From "Splash Mountain has closed.... The controversial flume ride at Magic Kingdom in Florida took its last plunge Sunday" (WaPo).
["Song of the South"] was one of the first Hollywood portrayals of a black actor as a non-comic character in a leading role in a film meant for general audiences.
Baskett was prohibited from attending the film's premiere in Atlanta, Georgia, because Atlanta was racially segregated by law.
Although Baskett was occasionally criticized for accepting such a "demeaning" role (most of his acting credits were that of African-American stereotypes), his acting was almost universally praised, and columnist Hedda Hopper, along with Walt Disney, was one of the many journalists and personalities who declared that he should receive an Academy Award for his work.
On March 20, 1948, Baskett received an Academy Honorary Award for his performance as Uncle Remus. He was the first African-American male actor to win an Academy Award.
I don't think hiding the film is the best solution. Straightforward confrontation with the bad should go along with honoring the good and understanding the past. Disney protects its own interests and deserves little credit for acting in accordance with the prevailing elite opinion.
What is the good? I don't know! I haven't seen the film. But obviously Baskett himself was good, the song was good, and the animation was good.
And, my God, Baskett was only 42 years old in that clip. He died 2 years later, less than 4 months after they gave him that Oscar. Why should his work be buried? Maybe there's a great answer, but it's hard to discuss when we can't see the movie. Disney lets us see "Dumbo," despite the crow characters, one of whom, Fats Crow, was voiced by Baskett.
Anyway, Splash Mountain finally embarrassed Disney enough that it's turning the flume ride into "Tiana’s Bayou Adventure," based on "The Princess and the Frog," which had a black princess character.
106 Comments on Althouse: "Some fans tried to mount a 'Save Splash Mountain' campaign, even urging opponents of the switch to enlist the help of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)."
on January 26,
2023 | 23:10 Saint Croixsaid :
"they're still shipping it abroad!" Comment #1 
on January 26,
2023 | 21:30 Roccosaid :
"Static Ping said...
Comment #2 
on January 26,
2023 | 16:48 DavidDsaid :
"Why should people who are able to tell fact from fiction, who are able to process complexity and ambiguity, be unable to find and purchase a copy of Song of the South on DVD if they so desire?
Comment #3 
on January 26,
2023 | 12:57 MacMacConnellsaid :
"Bob said...
Comment #4 
on January 26,
2023 | 07:04 Tina Trentsaid :
"Viz the popular Disney Pirates ride, the Muslim Barbary pirates attacked many thousands of ships, enslaved more than a million people, forced the U.S. to pay them tribute, but continued attacking our ships resulting in two wars and the founding of the U.S. Navy.
Comment #5 
on January 26,
2023 | 06:49 Tina Trentsaid :
"No excuse for slavery but there were scores more starving white sharecroppers at this time than black ones, and they were also more malnourished and trapped in usorius contracts that resembled slavery in many ways, according to impeccable historical records. They were not protected by federal government and were statistically underrepresented among the Klan, which was a club mostly comprised of the professional and wealthy classes.
Comment #6 
on January 26,
2023 | 06:22 DrSquidsaid :
"seriously,this has been the most interesting and enjoyable post and string I’ve read on Althouse in years. I leaarned a lot. Tapped out unironically on my iPad from WDW, where I’m visiting with my granddaughter for her first ever visit (probably my 100th). Bummed that we missedSplaash mountain by just a few days." Comment #7 
on January 26,
2023 | 00:10 Saint Croixsaid :
"I rated Song of the South a solid C of mediocrity in my movie book. Not sure how the hell I did that, since I haven't seen the movie in 40+ years. That's kind of suspicious!
Comment #8 
on January 25,
2023 | 22:59 Marc in Eugenesaid :
"Nowadays, the word on The Wind in the Willows is that it's "homosocial" -- no women in the story.
