I am a huge fan of the film Song of the South and am always happy to add something SOTS related to my collection. Yesterday I picked up this 1986 Little Golden Book, Walt Disney's Uncle Remus.The book is not in great shape, but I am very happy to have this wonderfully illustrated book in my collection.
I have been a fan of the film ever since I first rode the Splash Mountain ride in Disneyland back in 1989. The sights and sounds of the attraction were spectacular, and the final plunge thoroughly exhilarating. I was humming the music from the attraction for weeks afterwards. I came home from our Disneyland visit with my set of Song of the South plushes (Brer Bear, Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit - I even bought an infant sized Splash Mountain T-shirt which Brer Bear has worn ever since), and a craving to see the movie the attraction was based on. To my dismay, I found that the movie has never been released by Disney in North America. Luckily for me I was able to snag a copy of the Japanese laser disc at a local record shop that was going out of business and happened to carry foreign laser discs (for about $100 each). Lucky for me, I was able to get my copy for $15! The great thing about the disc is that you can watch it in English without subtitles (other than the songs for some reason which have Japanese subtitles), so it pretty much is like having an American copy of the film. For anyone who hasn't seen it, you really are missing a Disney treasure. Lets hope Disney finally has the smarts to release it domestically as part of the Disney Treasures DVD series with some added bonus features to make it even more special.
Hey again Ron. To this day I am just as eager as you are to watch this in full. I've seen bits and pieces through TV and other Disney Treasures titles, but there have only been rumors of its rerelease.
ReplyDeleteI swear I saw this once in theaters and that it was released, because for some reason I have this vague memory of me seeing it in a theater with my grandma and being scared of Brer Rabbit getting stuck in a briar patch.
I'm only 25, but I've designed the last few rounds of Disney Treasures dvd menus: The moment I get news of it - should it ever reach Treasures status - I will let you know.
In the meantime, I woud check this out: http://officialsongofthesouth.com/ I've yet to do it but I will take their word that the quality is good.