Song of the South’ 4K Restoration Raises Concerns Amid Racial Backlash

If there’s one Disney film that lives in infamy seemingly more than all the rest, it’s Song of the South (1946). Walt Disney’s adaptation of the Uncle Remus and Br’er Rabbit stories by Joel Chandler Harris was buried by the studio for years, but now the film is getting some surprisingly overdue attention.

The film itself has been the center of racially insensitive controversy for decades and has long been considered the studio’s greatest shame. Even a beloved theme park ride with Br’er Rabbit and all its animal friends wasn’t safe from audience backlash.

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Imagine our surprise when the controversial Disney film became watchable again, but members of the Internet Archives have fully restored it in 4K definition and made it entirely free for anyone to see. Interested parties can watch the film here, and it will undoubtedly start a dialogue and ruffle a few feathers in the process.

The Walt Disney Company has tried to keep this film in the dark for decades, but the Internet Archive was created to “provide universal access to all knowledge.” In their noble pursuit, it has kept this film alive for all audiences to see (whether Disney wants it or not).

Song of the South: “A Masterful Piece of Cinematic Storytelling

Unless you are of the older generation who grew up in the days of VHS, chances are you’ve never seen anything related to the film apart from the characters from Splash Mountain. While Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Bear are all innocent bystanders in the carnage surrounding this film, the lengths the studio has gone to in order to keep the film out of public access is absolutely ridiculous.

Cancel culture is king in our modern social climate, but that doesn’t mean all Disney or other studios’ missteps should be erased for fear of backlash. As controversial as it has become, Song of the South has actually done wonders for animation filmmaking as a whole, not just for The Walt Disney Company itself.

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This writer could certainly spend all day explaining why the film is just as revolutionary as Mary Poppins (1964) or any other of Walt’s groundbreaking films, but SlashFilm says it best with this statement from their take on it in 2022.

“This adaptation of Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus stories blazed a trail for animated classics like ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’ and recent Disney+ release ‘Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers.’ It also earned an Academy Award for the catchy tune ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’ and inspired the fan-favorite Disney Park attraction Splash Mountain. Plus, it allowed star James Baskett to become the first Black man to earn an Oscar…”

Although the film did many things right, its depiction of a post-slavery Antebellum South is highly sugarcoated, as were most of Disney’s early adaptations. By that logic, shouldn’t audiences have the same issue with Pinocchio as it came out just a few years prior?

Regardless of where you sit on the spectrum of animated ethics, there’s no denying that Song of the South was instrumental in the shaping of the Walt Disney Company and the Disney studios as a whole. If it wasn’t for the techniques tried and practices perfected during this film, we might not have some of Disney’s masterpieces today.

What Disney Got Right

One thing to keep in mind when talking about the adaptation of the Uncle Remus stories is that these are pieces of American folklore that existed in our culture and history before The Walt Disney Company was even a thought. Walt himself just made the stories more accessible by presenting them in a visual way.

Related: ‘Mary Poppins’ Is More Racist Than It Seems

Walt’s blend of live-action and animation was still relatively new at the time, and it was a technique that the Disney studio later perfected in films like Mary Poppins (1964) or even Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988). While this was experimented with in earlier films like The Reluctant Dragon (1941), having live-action performers share a space with animated characters was perfected with this film before being a norm for Disney.

Additionally, many people seem to have quickly forgotten that Disney’s iconic “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” has its origins in this controversial film. The Oscar-winning number performed by Uncle Remus can still be heard by guests throughout Disneyland and Walt Disney World today.

Is It Really That Racist?

Now that we’ve addressed what Disney did right from a filmmaking standpoint, we need to discuss the elephant in the room. For decades, the film, its theme park ride, and its characters have been under fire for racist caricatures and the glorification of a post-slavery South. However, having watched the film, this writer can confirm that these accusations greatly miss the mark.

Uncle Remus (played by James Baskett) is never depicted as a slave; he’s a sharecropper and a free man. The character and the stories he tells come from a documented and historical source that helped shame American fiction, Walt Disney was just one of the first people to give it a budget and a voice.

Related: Disney Imagineer Confirms Identity Politics Had Nothing To Do with Closing Splash Mountain

On the subject of giving people a voice, James Baskett’s performance as Uncle Remus (and his animated entourage) was what won him his Oscar, making him the first black actor to receive an Academy Award,. Naturally, this was considered one of the most progressive moments of the decade.

With all of that in mind, it certainly sounds like Disney was breaking down walls and restrictions rather than enforcing any sort of problematic ideology. So why should audiences still be exposed to such a controversial film?

Why Song of the South Matters

After watching this restored version of the film, this writer can attest that while it is remarkable that efforts were made to preserve it, it’s far from the quality of production Disney has accustomed us to. It’s not nearly as offensive as most modern media would have some believe, but it’s also not one of Walt’s best, either.

It’s culturally significant, essential to the success of the early Disney studios, and a landmark piece of cinematic history, but the main reason to watch is the animated segments with Br’er Rabbit and his buddies from the Briar Patch. The live-action sequences depicting the romanticized post-slavery American South are forgettable at best, and aren’t the primary focus of the film.

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Critics and viewers alike can debate why the film should be seen versus why it should be kept away from modern audiences, but the restoration itself comes with the following opening crawl that brilliantly defends its relevance, arguably much better than this writer could.

“Human beings are created with a deep yearning for stories and storytelling. Well-told stories help us to understand what it means to be human.”

“Joel Chandler Harris, the original author of Uncle Remus, was an abolitionist who collected the amazing African folktales he had heard from former slaves in the post-war American South.”

“‘Song of the South’ is a film adaptation of Harris’ work that embraces the historical importance of the storyteller across cultures and economic classes. The film shows us just how vital Uncle Remus, the beloved storyteller, has become to his community.”

“Though the film is often claimed to glorify slavery, it actually depicts neither slaves nor slavery. Its story takes place after the war.”

“Also, the Oscar-winning Black performers that appear in ‘Song of the South’ not only found no offense in it but were very proud of the work.”

“And now this newly-restored presentation allows you to enjoy this classic motion picture for yourself and for what it actually is: a masterful piece of cinematic storytelling.”

Is Song of the South a perfect movie? Absolutely not, but it was essential in shaping both the early Walt Disney Company and many of our modern filmmaking techniques.

One of the biggest criticisms against The Walt Disney Company today is that the fear of audience backlash has made its filmmakers afraid to take risks. As demonstrated by this immensely controversial film, that was not a practice Walt Disney himself abided.

Not only was blending live-action and animation an expensive and risky move but so was casting a black actor as not just one but several of the film’s lead characters. We’ve certainly come a long way since 1946, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still need reminders of just how far.

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As much as Disney and overly-sensitive critics and (pardon the expression) social justice warriors want to keep the film out of the public’s eye, burying the past often does more harm than good. Acknowledging and accepting the responsibility for this feature’s successes and failures is leagues better than trying to pretend it never happened.

Although it’s extremely unlikely Disney will release this 4K restoration on Disney+ or any piece of physical media, Song of the South and several other pieces of controversial books, movies, and other media can be found on the Internet Archive. Perhaps growing interest in the film will force the House of Mouse to rethink its stance on such a scandalous film.

Were you offended or impressed by Song of the South? Let us know in the comments down below!