Comment #9 
on January 25,
2023 | 22:59 Bobsaid :
"I saw Song of the South as a boy in Florida, it played as a Saturday morning children's matinee. There wasn't an empty seat in the theater." Comment #10 
on January 25,
2023 | 22:40 Lazarussaid :
"There is still a Splash Mountain in Tokyo Disneyland. It's the centerpiece of "Critter Country" one of the "lands" the park is divided into. But Asia, of course, is different." Comment #11 
on January 25,
2023 | 22:36 dgstocksaid :
"I have somewhere a volume of Joel Chandler Harris (white) which is almost incomprehensible in its patois detailing the exploits of Brers Rabbit/Fox/Bear etc., etc. that would be anathema in any current public library. Song of the South is small beer compared to the original. How low can we go? Time will tell." Comment #12 
on January 25,
2023 | 22:14 MountainMansaid :
"The Joel Chandler Harris home, The Wren's Nest, a beautiful Victorian home, is located in the southwest part of Atlanta in the neighborhood known as West End. It is a well-known Atlanta landmark and is the site of many cultural events and is often visited by school groups for tours and story-telling. Some of my mother's large family lived in and around this area from the 1930s until the 1970s. I have been to the home several times, I had an aunt and uncle that lived just a block or so from it. I grew up and lived not far from West End until I left Atlanta for TN in 1974. The area is now seeing a renaissance as a residential and commercial area.
Comment #13 
on January 25,
2023 | 21:54 Left Bank of the Charlessaid :
"Mark Twain on Uncle Remus:
Comment #14 
on January 25,
2023 | 18:45 KellyMsaid :
""Song of the South" is available via Archive.org. I don't know whether the film's copyright has expired but it's downloadable.
Comment #15 
on January 25,
2023 | 17:20 rcoceansaid :
"Its hard to Disneyfy Wind in the willows. The only real "wacky Character" is Toad, and he's a silly, boastful, irresponsible English Gentlemanly Toad. And being a Toad, is a drawback. How many great cartoon characters are Toads? You got "kermit the frog" but he's a muppet.
Comment #16 
on January 25,
2023 | 16:44 James Ksaid :
"Then there’s the joke that Splash Mountain is the highest elevation in Florida.
Comment #17 
on January 25,
2023 | 16:38 mongosaid :
"Mike Sylwester said, “ The best video I ever saw of "Putting on the Ritz" was broadcast on The Lawrence Welk Show. ”
Comment #18 
on January 25,
2023 | 15:48 Kevinsaid :
"Song of the South? We are two generations away from that being a "hoax".
Comment #19 
on January 25,
2023 | 14:59 Mike (MJB Wolf)said :
"Since Disney is a "magic kingdom" they will be able to hang onto princesses long after the woke have ruined much of the real world." Comment #20 
on January 25,
2023 | 14:50 Hunter Biden's tax payer funded Hookersaid :
"Slaves Mining Cobalt for Tim Cook - the wild ride. Comment #21 
on January 25,
2023 | 14:45 Hunter Biden's tax payer funded Hookersaid :
"Gusty Winds 10:19 - LOL " Comment #22 
on January 25,
2023 | 14:43 Hunter Biden's tax payer funded Hookersaid :
"Finding Nemo /update to old ride -
Comment #23 
on January 25,
2023 | 14:34 Jim atsaid :
"And now it's theme-park rides.
Comment #24 
on January 25,
2023 | 14:31 Fictasaid :
"Wikipedia's article on Song of the South claims that the film is set during Reconstruction (there are citations to back this up, including Disney's official release booklet from 1946, which, unfortunately is not online, so it could all be a fabrication, I suppose). I'm not a clothing historian, but people who do know this stuff say that the costumes are clearly late 19th century (see this article on Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah for instance).
Comment #25 
on January 25,
2023 | 14:05 pious agnosticsaid :
"It's not like letting people see "Birth of a Nation," where there is no existing entity that has its reputation attached to it.
