Directed by: Harve Foster The art of animation and live-action are blended brilliantly to create SONG OF THE SOUTH. This wonderfully colourful spectacle is filled with fascinating characters, including the smart and witty Br'er Rabbit and his bumbling sidekick Br'er Bear. Featuring an Academy Award winning song and dazzling animated effects; it has become a memorable and beloved family classic! viewer's comments: - Just TRY to find this sucker... This film, blending live-action and animation is truly one of Disney's most appealing pictures--- but then, I CAN see why many African-Americans aren't comfortable with it. Much like "Gone with the Wind" just a few years earlier, "Song of the South" sanitizes (to say the least) the entire slavery/Jim Crow issue by portraying Deep South blacks of the time to be gleefully unaffected by the sociopolitical realities of the day. But, political correctness never kept "Gone with the Wind" off the shelves or off the air, presumably because that movie was just too "big"... Sure, "Song of the South" is never going to teach anybody much about race-relations (except, perhaps inadvertently) but the cultural denial that was going on at the time this film was produced should not prevent it from seeing the light of day entirely. Keeping such things permanently under-wraps is more unsettling than its sometimes determinedly ignorant material. - I saw it in 1946, My children saw it in 1971 and my grandchildren saw it in 2001. Wow, what a great story. I loved it when I was a youngster of 7 years and still today at 65 still enjoy seeing this one. A classic by any standard. My kids and grandkids have enjoyed watching it also. The main character, played by Bobby Driscoll, may he rest in peace, was one of innocence. All the characters such as Uncle Remus, with his tales, were on a par with Aesop. Joel Chandler Harris, the author, from whom the story emanated, had a clear vision of his day and time. Some have likened the story to race, slavery and discrimination, but I see a story of men, women and children expressing their love for one another regardless of their station in life. God is color blind. - Reminds of youth Of course times were different then, I was small and enjoyed this movie so much. And still do. I had never forgotten the famous song zippedy-doo-dah and when I found the movie on tape couldn't resist buying it. There is a simplicity about it, that is touching. The rabbit, bear and the tar baby all came back to me. Well, it's not for today's young people but I sure was happy to get it on tape. Really cannot understand at all why it isn't available in the US. Accept the past and let's be happy at least some of it has changed a little. - 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. - cheerful sing along i have just finished watching this movie(it was on tely)and i really enjoyed it, i loved the cartoon shorts and i loved how they blended the two into each other(live action and cartoon). quite sad to hear about what happened to the boy who played johnny and as appalled to hear that disney has banned it. - Disney's first combined live action/animation. A classic gem. I've been fortunate to rescreen this movie since the last time I saw it 55 years ago. It is classic Disney of its period, the first time the studio expanded from animation to include live action in a seamless integration. Integration, of course, is the key reason why Disney has not reissued this movie since 1986 - but it is a fictional story set in the "Gone With the Wind" era and what it is really about is the art of storytelling. Uncle Remus, played by James Baskett, recounts the moralistic tales of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear to children. This was James Baskett's first leading movie role, for which he received a special Academy Award, and it was his last. He died two years after "Song of the South" was released. I don't know how many millions of people in the world have glimmerings of memories of this movie, and I advise them to pester Disney to reissue it. Everything is a product of its time; that is no reason to bury a gifted, entertaining and inspiring film. Complete credited 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) Runtime: 94 min Country: USA Language: English Color: Color (Technicolor) Sound Mix: Mono (RCA Sound System)
