Song of The South is the most controversial Disney movie ever made. Disney has spent literal decades doing their best to bury the film and act like it never existed (Most of their efforts undone thanks to what is undoubtedly one of the best attractions in any of their parks: Splash Mountain, a log flume ride based loosely/partially on the film.). I am a rare lucky one, having managed to watch the film three times over the years. With the current social situation we find ourselves in (protests, riots, police reform, BLM, etc), I figure now is as good a time as any to attempt to analyze this problematic little film, and see exactly how racist it really is. So, if you're ready, dive into the Briar Patch with me as we explore Walt Disney's Song of The South.
In Song of The South we follow Johnny (Bobby Driscoll), a young boy from a rich family who finds himself transplanted to a southern plantation during Reconstruction times. It would appear that Johnny's mom (Sally, played by Ruth Warrick) and dad (John, played by Eric Rolf) are close to having a falling out, so Sally has moved Johnny and herself to the old plantation Johnny's grandma (Lucile Watson) owns while Jack stays back in Atlanta to continue work as a muckraking journalist. Johnny, distraught over the potential end of his family, attempts to run away only to cross paths with Uncle Remus (James Baskett), a sharecropper who is known for his tales of Brer Rabbit and friends. It doesn't take long before Johnny has become firmly attached to Remus and his tales, finding a comforting form of escape within them. Along for the adventure is Ginny (Luana Patten), the daughter of a poor family, who befriends Johnny.
Let's start with the good. Walt is clearly attempting to weave a message about friendship breaking the bonds of color and class. The story and message could be very sweet and poignant, but it's held back by some obvious reasons we'll get to later. The animated segments (which total 25 minutes) and songs found within them are easily the best, most memorable parts of the film. The animation is gorgeous (such a shame we'll never get a proper blu-ray transfer/clean-up for them), and the characters of Brer Rabbit (Johnny Lee), Brer Fox (James Baskett), and Brer Bear (Nick Stewart) are classic and unforgettable. The biggest shining star of the film is James Baskett as Uncle Remus (Though even he isn't exempt from some of the film's issues). Baskett is downright magnetic, incredibly likable, and very memorable in a classic role. He really is the hero of the story, and honestly feels like a bad-ass a good deal of the time.
Song of The South is set in a heavily fantasized and unrealistic version of the old south, and that, unfortunately, is where it's problems begin. In this fairy tale, African Americans happily choose to stay on as sharecroppers at the plantation where they were formerly slaves...seemingly because they see it as the only home they know. This in and of itself is incredibly sad. Sharecropping is when the owner of said land allows a tenant (in this case freed slaves) to use the land in return for a share of the crops (usually 1/3 or 1/2) that the tenant produces or farms. Sharecroppers often fell victim to manipulated prices from the landowner. Most of the time freed slaves found themselves penniless, and without any real way to support their families. Sharecropping often was the only option they had. So, no, most sharecroppers didn't happily choose to stay on at the plantations. To say otherwise would be false.
Song of The South chooses to portray all of the sharecroppers in the film as happy and content in their current lives. Obviously, this likely wasn't the case. It's hard to believe all of the sharecroppers would stand outside a window and mourn the potential loss of white life, as the film shows later on in the third act. This reinforces the idea that African Americans were pleased as punch to be at the mercy of their white former slave owners, and really did love them. It's possible that they were grateful to have their own land, but likely not as grateful as Song would have you believe. After all, at the end of the day they were still being taken advantage of and manipulated by the white folks that still owned the land.
Remember how earlier I said that the character of Uncle Remus wasn't exempt from the film's numerous issues? In the film, you can't help but get the feeling that Remus' sole purpose is to entertain our young white protagonist. Walt tries to depict a growing friendship between the two, but it comes across as one-sided. The only real reason Johnny is friends with Remus is because Remus entertains him and is the only one giving him the care and attention Johnny so desperately craves (His self-absorbed parents barely spend any time looking after him and are too caught up in their own issues to really even notice him). Remus, as much as I love him, does fall squarely into the trap of the magical negro stereotype. He is in the story to "fix" the numerous issues Johnny (and even his parents) are experiencing as well as dishing out some life-lessons along the way. He has a generally happy demeanor that I imagine many African Americans would likely find offensive (The happy slave/ former slave who is more than happy to serve his masters/former masters trope).
