"Sunflower", racist Disney centaur stereotype.....

[Siren]

How is her name Sunflower? None of the characters in Fantasia had names. Mickey was the only one who had a name.

Actually, I remember hearing and/or reading about several characters who were named. I believe the little mushroom was named Po. And of course all the gods in the fantasy part were named. Zeus, Apollo, etc. The little black pegasus had a name too I think. I may have all the info in my Disney Encyclopedia.

[SwordInTheStone777]

Maybe they do have names, all I know is that only Mickey talked and only to the narrator.

[Siren]

Maybe they do have names, all I know is that only Mickey talked and only to the narrator.

Yes, but just because names aren't given in the recording, doesn't mean they aren't there.

Imagine a storyboard session: Mushroom #1, #2, #3 run in a circle clockwise while mushrooms #4, #5, #6 weave through them.
Confusion would ensue if they don't give names to many of the characters for the animators to have reference to.

[Skellington or Sparrow]

Am I the only one who thinks that Sunflower is kind of cute and likable?

ahah. no, you're not. i find her a bit likable, but because i think she was supposed to be in the first place. i don't take offense to it, (of course, i'm not black) but i think it's mainly because it's not supposed to be offensive.

i don't think it should be included in the film on the platinum edition. i DO think it should be included on the dvd. i can't believe nobody (or at least, not in the first half of these posts, i stopped reading like a third of the way) thought of putting it on the dvd as a bonus feature. they could put somebody there to talk about it, perhaps an influencial black person like oprah or bill cosby, to talk about how things were then and how they are now.

no "soccor moms" or anyone easily offended will likely check out the bonus features. isn't this why they came up with fastplay? easier for moms. they can just pop in the dvd and it goes.

i think that's just the way it should be.

[Chernabog_Rocks]

Actually, a number of characters had names.

The following list of names were found in a book I have on Fantasia

Chinese Dance

- Hop Low is the little Mushroom

Sorcerors Apprentice

- Mickey (obviously )
- Yen Sid is the Sorceror (Interesting note, Yen Sid is Disney backwards)

Pastoral Symphony

- Diana
- Zeus
- Bacchus
- Apollo
- Vulcan
- Iris
- Morpheus (who was changed from a male to female in the movie)
- Boreas (one of the wind gods, I can't remember the others name)
- Sunflower (interestingly she doesn't appear in my book on the movie)

Dance of the Hours

-Ben Ali Gator
- Hyacinth Hippo
- Mmlle Uppanova

Night On Bald Mountain

- Chernabog

So that's a rather complete list, the various fairies were given general names, Frost Fairies, Autumn Fairies etc.

[purin]

i don't think it should be included in the film on the platinum edition. i DO think it should be included on the dvd. i can't believe nobody (or at least, not in the first half of these posts, i stopped reading like a third of the way) thought of putting it on the dvd as a bonus feature. they could put somebody there to talk about it, perhaps an influencial black person like oprah or bill cosby, to talk about how things were then and how they are now.

no "soccor moms" or anyone easily offended will likely check out the bonus features. isn't this why they came up with fastplay? easier for moms. they can just pop in the dvd and it goes.

i think that's just the way it should be.

Actually, a number of us thought of that, or something similar. You should have read the second half.


And the head crow in Dumbo is called Jim Crow. Isn't it good he never says his name in the film? That would have really put a damper on things, wouldn't it?

Hey, here's something we can have a ball with:
http://www.cracked.com/article_15677_9- ... cters.html

The list seems pretty quickly put together. I think Disney geeks like us could do a much more solid one, don't you?

(Yeah, Aladdin is pretty white, but he does KIND of have a golden tone to his skin that you don't see when he's bathed in a spotlight... sorta)

[SwordInTheStone777]

Jim Crow? I didn't know that.

[Skellington or Sparrow]

i don't think it should be included in the film on the platinum edition. i DO think it should be included on the dvd. i can't believe nobody (or at least, not in the first half of these posts, i stopped reading like a third of the way) thought of putting it on the dvd as a bonus feature. they could put somebody there to talk about it, perhaps an influencial black person like oprah or bill cosby, to talk about how things were then and how they are now.

no "soccor moms" or anyone easily offended will likely check out the bonus features. isn't this why they came up with fastplay? easier for moms. they can just pop in the dvd and it goes.

i think that's just the way it should be.

Actually, a number of us thought of that, or something similar. You should have read the second half.

ahah. yeah i thought they might. i just didn't feel like reading them all.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

A lot of characters had names even if they were never mentioned in the finished film. Obviously, it was practical for identification purposes during the creative process.

I can understand why they ended up editing out the character in question here. But I would like to have everything reinstated as it was originally in a future release.

I understand that "Sunflower" is put out of the way by means of blowing up the image here and there. But is that all? Do they cut out part of the music and mess up the continuity?

[purin]

I think at first it was just cutting, but I think now it's a combination of both.

Yeah, he's Jim Crow. There's a joke about him in the Mortimer Koon Golden Age short. I burst out laughing at that bit. I'm such a geek XD

[SwordInTheStone777]

How did Disney let them use the name Jim Crow? Why would they let them use it?

[UncleEd]

I'm guessing Ward Kimball came up with the name. It sounds like his warped sense of humor. Ha Ha. I still find it funny though.

[SwordInTheStone777]

Disney is known for it's werid made up names for characters and places.

[Trumpet Joe]

I agree with whoever it was that said that Sunflower should never have been in the movie. It angers me that Disney included such a blatent racial stereotype in one of their movies. And why do we have to have it back in the movie anyway? It's only about 15 seconds, folks! I think our hearts will continue to beat without Sunflower!

NOTE: I am in no shape or form a racist, so please don't misconstrue my comments as such. If we were dealing with a vital part of the film, then I would say "By all means, restore it!" But the fact that it's insignificant and a stereotype, I think we can live without it.