The History of Splash Mountain- Disney's Most Controversial Attraction
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- Опубліковано 1 сер 2024
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Just to give you all a heads up! We will be discussing a controversial/sensitive topic about Splash Mountain including, a discussion about the 1946 film, "The Song of the South."
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This was an excellent video. I’ll be the first to admit that I will definitely miss Splash Mountain, but at the same time, seeing Disney give Tiana her own ride is pretty exciting. I very much agree with Song of the South should definitely be used as an educational tool, as well. I think using the film as a way to start a conversation about these kinds of depictions would really do a lot to better understand why we even made them in the first place.
Thank you so much for your feedback! I am looking forward to seeing how Tiana's Bayou plays out as well. 🌊🌊🌊
Tiana's Bayou Abomination is not only a smack in the face to Splash Mountain but also Princess and the Frog.
Y’all realize Song of the South takes place after slavery was abolished right?
Yes 2:35 🌊🌊🌊
The movie takes place after the American Civil War & abolition of slavery. The cast defended the film and Walt Disney saw talent in them. Plus no one had a problem with the ride for over 30 years. It’s about a rabbit outsmarting a bear and fox. Also according to Tony Baxter, who designed Splash Mountain, he showed the designs to the NAACP and they loved it.
Also, The veteran African American animator Floyd Norman, who first saw the film as a kid, stated on I blog MrFun's Journal that, "Walt Disney...was clearly nervous how Song of the South would be accepted by this particular audience. When the film finally came to an end the reception was positive overall. Though the motion picture failed to garner glowing reviews, most found the Disney film immensely entertaining.
The African American audience absolutely loved the movie and even requested a second screening.
In an interview, Norman says he owns a framed cell of the infamous tar baby. He has a few cells from the film but the tar baby is from his favorite scene.
Then, without prompting, Norman explained to me how audiences read too much into the tar-baby metaphor.
"That was not an intentional thing that tar represents black people but once again, here's a storytelling device that people read way too much into," Norman said.
Here’s the cast in their own words about working on the film.
James Baskett, who played the role of Uncle Remus, commented, "I believe that certain groups are doing my race more harm in seeking to create dissension than can ever possibly come out of the Song of the South.
Hattie McDaniel, an African American actress who played in Song of the South, said "If I had for one moment considered any part of the picture degrading or harmful to my people I would not have appeared therein" in a 1947 interview printed in The Criterion.
In 1989, when Nick Stewart was called back toDisney to reprise the role of Br'er Bear for theSplash Mountain ride, Disney Historian, Korkis, asked him if he thought it was at all degrading to play Br'er Bear in Song of the South,regarding all the controversy of the portrayal ofAfrican-Americans. Stewart laughed and replied,"Disney treated us like Kings". He concluded saying that the money he earned being Br'er Bear in Song of the South went towards a theatre for African-American actors to play roles other than butlers and maids. He also said he was to do the same thing with the money from the Splash Mountain ride.
Splash Mountain should have been left alone and Tiana should have got her own ride. It was special and all I saw from people of all races, was laughing, having a good time, & enjoying songs and critters. If social media can convince anyone that a ride about a rabbit outsmarting a bear and fox is harmful, then we might as well erase everything. Anyone is gonna find something wrong with anything. Tokyo is keeping Splash yet we can’t because woke people can’t handle a movie they probably never seen. I saw the movie. It’s about a wise man Uncle Remus telling Br’er rabbit tales to kids. The world should see the talent of James Baskett, Nick Stewart, & Hattie McDaniel. Not hide them or re-theme Splash.
On another note, Splash Mountain had over 68 animatronics. This Tiana re-theme will only have 17. It will be a downgrade. Most likely mist, different colors of bottles, and neon lights.
Thank You for your thoughtful response! Very intriguing comment. 🌊🌊🌊
I'm pretty sure 🌊🌊🌊is code for "I don't feel like addressing perfectly valid points."
girl
Disney worked with the NAACP on the movie, and the NAACP loved the dialects of the characters. The organization was also reportedly “very happy with it.”
