Song of the South

Song of the South is a 1946 American live-action/animated musical film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on the collection of Uncle Remus stories as adapted by Joel Chandler Harris, and stars James Baskett as Uncle Remus. The film takes place in the southern United States during the Reconstruction era, a period of American history after the end of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery. The story follows seven-year-old Johnny (Bobby Driscoll) who is visiting his grandmother's plantation for an extended stay. Johnny befriends Uncle Remus, one of the workers on the plantation, and takes joy in hearing his tales about the adventures of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear. Johnny learns from the stories how to cope with the challenges he is experiencing while living on the plantation.

Plot
While arriving at a plantation in Georgia, Johnny tries to go back to Atlanta to be with his father who is working for his controversial editorship of the city's newspaper. But Bobby comes across Uncle Remus who tells him tales about Br'er Rabbit and Johnny befriends him and makes some new friends while at the plantation.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The film is considered the most funny and under-appreciated with cartoon scenes.
 * 2) The film has several memorable songs especially "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah".
 * 3) The film is a hybrid between live action and animation.
 * 4) Br'er Rabbit is a mischievous, fun-loving trickster who uses his wit to defeat Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear.
 * 5) The acting is great.
 * 6) The music is very well done.
 * 7) Several of the characters are memorable such as Uncle Remus.
 * 8) Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear are very entertaining villains.
 * 9) The animation is gorgeous.
 * 10) The film teaches people that they can make their own decisions and how to cope with life.
 * 11) The colors and backgrounds are very appealing.
 * 12) The film spawned it’s own memorable ride at Disney parks called Splash Mountain.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The film hasn't been released since 1986 because of its controversy.
 * 2) This is one of the many Disney films to cause a ton of controversy due to the use of African-Americans in this film, despite its many supporters, African-Americans among them.
 * 3) As a result of the above, the film has never been released on home video in the USA and has been released on home video in other countries. It never even showed up on Disney+.
 * 4) The infamous "tar baby" scene was very controversial, despite the term rests in African folklore and was never meant to be a metaphor for black children.

Reception and Legacy
Since its original release, Song of the South has remained a subject of controversy. Some critics have described the film's portrayal of African Americans as racist and offensive, maintaining that the black vernacular and other qualities are stereotypes. In addition, the plantation setting is sometimes criticized as idyllic and glorified. Because of this controversy, Disney has not released Song of the South on any home video format in the United States. Some of the musical and animated sequences have been released through other means, and the full film has seen home video distribution in other countries. The cartoon characters from the film have continued to appear in a variety of books, comics, and other media. The Disney theme park ride Splash Mountain is based on the film.

The film won an Academy Award in 1947 for best song for "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". On a side note, James Baskett won an Honorary Academy Award in 1948, and was the first African-American man ever to win an Academy Award.

The film has been listed in 2003 by the Online Critics Society as the 67th best animated film of all time.