Will the vault open for “Song of the South”?
Could we actually be getting closer to what promises to be a very dramatic re-release of the long vaulted-up Disney film “The Song of the South”? For the first time in many years, we can actually answer with a confident…um…maybe.
The Associated Press took a good look at the idea yesterday in an article carried by the Orlando Sentinel. The new, and slightly more positive, public position by Disney CEO Bob Iger was voiced during the most recent shareholders meeting. Many of you remember Iger said in last year’s meeting that he did not plan to re-issue it, but now things have apparently changed.
“The question of ‘Song of the South’ comes up periodically, in fact it was raised at last year’s annual meeting …” Iger said. “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.”
So what could be behind the change of thinking? Iger notes “requests”. Translate that into plain non-corporate executive public relations-isms and you get good old fashion money.
The film’s reissue would surely spark debate, but it could also sell big. Nearly 115,000 people have signed an online petition urging Disney to make the movie available, and out-of-print international copies routinely sell online for $50-$90, some even more than $100.
Most Disney fans are united in the idea that the film should be re-released. The animation is terrific and the music is some of Disney’s finest. I, however, am not so sure. I do see both sides of this argument. No matter the context, or even the intention, this film depicts a painful division between the races. Whether it is historically accurate or not, it is there, and it will be the responsibility of the current Walt Disney Company to answer for it. If they decide that answering for it is not worth the money, then I respect their decision.
At the same time this is a piece of historical significance in the history of animated filmmaking. And for that reason alone, people should get to see it. It is not up to the Disney executives to decide for us what is and is not appropriate, and we should be awarded the opportunity to make up our own minds. If it were that simple, I would call for the release. Our own curiosity is not the only factor in this equation