Comment #26 
on January 25,
2023 | 14:04 Ann Althousesaid :
"Disney made Pooh and Alice in Wonderland into Disney characters, but I never noticed Wind in the Willows in a Disney version. It just seemed like a random toad. Didn’t even give him a name. " Comment #27 
on January 25,
2023 | 13:58 Václav Patrik Šuliksaid :
"It's available for download in several versions (or you can watch it online, although not as good). Follow the links.
Comment #28 
on January 25,
2023 | 13:57 Ann Althousesaid :
"I took my kids on "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" a few times over the years. Thought it was weird to have a whole ride based on something that I never saw come up as a Disney thing. But it was an exciting little ride." Comment #29 
on January 25,
2023 | 13:42 Lurker21said :
"It would be hard to find things that were anti-racist 70 years ago that aren't regarded as patronizing and offensive today. That may go for much that is considered anti-racist today. White Savior Complex, etc.
Comment #30 
on January 25,
2023 | 13:28 mcculloughsaid :
"Like college, Disney is for girls. Comment #31 
on January 25,
2023 | 12:31 Known Unknownsaid :
"Ignore my latest comment. Wrong book. Wrong Toad. " Comment #32 
on January 25,
2023 | 12:26 Known Unknownsaid :
""I mean, who the hell was Mr. Toad?""
Comment #33 
on January 25,
2023 | 12:19 rcoceansaid :
"BTW, the author of "Uncle Remus" was a DEMOCRAT.
Comment #34 
on January 25,
2023 | 12:18 rcoceansaid :
"My love for Mr. Toad's wild ride, is based a lot on my love of the book. wind in the willows is a truly great children's book. I also liked the Tiki Hut with the talking birds. This was Dad's favorite Disney "ride", probably because he got to sit down and rest. " Comment #35 
on January 25,
2023 | 12:14 rcoceansaid :
""Holiday Inn and Dumbo are actually more racist."
Comment #36 
on January 25,
2023 | 12:02 Static Pingsaid :
"Ann: Why wasn't that changed 30 years ago? Why change it now?
Comment #37 
on January 25,
2023 | 12:00 Static Pingsaid :
"I have a bootleg copy of the film on VHS. Not the best quality and I don't know where it is anymore, but I wanted to see the film and so I did. If you really want to see it, you can get it.
Comment #38 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:54 RideSpaceMountainsaid :
""Admit it, guys. The only point of saving Splash Mountain is the young women who lift their tops to flash the camera on the ride down."
Comment #39 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:47 Quaestorsaid :
"Many of those yelling about it seem to think it takes place before the Civil War (sheesh!).
Comment #40 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:46 Readeringsaid :
"Saw it as a kid, or maybe just briar patch scene on Wonderful World of Disney, all i remember. Has the best song Oscar been returned and removed from lists? Replaced with nominee Pass That Peace Pipe?" Comment #41 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:41 TickTocksaid :
"I remember Song of the South very well. A great film.
Comment #42 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:37 Quaestorsaid :
"Re: Mike Sylwester on "Puttin' on the Ritz"
Comment #43 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:31 Saint Croixsaid :
"Also, if you're paying reparations...
Comment #44 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:30 Saint Croixsaid :
"I think the people of California should visit the South and talk to people and find the people in the South who hate Song of the South.
Comment #45 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:30 MikeDsaid :
"I saw Song of the South in the late 40's but, probably mistakenly, remember it as Tales from Uncle Remus. That said, my only true memories of the movie are the animated stories Uncle Remus told. Does anybody remember the Golden children's books? I believe they published the much read book we had containing the "Tales"." Comment #46 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:25 MBsaid :
"I tried watching the movie a few years ago when I found it online. I did not watch the whole thing. It made me think that there was more than one reason to bury it.
