Bear (voice) (as Nicodemus Stewart)
Johnny Lee	...	Br'er Rabbit (voice)

Also Known As:

Uncle Remus (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Portugal:M/4 | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | UK:U | USA:G (1971)

Filming Locations:

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

In an article titled, "Disney's Laughin' Place" by Frank Stephenson, we read that, "Following its debut, the NAACP registered its official displeasure of what it called the film's 'racial stereotyping' a charge echoed by the National Urban League."

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Shadows of the mike and boom are visible in the early scene in Johnny's room.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Uncle Remus: There's other ways o' learnin' 'bout the behind feet of a mule than gettin' kicked by 'em, sure as I'm named Remus. And just 'cause these here tales is 'bout critters like Br'er Rabbit an' Br'er Fox, that don't mean they ain't the same like can happen to folks! So them who can't learn from a tale about critters, just ain't got the ears tuned for listenin'.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Incredible Melting Man (#8.4)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Zip-a-dee Doo-Dah

Segregation Disney-style

When the marriage of his parents goes through a crisis, Johnny (Bobby Driscoll) moves with his mom to the Southern mansion of his grandmother. Distraught over the absence of his father, he strikes up a friendship with Uncle Remus (James Baskett), an old black man who tells him stories of rabbits, foxes and bears.

Driscoll is obnoxiously cute, but James Baskett delivers a fine performance as Remus and the animated sections with Br'er Rabbit are fun.

But is it racist? Well, it has no overt depictions of racism and therein lies the problem: Song of the South presents life in the Southern states after the civil war as idyllic and harmonious, a place where white people live in their mansions, black people in their cabins, everybody knows their place and is happy in it. "Yes sir, things are lookin' mighty satisfactual" says Uncle Remus and his Br'er Rabbit stories convey the same social conservatism: leaving your home (to a non-segregated North for instance) is pointless because "You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far." This movie can't imagine a single reason why a black man living in the post-slavery South wouldn't be happy with the way things were.

Yet, these are the gripes of an adult and Song of the South is a children's film. With our modern-day knowledge of American history, it's obvious that the film is far removed from harsh reality, but can you really blame a kiddie-movie for presenting a fantasy-world? It is a musical with animated sequences, does it make sense to demand or expect realism? The stories and songs, however sanitized and Disney-fied they may be, are based on Afro-American folk-tales and music, which means that the movie at least acknowledges the existence of an Afro-American culture. That's actually an improvement over Gone With the Wind.

Song of the South certainly has its faults, but I find Disney's self-censorship misplaced: at its simplest, most basic level, this is a movie about a white kid befriending a black man who is portrayed as intelligent, compassionate and kind. How harmful could that be?