Disney to bring 'Song of the South' to DVD?

Posted Tuesday, March 27, 2007 at 10:34 AM Central

by John Couture

While Disney is no stranger to controversy thanks to questionably pornographic artwork or suggestive messages in their animated movies, one movie stands above the rest in this department, Song of the South.

Despite winning an Academy Award in 1948 for Best Original Song ("Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah") and celebrating its 60th anniversary last year, Disney has never released Song of the South on video or DVD in the United States. The main reason for such a snub has nothing to do with economics and has everything to do with social ramifications.

While many people cite Song of the South as a revolutionary example of the blend between live-action and animation, its subject matter is impossible to ignore. Set on a Southern plantation, Song of the South has been targeted as a racist film that exploits and upholds stereotypes.

For this reason alone, Song of the South has not been seen in almost two generations, but it might soon see the light of day.

When asked at a recent stockholder gathering in New Orleans, Disney CEO Robert Iger softened his stance on Song of the South.

"The question about Song of the South comes up periodically, in fact it was raised at last year's annual meeting which we conducted in Anaheim. And since that time, we've decided to take a look at it again because we've had numerous requests about bringing it out. Our concern was that a film that was made so many decades ago being brought out today perhaps could be either misinterpreted or that it would be somewhat challenging in terms of providing the appropriate context. Because there were depictions in that film that, viewed in today's world, might not be viewed as kindly or as politically correct as perhaps they may have been in that time. But we have decided that we would look at it again."

So, while this is anything but a definitive answer, it is clearly an indication that the ice might be thawing over at Disney and a DVD release might be coming in the next couple of years.

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