Comment #47 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:24 Fictasaid :
"There is a copy of Song of the South "out there" based on a collector's 35mm print that looks a bit better than old Japanese laserdisc. I don't think it's a particularly racist movie. Many of those yelling about it seem to think it takes place before the Civil War (sheesh!). The live action sequences (apart from Baskett's performance, which is great) are pretty dull stuff. The cartoon sequences for the stories, with Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear, and Brer Fox are classic. Comment #48 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:23 Anthonysaid :
"Just erasing yet another black face from history. . . . ." Comment #49 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:11 Mr. Dsaid :
"I remember seeing “Song of the South” at the Viking Theater in Appleton — must have been in the early 1970s. I also remember hearing about Brer Rabbit in bedtime stories when I was little. We also had bedtime stories about Sambo, as I recall. My parents told me those stories, but they also told me not to use the N-word when I picked it up on the playground. I also remember Redd Foxx using the word quite freely on original run episodes of Sanford and Son. How does one sort all this out? Apparently we should listen to our betters, as always." Comment #50 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:11 Big Mikesaid :
"Admit it, guys. The only point of saving Splash Mountain is the young women who lift their tops to flash the camera on the ride down." Comment #51 
on January 25,
2023 | 11:08 Leorasaid :
"I saw the movie as a child and loved it. I had a record of Zippity Doo Dah that I played over and over. My husband purchased a copy of the DVD for me from a Canadian source. It is a delightful movie with amazing animation portraying a servant as a wise man and protector to young children. The stories of the Tar Baby and the Briar Patch as part of our American heritage and documents our African American heritage as preserved by Joel Chandler Harris from his childhood memories of stories told by his black caregivers. It ought to be venerated not censored. " Comment #52 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:59 Saint Croixsaid :
"Still others argued that it was past time for the original to go, given its source material.
Comment #53 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:55 PMsaid :
"In the late sixties, the Anaheim Disney wouldn't let longhairs in. They stopped us in the parking lot. Today, they wouldn't dare stop me were I wearing a micro-mini, twelve-inch platforms, a water-balloon bustier, a three-day beard and my head shaved to read FU. Progress!" Comment #54 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:54 Lem the misspellersaid :
"Disney is writing over their racist rides… or something." Comment #55 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:51 Saint Croixsaid :
"I think the criticism is basically that Uncle Remus was too damn happy. That may be valid criticism. When I was 6, I had no idea he was supposed to be a slave. He was just a happy guy, and it was a happy movie.
Comment #56 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:40 Pianomansaid :
"I have the movie on my home server. While it does have a few stereotypes, the hero of the movie, and the wisest person on the screen, is a black man. The whites are mostly idiots. Except the kids, who are fully racially integrated, and innocent.
Comment #57 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:36 Bonktisaid :
"Somewhere I have a photograph of my children and me descending the flume, taken digitally by a Disney employee or robot for purchase later in the day.
Comment #58 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:35 Saint Croixsaid :
"Is he right? Who can say? Who has seen this movie?
Comment #59 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:34 Timsaid :
"I saw it, and remember nothing that would justify banning the film. I do not have the VHS, but I do have a copy of the Disney picture book with pictures of Uncle Remus and drawings of all the characters. As I recall, it was a really wholesome picture, but was made according to the current standards when it was filmed. I see it as more revisionist history. Comment #60 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:34 loudogblogsaid :
"I actually have a copy of Song of the South. It was actually released in Japan on laserdisc. That's where the original source for the DVD bootlegs comes from. It's not a great film, but it's not the big racist film that the activists, most of whom have probably never seen the film, claim it is. Holiday Inn and Dumbo are actually more racist. I also suspect that it was actually aimed at a black audiences of the time. " Comment #61 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:28 Jim Gustsaid :
""I mean, who the hell was Mr. Toad?"
Comment #62 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:26 Lurker21said :
"After Disney bases everything on princesses - what will the Trans woke Army do?
Comment #63 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:24 Lem the misspellersaid :
"This comment has been removed by the author." Comment #64 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:19 Gusty Windssaid :
""Let me know when they get rid of “It’s a Small World” ride."
Comment #65 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:12 Gusty Windssaid :
"We're not allowed to see a 1940 cartoon with based on 1880 Uncle Remus stories, but Disney is ok with animating a same sex kiss for the kiddies in the last Buzz Lightyear movie.