My question is this. why has TIANA (Disneys first and only black PRINCESS...no black Ariel don't count) been stripped of her title as a PRINCESS only to be reimagined as a FACTORY OVERSEER. Seems disney is kinda messing up their "representation and inclusion"
I thought about "Tiana," as well...it just makes it seem like Disney is making her more into a "Jungle Cruise Skipper," vs. A "Princess." 🌊🌊🌊
Dope video
What is wrong with the br’er characters directly? Br’er rabbit is a folklore character passed down through generations, splash mountain has no references to song of the south apart from its use of the Marc Davis character designs from the film. The characters themselves are part of traditional folklore, br’er rabbit is a trickster who outsmarts his oppressors… a much better message than a reference to a genuine place people were enslaved in the princess and the frog reimagined attraction. They are literally using Avery island in the storyline, a place where real people were enslaved. Not disagreeing with your analysis of the film, but I do think there is a bit more to the picture about the problems with the ride itself
That's an important point. As far as I know, the Br'er rabbit tales are authentic African American folklore, and throwing them out because the live action portions of the movie included racists elements means either they get forgotten or worse, genuine African American stories are now considered racist, which is the opposite of how it should be! I think it's best to keep those stories, or if they are inaccurate, fix them, and get rid of the live action problematic parts. Which is basically what Disney did, the live action parts were never featured in Splash Mountain.
Yes I agree, and the stories taught a more important lesson as well.
Very good video Millie! Keep up the positive content. 🌊🌊🌊
Look I dont care about the movie at all I am not a song of the south apologizer, im only a fan of the animated segment and the ride, but your pretty much just assuming things on why splash was created.
Im sorry buts its completely silly to say splash itself was racist and the fans are racist, splash was created due to the amount of animatronics that they had from america sings. I would say they seperated the brers from the film to the ride. You never mentioned the history of splash, you just summed it up to "RaCiSm"
The ride is such a huge deviation like none of the ride is 1:1 to the film you cannot say splash itself is racist thats my biggest hangup how people say the ride is racist when it isnt at all. Outside of the brers none of the other characters from splash are from the film, its alot of misinformation and assumptions that just cause the controversy with splash due to the lack of knowledge on the ride and brer rabbit himself, when there never was any issues with the ride at all.
I still will die on this hill saying disney shouldnt be getting rid of the brers completely, they themselves still have potential at a new ride, or a fully animated movie/show just for them and the splash critters.
Great video.
A few things missing:
Song of the South showing had protestors.
It was re-release in theaters in 1986. Other countries had it on vhs.
The Song of the South should be released but needs an intro and special features with historians like their wwii dvd since there are racist racial depictions and Donald being a nazi in one of the cartoons.
Thank You so much for your feedback 💓🌊🌊🌊 I appreciate you
Disney attempted a DVD release like that and Maya Angelou threatened them. The John Henry cartoon was made for it and James Earl Jones was going to host it. That idea was used for the American Legends DVD instead.
There was only 1 showing with protestors. It was never a widespread thing. It only happened because the head of the NAACP at the time wanted to play Uncle Remus and Walt chose James Baskett.
The WWII are NOT racist and that Cartoon where Donald Duck was a Nazi was an ANTI-Nazi cartoon. It also won an Oscar. Do any of you ever research this stuff before you make your wild claims on it?
@@edmccray212Do you have something to back this up of your own time? Because if you’re going to act condescending, the least you could do is provide a source yourself because I tried looking up what you claimed and found absolutely nothing regarding James or Maya.
Also, the anti-nazi stuff aside, Disney has released “Aristocats” and “Peter Pan” with disclaimer warnings regarding outdated stereotypes……. Yet chooses to sleep on this one still. So that just tells me they’re afraid of offending people of African descent, regardless if there is a disclaimer or not…… yet outdated Native American and Asian stereotypes gets a pass with a warning. 🤷♂️
@@LittleJerryFan92You didn't look very hard:
Given that Buena Vista Home Entertainment is really beginning to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the Disney film vault (Coming soon from BVHE to a retailer near you: The Don Knotts Collection. As if there are really people out there who are truly desperate to add the DVDs of Gus and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again to their collection), I know that they'd really love to put a title like Song of the South out there in the marketplace. A movie that Disneyana fans and animation buffs have been begging for for years now. A title that would be sure to sell 10-12 million units easy.
