Trivia
James Baskett originally auditioned to play the butterfly. Not only did he play Uncle Remus, he played Brer Rabbit for the "Laughing Place" scene and sang the "Laughing Place" song after Johnny Lee was called away to do promotion for the picture. Baskett also played the butterfly.
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When "Splash Mountain", an amusement ride based on the film, "Song of the South" opened in Disneyland in the 1990s, the local NAACP and others protested.
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Contrary to popular belief, the film takes place after the U.S. Civil War, during the period known as "Reconstruction."
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According to page 93 of James Snead's book, "White Screens/Black images", "At the film's New York premiere in Times Square, dozens of black and white pickets chanted, 'We fought for Uncle Sam, not Uncle Tom,' while the NAACP called for a total boycott of the film, and the National Negro Congress called on black people to 'run the picture out of the area.'"
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In an article titled, "Disney's Laughin' Place," Frank Stephenson said "Following its debut, the NAACP registered its official displeasure of what it called the film's 'racial stereotyping' a charge echoed by the National Urban League."
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Disney first re-released the film in 1956. In 1970, Disney announced in Variety that the film had been "permanently" retired. The studio changed its mind and re-released the film in 1972, 1981, and 1986.
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On May 8, 2007, the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, which includes representatives from the Los Angeles Civil Rights Association, the NAACP National Board, and the Youth Advocacy Coalition, sent out a press release denouncing Disney's rumors to re-release the film again.
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"The Hedda Hopper Show - This Is Hollywood" broadcast a 30-minute radio adaptation on February 1, 1947, with James Baskett reprising his film role.
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The complete film has never been released on DVD in the USA, but extensive clips appear on the Alice in Wonderland Un-Anniversary Edition DVD (2010), in the special feature One Hour in Wonderland.
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It has been alleged that James Baskett couldn't attend the premiere of this film in Atlanta because no hotel would give him a room due to his skin color.
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The movie was mentioned in a Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" animated sequence called "Journey to the Disney Vault".
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