Disney is thinking of releasing "Song of the South"

Joe Carioca · Post by **Joe Carioca** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 6:43 pm

Good news have just been posted by a user from Home Theater Forum!

Dick Cook, Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios spoke at this summer's Annual Convention of the NFFC, the club for Disney Enthusiasts. The club's Fall newsletter reported part of his talk:

After the formal part of his presentation, Cook took questions from Conventioneers. Among the issues on Conventioneers' minds:

Will Song of the South ever be released on DVD?

Yes. Cook said that the public has requested a DVD release of Song of the South more than it has requested any other film. That said, Disney also is aware that some elements of the film reflect the time in which it was made and don't reflect current attitudes. He said that the Studio has encountered similar issues with other older material. In some cases, such as some of the World War II material in the Walt Disney Treasures DVD series, they've addressed the issue through introductions that place the material in context. He said that Disney hasn't yet found the ideal solution for Song of the South, but he was confident that they would.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 7:26 pm

Well, nice to hear this from the horse's mouth. I just hope the release is sooner instead of later, and hopefully, not as limited as the Treasures (since its in such high demand, that would cause a real problem, I think). Thanks for posting!

MickeyMousePal · Post by **MickeyMousePal** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 7:44 pm

Well that's good news to hear but I hope it will come out next year or the later years. I never seen Song of South and will be excited to see the whole film. I hope it will be as Walt Disney's Treasure Wave 5 or 6.
I'm so excited!!! I really want it to come out before the year 2007.
I guess Disney finally came to their senses to release Song of the South.

orestes. · Post by **orestes.** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 8:41 pm

This is nice to hear. I haven't seen this movie in years! I honestly can't say how I saw this movie but I know I have. Maybe it was ont he Family Channel years ago or one other channel. I just remember seeing it as a kid and lsitening to the record.

Hopefully it gets released onto DVD within the next couple years.

PheR · Post by **PheR** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:52 pm

finally, but there´s nothing to think!! Disney just realize they need to release Song of the South on dvd cause is a very requested tittle and that it´ll sell a lot.

Maybe they sould do like they do with the treasures, when a short has Donald smoking or a gun in it, with a Leonard Maltin introduction...

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:03 am

Well this is certainly good news! As everyone else has said, let's just hope it's sooner than later... and that the "solution" is a tactful and unobtrusive one.

-Aaron

MK Sharp · Post by **MK Sharp** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:08 am

This is excellent news, and it's very heartening to see Disney looking to address the hard questions rather than sweeping them under the mat. Good on them!

2099net · Post by **2099net** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 1:12 am

It's interesting that, although not available on DVD, Song of the South is listed on all French Disney DVD checklists (it has a VHS checkbox). This indicates to me that a release will happen quite soon.

Wonderlicious · Post by **Wonderlicious** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 3:40 am

I'm glad to see that Song of the South will get a DVD release. Being from England, I've seen the movie as we Brits have had a few video releases of the film and some TV screenings, too. Yet at the same time, I would like it to get a nice DVD release.

One problem that I'm worried about, though, is how it's going to be released. It could probably get released as a Treasure, but I have a funny feeling the UK won't get that Treasure, as BVHE UK treats us like dirt when compared to the US. Yes I could import it, but I don't have the ability to. If not released as a Treasure, I'm worried that they'll sell it not as a Treasure but as a catalogue title with a piss-poo transfer and little or no extras when it at least deserves a good 1 Disc set in the style of Peter Pan or Treasure Planet.

Anyway, I'm glad that SOTS may be seeing the light of day on DVD as it's proving that overdoeses of PC are being wiped out.

ichabod · Post by **ichabod** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:43 am

Well it could be relased in 2006 to celebrate it's 60th (diamond) anniversary! I can see i now, 'Song of the South - Diamond Edition', the first of many

!

Post by **Luke** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 9:05 am

Good news! Thanks for passing it along, Joe. This has to be one of the first optimistic remarks on SOTS from someone within Disney.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 9:48 am

They also mentioned SOTS on the Christmas Day parade this year, and I remember some narration in the parks mentioning it too, which surprised me.

-Aaron

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:17 pm

This is good to hear. I think that if Disney does indeed decide to release it, a 2006 release seems very likely in honor of its 60th anniversary. I hope it gets a solid 2-disc release ala Mary Poppins or the Vault Disney collection films. Releasing this on DVD would be one of the wisest decisions Disney could ever make because they're sitting on a goldmine with this film. It'll certainly be one of the best-selling DVD's from the studio thanks to both the film's controversy and the fact that it's never been available on home video in the states.