But--that said--seriously wonder if Disney will ever dare to put Song of the South out on home video and DVD in Region 1 (i.e. the United States and Canada). I mean, if the former head of Disney Feature Animation Thomas Schumacher is to be believed, SOTS is now supposedly on permanent moratorium.
And what exactly is "permanent moratorium?" Is it the Disney-esque equivalent of Dean Wormer's infamous "Double Secret Probation?" Actually, what "permanent moratorium" supposedly means (in this case, anyway) is that the Walt Disney Company has no intentions to ever put Song of the South back into theatrical release here in the U.S. Nor does the corporation have any plans to release this live action / animated feature in the home video or DVD format here in North America.
Which is unfortunate. Not to mention hypocritical. After all, Disney's Song of the South has been readily available for purchase in the Orient for years now. (Why else do you think that all those video versions of Song of the South that sell on eBay have Japanese subtitles? That's because they're direct dubs off of the SOTS laser disc.)
Why exactly would Disney make Song of the South available for sale in Asia but not in North America? Basically BVHE's international arm believes that there aren't many African-Americans there who would complain about the film's portrayal of blacks.
Which is kind of a two faced policy, don't you think? That Disney pretends to care about the feelings of its black customers here in North America ... then abandons that pretense in the Orient.
But this sadly has become standard operating procedure with the modern Walt Disney Company: to give the impression that the company actually cares about something, rather than actually caring.
This actually reminds me of the last time that Walt Disney Studios put Song of the South out in theaters here in the U.S. That was back in 1986. Just two years after Michael Eisner took control of the Mouse House.
If the Walt Disney Company is really so concerned about the feelings of African Americans, then why did the studio put this allegedly offensive film back into theaters?
Well, actually there's kind of an interesting story associated with that particular re-release of Song of the South. You see, Tony Baxter and the Imagineers who were working on "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah River Run" (a new flume ride that was being proposed for construction at Disneyland in the late 1980s) were leaning heavily on Eisner to allow them to use the characters and settings from Song of the South to help theme this attraction.
And Uncle Michael actually liked the idea of adding a flume ride to Disneyland. It's just that Disney's CEO was somewhat squeamish about the attraction's proposed subject matter. Eisner was worried that a ride that was built around Uncle Remus might unintentionally offend African-Americans. Which might result in Disneyland being picketed by the NAACP.
Still the Imagineers persisted, insisting that this proposed Disneyland flume ride wouldn't work unless they were allowed to build "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah River Run"'s storyline around the Song of the South characters and settings.
This is why -- as sort of a litmus test for this attraction -- Eisner ordered that "Song of the South" be put into an extremely limited release in the Fall of 1986. If I'm remembering correctly, the film was only out in theaters for two weeks. Three weeks max. Before "SOTS" was quickly pulled and put back in the vault.
Given that no one wrote to the Walt Disney Company while Song of the South was playing in theaters here in the U.S. to complain about the film's portrayal of its black characters (and--more importantly--given that SOTS actually did pretty well at the box office during its limited re-release), Eisner finally gave the Imagineers the okay to use the movie's characters and settings in their proposed Disneyland flume attraction.
However, just to play it safe, Uncle Michael ordered that all references to Uncle Remus be removed from the ride; that's why the narrator in the queue area is clearly identified as Brer Frog. Eisner also asked that--to further distance this thrill ride from the somewhat controversial Song of the South--that WDI drop the name "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah River Run" in favor of something a bit more generic. Which is how Disneyland's flume ride ended up being called "Splash Mountain."
Anyway... Rick, you asked me if Disney has any plans to release Song of the South on home video and DVD. Well, given this "permanent moratorium" nonsense, the Mouse is now insisting that this particular film will never ever see the light of day again... at least here in the United States.
Which is really interesting. Given that--as recently as three years ago--Buena Vista Home Entertainment was actively exploring ways they could release SOTS on home video and DVD here in the U.S.