Comment #66 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:12 RNBsaid :
""Why wasn't that changed 30 years ago?" As I heard it, Disney decommissioned another ride and had a lot of audioanimatronic animal chassis left over. Splash Mountain allowed them to recycle the chassis as Uncle Remus characters and save money.
Comment #67 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:10 Cappysaid :
"File this under WTF." Comment #68 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:07 Lelandsaid :
"Let me know when they get rid of “It’s a Small World” ride. It is full of racial stereotypes, so it should be easy to get rid of it. I’ll admit I just hate the tune and avoid that part of the park because of it. Then again, I just avoid the park these days." Comment #69 
on January 25,
2023 | 10:05 Gusty Windssaid :
"Brer Rabbit punching the tar baby is a classic life lesson. The more Brer Rabbit fights the more he becomes entangled.
Comment #70
Load more comments (71 - 106)I have a bootleg copy of the film on VHS. Not the best quality and I don't know where it is anymore, but I wanted to see the film and so I did. If you really want to see it, you can get it.
About four decades ago, that is what people were saying about porn. Times sure do change a lot."
Joel Chandler Harris’s books are still available; why would a movie based on them not be available?"
"I saw Song of the South as a boy in Florida, it played as a Saturday morning children's matinee. There wasn't an empty seat in the theater."
Had the same experience in Greenville, Miss, in third grade. "
Disney has sanitized and romanticized this mass slaughter, to great profit to them.
Facts suck."
Disney could care less. The villain of the story, of course, is an impoverished female child sharecropper on the same farm, and she is blamed for all that goes wrong and is punished with public humiliation by the heroic figures.
Hollywood producers made scores of films with similar themes, projecting racism onto poor whites who never owned shoes, let alone slaves, while frequently enobling the tiny fraction of slave owners. Projection ain't just what happens in the movie theater."
#3126 Song of the South (1946)
Corporate suits at Disney are still censoring this live-action cartoon in the United States. Anybody who's seen it knows that's ridiculous. What kind of fascist idiot do you have to be to censor a G-rated movie? I'll bet even Castro wouldn't censor Song of the South. You'd have to be some sort of toupee-wearing Disney midget fascist nitwit to censor Song of the South. If I can handle Bugs Bunny wearing a dress and kissing a man on the lips, you can handle Uncle Remus whistling zip-a-dee-doo-dah. It's harmless, you clueless clods. Free Song of the South!"
It does also feature the poor laundress (I remember only vaguely) whose trust Toad abuses (?) and the jailer's daughter who assists him to escape. I'm sure those two can be made to play their parts in the narrative-makers' melodramatics."
Harris and the Uncle Remus stories are still considered an important part of Georgia's cultural heritage. Occasionally, in order to bypass the horrible traffic on I-75 when going to Savannah or FL, I follow I-20 east over to US441 and drive south through Putnam County and its county seat of Eatonton, which is where Harris lived an picked up the stories from a former slave when he lived on a plantation there prior to the Civil War. There is a small statue of Brer Rabbit on the courthouse square."
MR. JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS (‘Uncle Remus’) was to arrive from Atlanta at seven o’clock Sunday morning; so we got up and received him. … He deeply disappointed a number of children who had flocked eagerly to Mr. Cable’s house to get a glimpse of the illustrious sage and oracle of the nation’s nurseries. They said—
‘Why, he’s white!’
They were grieved about it. So, to console them, the book was brought, that they might hear Uncle Remus’s Tar-Baby story from the lips of Uncle Remus himself—or what, in their outraged eyes, was left of him. But it turned out that he had never read aloud to people, and was too shy to venture the attempt now. Mr. Cable and I read from books of ours, to show him what an easy trick it was; but his immortal shyness was proof against even this sagacious strategy, so we had to read about Brer Rabbit ourselves."
