Ignoring Disney’s Most Controversial Movie Isn't an Option Anymore

Disney isn't new to controversy, but there's only one movie that the studio has done its best to keep locked up in the famous vault. Released in 1946, Song of the South mixes live-action and animation to tell the story of little Johnny, who moves to his grandmother's Georgia plantation after his parents separate.

There, Johnny meets Uncle Remus, who talks the child out of running away. Johnny also makes friends with Toby, a young boy who also lives on the plantation, and Ginny, a poor girl who has to stop her brothers from killing a puppy. The movie has become infamous for its racist depictions of Black Americans and life during the Reconstruction Era. And, as such, Disney has tried to erase the movie from the collective memory of the world, while still wanting pieces of it to be celebrated.

Song Of The South Was Always Controversial

Song of the South had its premiere at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia, though two of the bigger names connected to the movie didn't attend. Walt Disney showed up to introduce the movie, but quickly left before the screening started. The film's star, James Baskett, was unable to attend because, at the time, Atlanta was a racially segregated city, and he would not have been allowed in the theater.

While the movie received mostly positive reviews, the inherent issues with the story were obvious to many critics. Time Magazine's review noted that "Ideologically, the picture is certain to land its maker in hot water." Whether or not Disney felt any real blowback for Song of the South is up for debate.

The film was supported with a newspaper strip, Uncle Remus and His Tales of Br'er Rabbit, which ran every Sunday from 1945 until 1972. The studio also re-released the film five times from 1956 to 1989, with the final re-release being connected to the opening of Splash Mountain, a Disneyland ride based on the film.

Disney defended the ride for years, saying that it only took elements from the animated portions of the movie. Finally, in 2020, following the George Floyd protests, Disney announced that Splash Mountain would be redesigned and renamed Tiana's Bayou Adventure to connect it to The Princess and the Frog.

Song Of The South Created A Hit Tune And Popular Characters That Disney Didn't Want To Erase

While Disney has never released Song of the South on home video in the United States, it was released on VHS and LaserDisc overseas, and is available on Blu-ray in Spain and Italy, where the film has entered the public domain. But even without an official release in decades, a part of Song of the South is still well known.

Allie Wrubel and Ray Gilbert's "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," which was written for the movie, won the Oscar for Best Original Song and became a Disney mainstay for decades. The tune was regularly played at the parks, both as part of Splash Mountain and in the Main Street Electrical Parade. It was also the closing number for the Mickey Mouse Review.

Outside of the parks, Disney used an instrumental version of the song for promos on the Disney Channel and created a disco version for the 1979 Mickey Mouse Disco album, which was re-released on CD in 1995, and is now available to stream on Amazon Music, Apple Music, and other services. The song was so popular that even the Jackson 5 covered it.

Characters from Song of the South were also mainstays for Disney, both in and out of the parks. Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear were mainstay characters at Disney's parks until 2020. But even after the costumed versions of the characters vanished, the characters could still be found around Disneyland for a while after. A Br'er Rabbit statue stood in front of Cinderella's Castle until 2021, and art depicting the three characters in The Briar Patch gift shop was replaced in 2023.

The characters also popped up in a number of movies and shows over the years. Br'er Bear can be seen in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and had a cameo on the animated show Bonkers, and all three were regular guests on the 2001-2003 series House of Mouse. They even appeared in video games, including 2024's Epic Mickey: Rebrushed.

Disney Wants To Keep Song Of The South In The Vault, But They Can't Keep It There Forever

Disney has made it clear that they have no intention to ever release Song of the South in any form again, and with good reason. Even if it were put out with a disclaimer, the film has no redemptive or historical value on its own, as it paints a very dark chapter of American history in a cheery light.

But even the House of Mouse won't be able to keep it locked away forever. The movie will enter the public domain in the US in 2042, and at that point, Disney will be powerless to stop other companies or people from putting it out as physical media or just uploading it to YouTube. Surely, someone will turn it into a low-budget horror movie. Maybe it will even join the Twisted Child Universe.