Disney's Song of the South 1946

This was re-released in theatres in the '81 when i was a kid and we all left singing zippidy do da, zippidy ahh, my oh my what a wonderful day..plenty of sunshine coming my way...


can someone explain to me the real controversy behind the movie. Is it because it a disney movie showing a good master/slave relationship? (not that i condone slavery, or that there even was such a thing) but it is a movie.

how many movies do we see with slaves and servants? even Driving Miss Daisy gave an impression of white rich woman "master" over black servant "slaves". Should that have been banned? instead it was up for oscars.

The first black actor hired by disney played uncle remus---so it was a milestone picture just for that.

I've never seen the movie so I can't say why it's controversial, we don't have it here which sucks because when something IS controversial, as we all know, that makes it all the more appealing.

i dont think they ever released it on VHS or DVD... although somehow, i know my bro had it online at one point. The last time it was played in a theater was 1986 for the 40th anniv edition.... but that is it.

it isnt like i walked away saying "yeah, i think i will go and get me a slave today". as a kid, i didnt even realize that it involved a slave!

I think it may be just a shift in cultural awareness. The '40s and '50s were pretty backward times in American culture. What ppl took for granted back then is highly insulting since the civil rights movement.

Uncle Remus was a happy darkie, oblivious to his plight. That was the image in apartheid, and it gave comfort to the white ruling class to think so. Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben have both had makeovers since those days as well.

Also from the era are Amos 'n Andy, which I used to watch on TV as a kid. I think you can still find it on video. I have read columns by very militant black writers who admit that they find Amos 'n Andy funny. The black vernacular of the day was real (but exagerated as is most comedy)