I've never seen the whole movie, and the only version of Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah I can recall is the parody version done in "Fletch Lives". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsBtuhWw7RM
"
I've said its a children's book, but adults can read it with pleasure, and I think you'd have to be a rather bookish Child to really love it. Most kids would be happier reading Willy wonka and the chocolate factory or whatever."
I took that ride 15 years ago with my then 8-year-old and had no idea it was connected to a movie, much less to that particular movie. I doubt that anyone else taking the ride did either. The main impact of this will be a sort of Streisand effect of people looking for copies of this mostly forgotten film to see what the fuss is about."
Personally, I preferred the version performed in Young Frankenstein."
Disney has always been at war with Eastasia."
"
That reminds me...
13 years ago I visited Disney World in FL for the first time.
(I had been to the one in Anaheim as a kid.) Anyway - I had a list of rides I wanted to go on that are also at the CA theme park - as I wanted to recall what had dazzled me as a kid. 2 on the list: The Haunted house and the Pirates Ride.
The haunted house was awesome - which means the woke nazi will soon destroy it - but that's not my point. I recall the pirate ride was papered over with images of Johnny Depp's character in Pirates of the Caribbean. It was so stupid! The same ride - but likenesses and mannequins of Depp lurking and skulking in dark corners... Made me laugh. "
I asked this question the other day and got no answer.
Is there anything you leftists haven't politicized? Anything at all?"
Joel Chandler Harris who wrote the original book grew up in the Reconstruction South and heard the stories from an old black man (or so he said, and that's the conceit of the books). So why would Disney move the story to an antebellum setting? That seems very strange to me. "
You mean, other than Democrats?"
Japanese laserdisc (English with hardcoded Japanese subtitles. The .mkv version has the Japanese dubbing as a separate audio track.)
User Restored
I recommend doing the very large Matroska (MKV) version for best quality.
Decide for yourself. (I think it's racist, but wouldn't ban it.)"
_
I didn't get to do "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" when we went to Disney. There were so many rides and only so much time. But I've made up for it with my driving record as an adult.
Nowadays, the word on The Wind in the Willows is that it's "homosocial" -- no women in the story.
It's uncertain whether praising homosociality or condemning it is the politically correct response.
If Mole and Rat or Mr. Frog and Mr. Toad had been going to town on each other it would all be so much clearer."
"
Another somewhat timely Althouse comment."
Gosh, they really are the REAL racists. "
LOL! Yeah, Dumbo Elephant is true symbol of white supremacy. As for Holiday Inn, you can't get any more "White supremist" than "WHite Christmas" Bing Crosby crooning and Fred Astaire tap dancing."
Um, you may have noticed that the country was on fire for a while. It was "mostly peaceful," I know. Everyone was falling over each other to submit to the new order more virtuously, and an obscenely woke corporation like Disney had to do something."
I never really understood the problem with the film. The "briar" animations are very enjoyable, the music is good, and Uncle Remus comes across as very likeable such that you would want to be his friend. Definitely an idealized version of the post-Civil War South, but idealized versions of things can be useful."
I'm getting a vibe you don't agree this is an acceptable reason. Why do you want to control women's bodies Big Mike? The magic kingdom is magic for everyone in different ways. Some like the teacups. Some ride space mountain. Others freedempuppies."
The antebellum setting is quite clear. Song of the South contains a parallel live-action plot to the more familiar animated plot narrated by Uncle Remus that makes little sense outside a pre-Civil War Southern plantation setting. The clothing worn by the two white children who adore Uncle Remus and their father look like they were rented from the Gone with the Wind property shop. Perhaps the Japanese laserdisc source was expurgated."
At least three items in it would be considered racist by todays standards. As I recall there was a black narrator/singer(?) for part of it, and then the campfire scene discussed above. All with poor blacks, with heavy Southern accents. An then my personal favorite, the tar baby with its instructional tale. I still talk about the tar baby and Brer Rabbit when I want to make a point
None of those made me a racist. I became a "racist" by today's standards for other reasons. When I was much older.