Ciaobelli · Post by **Ciaobelli** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:18 pm

ZIPPADHEEDUDAHH ZIPPADIEEH

karlsen · Post by **karlsen** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 5:50 pm

Disneykid wrote:I hope it gets a solid 2-disc release ala Mary Poppins or the Vault Disney collection films.

I can't imagine that there are anything to put on a disc two for this movie at all. There can't be much material on the movie in the Disney archive. It was made to early.

Lars Vermundsberget · Post by **Lars Vermundsberget** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 6:10 pm

For all I know you could be right. But there are Disney movies older than SotS for which considerable background materials exist. So I guess I don't quite follow your reasoning.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 6:25 pm

Well if they dug up enough for Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Snow White, etc, then it shouldn't be that difficult. Also, they can always create new material, documentaries and the like. Maybe there'll even be a virtual ride through of Splash Mtn. They should at least be able to produce more content than the 2 discs worth of The Lion King 1 1/2 that we got.

-Aaron

Disney Guru · Post by **Disney Guru** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 7:46 pm

Um this is good news.

But not to ruin your parade, but this has been rumored for the past 5 years! And I am yet to see it come to pass. In the DVD world, Seeing Is Believing. So I won't believe this, until I see it.

Escapay · Post by **Escapay** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 8:18 pm

Disney Guru wrote:Um this is good news.

But not to ruin your parade, but this has been rumored for the past 5 years! And I am yet to see it come to pass. In the DVD world, Seeing Is Believing. So I won't believe this, until I see it.

Isn't it "rain on your parade"?

Anyways, this definitely is good news, especially if it's from the horse's mouth. But I'd take it with a grain of salt. Many movies were rumored for years before coming to DVD, like Back to the Future and Star Wars. If you think about it, the original trilogy (1977, 1980, 1984) and Song of the South are the same thing, as they're products that have a strong following, but are not released for artistic reasons.

I hope it's a 2-discer, as it deserves such treatment, but I also hope it won't be riddled with kiddie stuff like "Help Br'er Rabbit Escape!" game or those insipid storybooks.

Ideal material for the film:

Disc 1: The Movie
Digitally re-mastered by whoever did it on the AiW DVD
Captions/Subtitles in English, French, Spanish
Whatever the audio stuff is, also in English, French, Spanish. 5.1 or 2.0 or whatnot
Commentary by Leonard Maltin
For the kids, the Pop-up facts commentary thingy
For the kids, the Sing-Along thingy
The standard "Sneak Peeks", for movies, DTVs, and sequels.

Disc 2: The Supplements

Featurettes/Documentaries:
"Song of the South: A Look Back" - documentary about the history of the movie, and its 40th anniversary (if released in 2006)
"The Making of Song of the South" - 'nuff said
Footage from the Premiere (if available)
Footage from the Academy Awards (when James Baskett was given the honorary Oscar, also if available)
Extracts from any Disneyland TV episodes dealing with the movie (such as the "One Hour in Wonderland" special, and the first eppy of Disneyland)
Featurette on "So Dear To My Heart" - technically it's not a sequel or spin-off, but more a "sister movie", like how AMC and OLTL are "sister shows".

Production Featurettes:
Deconstruction of Scenes - if they still exist
Recording Sessions - if they still exist
Any raw footage that still exists

Cast Featurettes:
"Joel Chandler Harris" - a featurette about the stories' author
"Bobby Driscoll: A Tribute" - a short bio-featurette about the child star
"Luana Patten: A Tribute" - a short bio-featurette about the child star
"James Baskett: A Tribute" - a short bio-featurette about the star
"Ruth Warrick: Disney Legend" - though this was her only Disney movie, she is the only castmember still alive today and merits her own featurette.

Art Galleries:
Production stills
Premiere stills
Concept Art for animated sequences
Concept Art for the sets, wardrobe, live action stuff
Posters for the movie's premiere, releases, re-releases
International VHS and Laserdisc covers

Promotional Stuff:
Theatrical Trailers (original, re-releases)
TV Spots (re-releases)
Radio Spots (3 are known to exist)

For the Kids: (Because whether we like it or not, it'll be there)
"Help Br'er Rabbit Escape!" set-top game
"Find the Laughing place" set-top game
"Song of the South" children's trivia game (simple questions like "What color is Br'er Rabbit's shirt?" and "Who are Ginny's brothers?")

Escapay

Blissey02 · Post by **Blissey02** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 8:36 pm

G-d, I hope they do!

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