Of course, in order to make this title palatable to the general public during these increasingly politically correct times, BVHE knew that it had to package this film just right. Which is why (for a time) Disney toyed with the idea of selling a version of Song of the South that would have been preceded by a showing of Walt Disney Feature Animation's new short, John Henry.
You see, Buena Vista Home Entertainment's idea was to persuade a prominent African-American like James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman or Dr. Maya Angelou to serve as the MC on this DVD / home video. Someone who could introduce Song of the South, explaining the film's historical significance as well as re-enforcing the idea that SOTS was a product of a less enlightened time in Hollywood.
Then--once Song of the South finished being shown--the film's host would then introduce John Henry. Which (hopefully) would demonstrate the great strides that the Walt Disney Company had made in its depiction of and attitudes toward African-Americans.
It seemed like a pretty fool-proof scheme. Using the device of a prominent African-American narrator to help put Song of the South in proper perspective. A framework which would (hopefully) make SOTS more palatable (or--at the very least--less distasteful to) African American consumers.
The only problem was... Buena Vista Home Entertainment reportedly approached the wrong African American first. The way I keep hearing this story, the very first person that BVHE went to in their quest to recruit a narrator / host for their Song of the South / John Henry home video and DVD project was poet Maya Angelou. Angelou supposedly loved "John Henry" when WDFA screened the short for her, but was deeply offended by SOTS. The noted author then allegedly told the reps at Buena Vista Home Entertainment that--if they ever dared to put "Song of the South" up for sale in the United States--that she personally would take part in the protests.
That threat was reportedly enough for the Walt Disney Company to order Song of the South back into the vault... never to see the light of day again.
And that framing device that Buena Vista Home Entertainment dreamed up for its proposed Song of the South / John Henry combo release? That concept actually ended up being used on BVHE's American Legends release. That home video and DVD (which was released back in 2001) featured James Earl Jones as its host/narrator. In which the noted African American actor introduced John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan and Casey Jones, The Brave Engineer.
Still--as Buena Vista Home Entertainment struggles to find other older Disney film titles to put up for sale on home video and DVD--you have to wonder if the temptation to release Song of the South will eventually become too great. That--even with the outcry from African-Americans that is almost certain to accompany the re-release of this film--that this still could end up being a profitable venture for the Mouse. That-- f BVHE were eventually able to move 10-12 million units of SOTS--that all of the agita and anxiety associated with this movie's home video and DVD release would ultimately be worth it.
My advice, Ryan? Keep an eye on Buena Vista Home Entertainment. If this division of the Walt Disney Company's upcoming releases--Treasure Planet, Atlantis II: Milo's Return, and the colorized version of The Absent Minded Professor--don't exactly set the retail world on fire, BVHE execs may feel that they have no choice but to revisit the company's decision to put SOTS on permanent moratorium.
After all, this was the corporation that said that Disneyland's "Main Street Electric Parade" was "... glowing away forever." So--if that parade can come back to Anaheim--chances are pretty good that Song of the South won't actually be stuck in Disney's film vaults forever.
@@LittleJerryFan92I was not condescending. The "disclaimers" on Peter Pan and the Aristocats is woke nonsense. There aren't any stereotypes in SOTS and every reference to the film has been erased including the animal characters. Uncle Remus is no different than Darby O'Gill. They won't even release SOTS with a disclaimer.
Hey Shellfriends if you would like more information about Splash Mountain/ Song of the South click here! Link: Link: www.businessinsider.com/song-of-the-south-disney-splash-mountain-closing-controversy-racism-2023-1
So you just read this article on your show without researching what it said? With Song of the South, most people wanting to ban it who write articles like this have never seen it or don't know about why it was made or the history of the Uncle Remus stories before that. Be careful of what's out there and research things for yourself. When I covered Song of the South on a show a few months ago I'd researched it and told the stories of those in it and who made it. This article also ignores Floyd Norman, one of the first black animators who's long advocated for this film.
@@edmccray212🌊🌊🌊
Ridiculous
I agree with the opinion on Song of The South.