"
The lyrics he refers to were written by Fred Astaire as an expurgation of Irving Berlin's original song:
Have you seen the well to do
Up on Lenox Avenue
On that famous thoroughfare
With their noses in the air?
High hats and narrow collars,
White spats and fifteen dollars,
Spending every dime
For a wonderful time.
If you're blue, and you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where Harlem flits?
Puttin' on the Ritz.
Spangled gowns upon the bevy of high browns
From down the levy, all misfits
Putting' on the Ritz.
That's where each and every lulu-belle goes
Every Thursday evening with her swell beaus
Rubbin' elbows.
Come with me and we'll attend their jubilee
And see them spend their last two bits
Puttin' on the Ritz.
Lenox Avenue is the main street of Harlem, which is uptown by traditions dating to New Amsterdam. Fred Astaire wrote new lyrics referring to much, much tonier downtown Park Avenue intended to satirize wealthy white rather than indigent blacks.
Have you seen the well-to-do
Up and down Park Avenue
On that famous thoroughfare
With their noses in the air?
High hats and arrow collars,
White spats and lots of dollars,
Spending every dime
For a wonderful time.
Now, if you're blue
And you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where fashion sits,
Puttin' on the Ritz?
Different types who wear a daycoat,
Pants with stripes and cutaway coat
Perfect fits,
Puttin' on the Ritz.
Dressed up like a million-dollar trooper,
Trying mighty hard to look like Gary Cooper,
Super-duper.
Come, let's mix where Rockefellers
Walk with sticks or "umberellas"
In their mitts,
Puttin' on the Ritz.
Tips his hat just like an English chappie
To a lady with a wealthy pappy,
Very snappy.
You'll declare it's simply topping
To be there and hear them swapping
Smart tidbits,
Puttin' on the Ritz."
send some checks to North Carolina!"
Maybe they exist! I never met one.
People of California!
You have a well-earned reputation of being a state full of phonies.
Phony, phony, phony, phony, phony. That's right, your performance is inauthentic! Go back to waiting tables!
It's mean but it's true.
(Sorta true, anyway)"
If you were completely unaware of the movie, the ride would have seemed like it was about the African-American folk stories of Br'er Fox, Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Bear. The ride isn't any more interesting than the movie was, but when it's hot out, a ride that starts indoors and has a big splashy, watery end can be attractive."
Disney ran out of money when building Splash Mountain and cannibalized the audio-animatronic "cast" of the America Sings show, a show about of the history of American popular song developed for the Bicentennial. It had a "cast" composed largely of "Southern" anthropomorphic animals. Disney then only had to provide new animatronics for the Brers. Since The Princess and the Frog is set in New Orleans, they'll probably continue to use the old animatronic cast and just add a few new characters from the movie. Those Disney folk are clever."
My suggestion to people who want to make symbolic protests against historic racism is simple.
Find a $20 bill. That's the one with Andrew Jackson on it, the founder of the Democrat party.
In the privacy of your home, rip the shit out of your $20.
Flush all the pieces of that slave-owning, Indian-killing, evil Democrat down the toilet.
Flush the toilet.
And have a song in your heart. You have made your protest. God has seen it, and he loves you.
You can do this in public, too! But pick on Jackson if you want Republicans to applaud.
Also Republicans should learn to say "party of Lincoln" to any fucking person in the world who wants to criticize the Republican party.
You Democrats want to have a Jackson-Lincoln throw down?
That's a fucking wipeout of UGA proportions. Bring it, dummies! History is on our side!"
I don't remember any slave scenes or evil stuff in the movie. He was an authority figure to the white kids, teaching them how to be happy and good.
I can't actually watch the movie as an adult, as Disney has been censoring Uncle Remus for decades. At least, in the U.S. They used to ship it abroad, spreading our racism to foreigners, I guess.
