Disney Films (Criterion Collection)

[Avaitor]

I think that Disney should release Song of the South on video, but should donate all the proceeds to charities and organizations that support the Black community. And honestly, doing so would prevent bootleggers from earning more money from the film, since it's not hard to find unofficial releases.

Criterion would be a good outlet to produce a release, but I'm not holding my breath on this happening anytime soon.

[Vlad]

This is my hope too. It would be so cool if they did release Song of the South on Blu-ray via Criterion. They would have to film some sort of introduction video, like they did with Blazing Saddles and Gone with the Wind.

[singerguy04]

Song of the South is as good as lost in time at this point. The re-theming of Splash Mountain in the parks is the final death knell and personally I think good riddance. I used to be someone who wanted it released, but really there is no way to release it without causing more harm than good.

Even with a warning or educational intro, it's still being viewed in it's original intent. I think a better alternative would be a new documentary about it being made and addressing how and why it's wrong. I think this would give credit where it is due while addressing the issues. We don't need Song of the South anymore, and Disney knows that.

[Farerb]

I can't imagine anyone saying the same about Gone with the Wind.

I don't really care about Song of the South. I tried watching it one time and found it mostly boring more than anything. But I don't think any film should be buried and forgotten. If we ignore history, we are doomed to repeat it. It was better to release it with a disclaimer than not release it at all, and truthfully I don't think anyone would have made a fuss about it back then before Disney made such a big deal out of it.

[carolinakid]

NO TO CENSORSHIP!

[Disney's Divinity]

Well, SOTS has a slave singing about how wonderful it is to be a slave, which makes it veer more towards propaganda in a way. GWtW has issues, of course, but you do see some of the darker underbelly in the film even though the White characters have the spotlight--such as Scarlett smacking and threatening to whip the one slave who was helping her with the childbirth of Ashley's wife, then how Scarlett uses White Lady Tears to trigger many of the husbands to murder and lynch several Black men offscreen...

Also, SOTS was apparently put in the vault decades ago before most of us were even alive. If they thought that it was that bad forty years ago, imagine how people today who already like to say TP&TF, Moana, Pocahontas, etc. are "racist" for X reasons which are nothing in comparison will inevitably react. It seems like an unnecessary quagmire Disney wouldn't willingly put itself through, particularly for a film I don't think would sell well enough to incentivize such a decision, although releasing with a foreword, documentary, and having proceeds go to Black causes would be the best they could do.

[Disney Duster]

I think carolinakid, Vlad and farerb are right.

Blackcauldron85, ha, so it is supposed to be his likeness of her he made from trash!

[carolinakid]

Thanks, Duster. SOTS always comes in the top 5 of most requested films not yet released on DVD. And that includes both Disney and non-Disney films.

I think thousands of people would buy it out of curiosity (and think THIS is what Disney has hidden for over 35 years???) as well as Disney fans and lovers of this classic film. And Splash Mountain fans.

[singerguy04]

Disney isn't so morally obligated to keep it locked away that if the number of potential customers were THAT great they wouldn't find a way to release it. I do think people are curious but like Divinity said above, it's obviously not seen as a pony they'd bet on. After all, Disney still gives us Peter Pan unedited, even though the whole Indian section is really cringy by today's standards.

I also think Gone with the Wind is a bad comparison due to cultural impact alone. GwtW is offensive today, but it was a whole phenomenon on it's release. It's like comparing Avatar to Tangled. Both are successful, but Avatar by far is a much bigger film.

I'm also not saying we should censor SotS entirely. That's why I push the idea of a film about SotS that can paint a more historically accurate narrative than what the film provides. It is an interesting movie as a part of Disney and Hollywood History. The problem with the film is how it represents history and paints the oppression of a whole race as something as mundane as (funnily enough) a cartoon musical. For me, Zip-a-dee-do-dah isn't worth the continuation of that narrative, but I do understand where people are coming from wanting it released. I'd just hate to see any of you hold your breath for too much longer.

All in all, SotS is available on youtube and I'm convinced Disney is aware of that and comfortable with that being the case. If you want to find it, you can.

