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More and more voices are coming to the surface, asking Disney to bring back the ever-controversial Song of the South.
After Splash Mountain’s closure in Walt Disney World Resort at the end of last week, the unfortunately controversial ride and the movie that inspired it have been in the news consistently. Fans are still mourning the loss of many of their favorite ride, and more still feel the closure was an unnecessary move on the part of Disney. However, the larger driving force behind Splash Mountain being quite so controversial was the movie it was based on, Song of the South.
From left to right: Jack Favers, Br’er Fox, Uncle Remus, Br’er Bear, Br’er Rabbit, Ginny Favers/Courtesy of Disney
Related: Here’s Where You Can Stream Disney’s ‘Song of the South’
However, when it comes to the movie, fans have been incredibly divided. Some believe the film needs to be discussed and talked about, and shared for the mistakes it made. Yet, others stated it was racist, and Disney has handled the situation well. Finally, there are also groups of people who believe the movie was made by an African-American to educate Americans about slavery as well and that the feature is fundamentally misunderstood.
However, Disney fans will feel validated to know that even a Disney Legend is on their side to bring back the movie.
Disney Legend, Whoopi Goldberg / Courtesy of Variety
Whoopi Goldberg, honored by Disney for her voice acting in the role of Shenzi in The Lion King (1994) and its 2004 midquel, The Lion King 1½, has also stated in the past that she wants to see the movie make a return. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, the Disney Legend stated,
“I’m trying to find a way to get people to have conversations about bringing ‘Song of the South’ back so we can talk about what it was, and where it came from, and why it came out. I want people to start putting the crows in the merchandising, because those crows sing the song in ‘Dumbo’ that everyone remembers. So, I want to highlight all the little stuff people maybe missing in the movie.
Song of the South movie poster/Courtesy of Disney
While it appears that Disney has firmly left Splash Mountain behind in its past despite fans even tweeting to Disney CEO Bob Iger to bring it back—although there’s still one-way fans can experience that beloved attraction—there’s still a possibility the Walt Disney Company could bring back this contentious movie for audiences to engage with again. Here’s the full interview with Goldberg!
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