The people who want to censor it are the same people who want to censor Gone With the Wind. I don't mind the criticism. The critics have a point! But to whitewash your past -- which is what Disney is going -- is repression and dishonesty. And that's dangerous, too. I don't think Walt Disney (the man) was racist and evil. He was out in California and his art made people happy."
Biden might say, "There's no 'there' there." But in this supercharged age, Song Of The South must be burned at the altar.
Mrs. Pianoman and I are big Disney fans -- we go to the park all the time. Overlays aren't uncommon, as it's a relatively inexpensive way to give an aging attraction a facelift ... so I'm not as upset about this as some Disney fans are. We'll see what the Imagineers come up with.
What Disney really needs to do is build a Creole restaurant right next to the new Splash Mountain, and call it "Tiana's". They should feature gumbo.
One other thing -- the whole idea that the Governor will get involved in "saving" a Disney attraction is just idiotic.
"
Those three and five year-old girls, now adults, live under the shadow of face recognition and that evidence of complicity."
I have! I was 6 or 7 and I saw it in the theater. It was great.
Unfortunately my childish film criticism is notoriously unreliable.
When I was 9 I saw Star Wars in the theater. I was very proud of myself for watching an adult movie. My first PG movie! I was kicking ass, out of that G category, so happy.
When I saw Green Slime on a late-night sleepover, my buddy Chris and I both decided it was awesome. "Better than Star Wars!" somebody said, might have been me.
I also thought Disney's The Black Hole was really, really good. Some people would bitch about Disney's output in the 1970's, but I wasn't one of them.
I was a sweet, non-judgmental boy!"
"
The main character in The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908.
The Disney ride was inspired by the chapter in which Mr. Toad acquires and car and learns to drive. Comedy ensues.
The ride was relatively primitive in execution, compared to other nearby Disney rides. In the Peter Pan ride you were lifted into the air and looked at 3-d scenes from above. That must have cost a lot to design and build. With Mr. Toad you rode in a car with flat, 2-d scenes going by, and occasionally it seemed you would crash into one, only to have it open up to reveal the next scene.
Very 1950s. Nothing controversial about it, as with Uncle Remus. Could be updated with new tech, if anyone knows the story any longer."
Coming soon. Disney Prince movies. Little girls aren't limited to marrying princes or being tougher than any man. They can now become princes and men.
It is strange that years of telling girls that they can be strong and tough and fierce, and some girls believe that if they are that way they are actually boys.
BTW: Interesting piece by Rod Dreher (I know. Whether or not those words are an oxymoron they do make one's heart sink a little, but this article is mostly what was written to him, not what he came up with on his own)."
On The Pirates of the Caribbean ride they introduced Captain Jack robots that looked just like Johnny Depp.
They should keep up with the ever changing world on "It's a Small World". You know, the Ukranian boy could be dressed like Zelensky in all army green. They could have kids crossing the US Southern border into Texas. How about showing kids mining for cobalt? Or the ones in NY, California, and IL wearing masks and getting mRNA shots?
"
Maybe Disney could edit Song of the South with today's technology and add a scene where Uncle Remus is making out with a red haired Scotch-Irish white guy. That would make everyone happy, no??
They could replace Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da, and have Uncle Remus teach the children in the movie how to rap "I love it when you call me big pa-pa". "
"Why change it now?" Splash Mountain sits right next to New Orleans Square, devoted to 'The Princess and the Frog.' Incorporating the ride into NO Square expands the merchandising opportunities for 'Princess and Frog' princessware."
The Uncle Remus stories are from the 1880's. A reflection of the times I'm sure. Seems the problem with the Disney Movie is Uncle Remus is too jovial and happy. You're not supposed to be happy and singing Zip-A-De-Doo-Da when you're an oppressed share cropper.
I saw the movie a few times when I was a kid. And I've been on that ride. Both seem harmless to me. But it's the 2020's and America has lost it's collective mind to the woke mind virus.
Seems this is much like censoring Huckleberry Finn because of the use of the "N" word, and not realizing it is actually a story against racism. "