With the imminent release of Disney+, there has been rumblings about the addition of one of Disney’s most controversial films to the streaming service. The rumblings can be put to rest as there are no plans to make Song of the South available on the mouse ears upcoming service.
That is consistent with Disney’s previous policy regarding the 1946 film, which has been criticized for its portrayal of African-Americans following the end of the Civil War. The film, which won a best original song Oscar for “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” and inspired the Disneyland ride Splash Mountain, has not been released on home video in the U.S on VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray.
The most recent chatter regarding the film from Disney itself came from Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke about the film in the company’s 2011 annual meeting, saying that, after a rewatch of the film, he felt parts of it
“wouldn’t necessarily sit right or feel right to a number of people today” and that “it wouldn’t be in the best interest of our shareholders to bring it back, even though there would be some financial gain.”
Along with the film not being included, Disney doesn’t plan to include a scene from the 1941 animated film Dumbo featuring a crow named Jim Crow, a reference to a 19th century blackface character that later became the name of the segregation laws enacted following the Reconstruction era.