[Disney's Divinity]

Aside from restorations, it would be interesting to receive Criterion releases for the bonus features, too... I mean, I'm not as knowledgeable on past releases as well as content that should exist that's vaulted, etc. to what all could feasibly be done for each film, but it would be interesting to, say, have all the bonus features that have ever been released on a set for each film combined onto one release as well as possibly add content that Disney has they simply haven't put the effort in to include before (galleries, makings-of, etc.). And then there are films where Disney has never put out anything much of note... It would be interesting to get a substantial release for things like The Sword in the Stone, Robin Hood, Hercules, etc. Have they ever done any serious makings-of for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh for that matter?

[Sotiris]

Well, SOTS has a slave singing about how wonderful it is to be a slave, which makes it veer more towards propaganda in a way.

Except, Uncle Remus is not a slave and he doesn't sing about how great it is to be a slave. The film is set in the Reconstruction era, Remus is a paid worker and he sings about the joy of being around nature. I understand the misconception given how much misinformation has been spread about this film. To clarify, the film is deemed offensive because of three things:

1) The relationship between the owner of the plantation and the workers is portrayed in an idyllic manner. While it's not revealed whether these workers are the boss' former slaves or if he even owned slaves at all during the Antebellum era, the portrayal of their relationship is considered to be a whitewashing of history since former slaves who still worked on plantations were usually underpaid, mistreated, and exploited. The broader romanticization of the South and of plantation life in the film is seen as problematic as well.

2) The song Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah is considered to be inspired by Zip Coon, a racist variation of a folk song. The line "zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay" is eeriely similar to the line "O zip a duden duden duden, zip a duden day" from the aforementioned song. Even though the rest of the lyrics and the melody are completely different, this similarity makes the song racist in the eyes of the film's detractors.

3) The presence of the tar baby in one of the animated sequences is seen as a racist allusion to Black children or Black men by critics of the film. The figure of the tar baby is rooted in African folklore and is a metaphor for a sticky situation that gets worse the more one tangles with it. Proponents of the film and of the original tale, see the story of the tar baby as an allegory for the inequalities of slavery. It is noteworthy that the term "tar baby" did not become a racial slur in the U.S. until the '70s.

[carolinakid]

Great post, Sotiris!

Anyone interested in the true history of this wonderful Disney classic should read Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South?...and other forbidden Disney stories by Jim Korkis, noted Disney expert and historian. It’s available on Amazon and is a great read if you want to learn the truth about the history of Song of the South. The book came out in 2013 and it’s very informative especially if one hasn’t seen the film. In fact all Jim’s Disney books are worth reading!

[Disney Duster]

That was such a smart and eye-opening post, Sotiris.

[Disney's Divinity]

Thank you for clarification, Sotiris, but I really have no interest in seeing the film or with pretending it isn't racist for the sake of argument. It's not what I consider a "banned" film, "banned" would imply the government or some other power intervened to keep it from being sold. The makers of the film decided to lock it away of their own volition thirty or forty years ago. I feel secure in saying they wouldn't allow the film to be released now nor would it sell well, whether or not that is the minority opinion (here). Even if by some miracle its release did occur, I wouldn't be buying; this film doesn't exactly sound like a Mary Poppins or even a Bedknobs.

Speaking of that, I'd love if we finally got a Bedknobs Blu-ray release that re-instituted the deleted material as in one of the previous DVD releases. Perhaps the same for Pocahontas and "If I Never Knew You."

[Farerb]

Andrew Stanton Reached Out to Criterion About ‘WALL-E’ Because He ‘Wanted to Be in the Club’

When asked if the “WALL-E” deal was part of a larger partnership between Disney and Criterion, Stanton made it very clear that this was a one-off project driven purely by his passion for the Criterion Collection.

“Not at all,” he said. “It was filmmaker-driven. If it’s anything, it was driven by my own filmmaker ego of wanting to be in the club.”

https://www.indiewire.com/2022/11/wall- ... 234779576/

[carolinakid]

Well THAT sucks!

[Patricier21]

Well as we all very well know, Money always truly talks, so if this sells well then maybe Disney will reconsider……

[Disney Duster]

You're right, Patricier21!

[blackcauldron85]

I don't think it was Disney saying no; I think it was Stanton reaching out to Criterion & Disney wasn't asked about making a multi-film deal...so like you said, Patricier21, if this sells well, maybe Disney will make a deal with Criterion.