‘Song of the South’: Disney’s most racist movie
The Walt Disney Company has been around for over a century, so it should probably come as no surprise that the studio has been involved in various controversies over the years. From Walt’s union-busting tendencies to cartoons which saw Donald Duck adorned with swastikas, there is certainly no mistaking that the masters of children’s entertainment have a darkly problematic underbelly. This darkness was never more prevalent than in the long-forgotten 1946 film Song of the South.
The title may provide some hint as to the deeply flawed nature of its content. A young boy during the period of reconstruction, following the abolition of slavery in the US, visits the plantation which his grandparents operated. Painting the child of slave owners are the protagonist of a Disney film was certainly a rogue move, but – unbelievably – it gets worse. The child, Johnny, befriends an elderly slave who works on the plantation named Uncle Remus (no, really).
Throughout the film, Remus regails Johnny with happy tales of Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Bear, central figures within African-American folklore that have been passed down for generations. From these stories, Johnny learns how to cope with the challenges he faces while living on the plantation. Yes, you read that right: the rich white boy is taught by a former slave about how to overcome challenges.
Song of the South is predominantly live action, filmed on location in Phoenix, Arizona, though it does also feature three animated sequences containing the tales of Br’er Rabbit. This technique of mixing live action with animation is something Disney would not perfect until 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Of course, it would not be a Disney movie without some songs, and the main track from the film, ‘Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah’, even won the company an Academy Award for ‘Best Original Song’.
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Song of the South proved to be controversial in the years following its initial release. Criticised for its trivialisation of slavery and abhorrent portrayal of Black Americans, the film provides one of the most horrific missteps in Disney’s history. Since its 1946 release, Disney have done their best to forget the film, never releasing it on any home video formats or on their streaming service Disney+.
Strangely, the animated sections of the film have been broadcast and shared numerous times since the release, though the live-action segments remain a rarity. In fact, one of Disney’s biggest theme park attractions, ‘Splash Mountain’ is based upon Song of the South and the adventures of Br’er Rabbit and friends. Recently, the ride has been replaced in both California’s Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, though it is still in operation in Tokyo Disneyland.
The popularity and continued operation of ‘Splash Mountain’ seem to be at odds with Disney’s efforts to erase Song of the South from collective memory. Perhaps the negotiation for the rights to Uncle Remus, a folklore character appropriated and owned by Joel Chandler Harris, was just too costly to let them go to waste – despite the egregious connotations of racism and cultural appropriation.