Onto the animated segments. While, as previously stated, they are easily the standouts of the film, even they are not without their issues (least of which being the dialects that Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear speak in). There is some racist imagery featured (including noose's and the obvious Tar Baby), and the tales of Brer Rabbit and company can easily be viewed as a prime example of cultural appropriation (The first message of choosing to stay in the Briar Patch can be viewed as problematic as well. Sure, the Briar Patch is thorny, tough to navigate, and can cause pain to those living within it, but better the evils you know than those you don't. See a relation to African Americans living on plantations? I personally don't interpret it that way, but I know some who do so it's worth pointing out). The original tales of Uncle Remus were written by Joel Chandler Harris, a poor Irish immigrant. When he was denied admittance to the Confederate army due to his age, he wound up on a plantation where he found he related to the slaves there due to their poor background. He overheard them sharing tales of Brer Rabbit and was intrigued. Later, while writing at a newspaper, he created the character of Uncle Remus as a way to share their stories. He never credited any of the slaves, and wound up profiting off black culture. In a way, Disney did the same exact thing by making Song of The South.
The film's theme song (as well as the theme song for Splash Mountain and the unofficial Disney theme parks tune) is Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. Sounds innocent enough, right? Unfortunately, while it is an iconic Disney anthem...the song's origins aren't pretty. The main chorus of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Ay, My-Oh-My, What a wonderful day. Plenty of Sunshine, Heading my way. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Ay" is a variant of the main chorus of Zip Coon. Zip Coon is a song that mocks both educated African Americans as well as newly emancipated slaves. It's chorus goes: O Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day, O Zip a duden duden duden duden duden day, O Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day, Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day." Zip Coon also went on to inspire the creation of the Zip Coon character that was used in Minstrel shows (Minstrel shows were performances where white actors would wear black face and sing African American songs. ). Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah doesn't have the same meaning as Zip Coon, but it's ugly roots still remain.
The animated segments of the film were penned by Bill Peet, George Stallings, and Ralph Wright. The live action portions were directed by Harve Foster, and the animated parts by Wilfred Jackson.
Song of The South was released in 1946 (Gone With The Wind was released in 1939 and suffers from many of the same issues as Song). Walt claimed he fondly remembered the Uncle Remus tales from his youth, and had always wanted to make a movie out of them. He originally had wanted Song of The South to be a fully animated film focusing solely on the adventures of Brer Rabbit and Co.. Later on he decided to make it a mixture of live-action and animation (possibly because he saw how well Gone With The Wind had done financially and with awards.). He hired first time screen-writer Dalton Reymond to penn the live-action portions, Reymond was later joined by Callum Webb and Maurice Rapf. Apparently Reymond was quite a racist and it showed in his drafts of the script. Rapf was concerned about the content of the drafts, and intended to do his best to solve the racism issue (He was also against Walt making the film, which is why Walt hired him. Walt thought if anyone could make Song more sensitive, it was Rapf). Unfortunately, Rapf was taken off the project after 7 weeks due to a personal dispute with Reymond. Afterwards Morton Grant was brought on to further help with the script.
Some might say Walt was naive when it came to making Song of The South, others would say that Walt was a known racist and anti-Semite and those views are reflected in the final product, and still others say he knew the material would have glaring issues and just didn't care. Either way, it's clear Walt did want to share a message about tolerance and friendship (Johnny befriends both a sharecropper and a girl from a poorer family than his despite strong objections from his mother), he just got it across in a very problematic way.
Putting all the issues aside, is Song of The South even any good? Is it worth checking out? Unfortunately, as a whole, Song of The South is far from being one of Disney's best films. The main plot and live-action portions are pretty mediocre and dull by Disney standards. Most of the acting (with the exception of James Baskett of course) is sub-par as well. As stated numerous times, the animated segments and the songs found within are the saving grace of this film, but even they are not without their issues. I think The Walt Disney Company would have done better by confronting the multiple issues with the film head-on instead of trying to bury it and act like it never existed. By doing so, they have inadvertently given Song of The South more of a "status" than it otherwise would have had (It doesn't help that one of their greatest attractions of all time is based on the film, though Splash Mountain has far less issues than the film does). This has led to consumers seeking it out through various means online (I imagine most are disappointed with what they find).
In the end, Song of The South is a challenging, controversial film. It paints over it's numerous issues with catchy songs, gorgeous animation, and lovable animated characters. Some might say this is insidious. I have conflicting emotions about Song of The South. I love Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear and their adventures. I adore the animation and songs (though the score for the live action portions is just plain bad). That said, I can clearly see the numerous problems the film poses and I acknowledge that it all makes for a fairly uncomfortable watch . Ultimately, the best thing that could come out of Song of The South is if it can spark meaningful discussions about race, prejudice, racism, etc...unfortunately, that can only happen if it is seen and analyzed (This is in no way an endorsement of the film). Song of The South remains a fascinating, frustrating, and important piece of Disney history.
1.5 STARS
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