I wouldn't saw it's racist. You should do more research on the history going all the way back to the stories themselves. When you look at what other studios were making with black actors at the time, this film is head and shoulders above the rest. No one even uses a slur in it and Remus is treated as an equal by the white characters. The grandmother speaks with him as another concerned elder and Johnny treats him as a mentor. When looking at the Disney canon, Remus has a lot in common with Darby O'Gill.
The award James Baskett won was an eternal Oscar. Only 2 were ever given. The other was for Edmund Gwenn as Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street. They were considered above the annual Oscars and many today try to downplay his award when, at the time, it was seen as a higher award than other Oscars.
Walt Disney was disgusted that the black actors were barred from the premiere and didn't stick around. The film was premiered in Atlanta because that's where the Joel Chandler Museum was located and home of where the stories came from.
The "Backlash" was due to the head of the NAACP wanting to play Uncle Remus and Walt passing on him. This is chronicled in Jim Korkis' book.
Walt rejected that earlier script. What's that say about Walt? He didn't want the film to be racist.
Tar baby stories are found in multiple cultures with the oldest in India. I've read the modern reinterpretations that the stories are about blackness getting on white characters but people who study the tales say characters like Br'er Rabbit represented the black community so this is trying to have it both ways.
Ward Kimball called the lead crow Jim Crow to stick it to Jim Crow laws. All of the actor of the crows were black and included James Baskett and Nick Stewart (who was Br'er Bear.) Ward wasn't slamming black people with those characters. They studied black performers in clubs to get accurate dance moves. No one read race into them at the time but if we do today, doesn't that add more dimension to their helping Dumbo? They're marginalized and help the marginalized Dumbo.
Nixon and Regan had nothing to do with a backlash against the Civil Rights movement. Conservatives were always the party of Civil Rights and in the 1950's they tried to advance a civil rights law but JFK and LBJ blocked it. Civil Rights was passed in the 1870's but the southern democrats had judges overturn them claiming it was "science."
Pitting Splash Mountain and Princess & the Frog against each other is a mistake. The descendants of the actors from the original film have objected to this. I actually think Princess & the Frog is an insulting film because rather than using an authentic african tale, they took a european one and plopped it into New Orleans and filled it with token black characters. I find all of the live action remakes insulting too. People didn't reject last year's Little Mermaid because she was black, they rejected it because of fatigue from the remakes.
Tokyo Disneyland refused to change the ride. They're better stewards of our history than we are. I hope you'll dig deeper into history. It took me years to delve into all of this myself.
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You're correct and well informed of Song of the South's history. Sadly, the masses still misunderstood this beautiful progressive film that was released back in 1946! Those who don't have critical thinking skills or don't think for themselves will do anything to blindly attack and demonize Song of the South, either they never watched the film or just keep believing the lies and misinformation about the movie. Humans have a long way to go...
@@TaedarVulpineThat's one reason I've been trying to get Song of the South on the National Film Registry. It deserves to be there because of what it is and its important role in both American and black history. People like James Baskett and Nick Stewart were civil rights champions of the time and the film was an important part of that in their careers. There's a lot of American history that's erased or called racist because modern audiences don't understand what it is. There's a 1930's film often smeared called The Green Pastures but it was one of the first black produced films in history and the first time God was ever portrayed as a black man. That's important. At the time it was a critically acclaimed broadway play everyone knew as well. Today it's been scrubbed. There's lots of examples of this too. Each thing like this is a piece of the story of the tapestry of American history. Look at the flap last year where Rachel Ziegler attacked films from 1937 as backward when MANY films in the 1930's were stories about strong women only with a man on her own terms. You know she's probably never seen any because they're "old." Think of average people like that. It's important to delve into history for ourselves.
@edmccray212 WOW! Thank you do much for contributing that information, I will have to take a look at it. 🌊🌊🌊
Throwing "racist" in the thumbnail for clickbait.
The movie is racist yea but the ride ain’t…too many people wanted to cancel the ride to make Tina more represented…
I get that but I will always be grown up on Splash Mountain rather then Tina’s Bayou Adventure