What if the Disney classic Fantasia was launched on Blu?

[Ernest Rister]

"Although most historians today trace all the fuss back to a disgruntled black ex-animator from Disney, who started the "Walt is racist!" finger-pointing headlines after leaving the studio, even though the NAACP found no major objections to their SotS screening.)"

Song of the South was controversial even in 1946 -- the Urban League protested the film, even if the NAACP did not. The film is replete with racial stereotypes, and while I agree the film is not racist (the only decent characters in the film are the African-American sharecroppers, the villains are all white, including the boy's parents) it is impossible to deny the appearance of the racial stereotypes, which in itself are enough to cause concern and offense for some.

The true problem with releasing SOTS today is that protest groups - eager for publicity that increases their fundraising - would seize on it and make all sorts of charges to get their organization onto the 5:00 p.m. news, and then Disney would have to waste money defending the charges, and the resulting publicity firestorm would not help anybody. It would cause nothing but bad feelings stateside, so I understand Iger's decision (and Eisner's before him) to simply let the film lie.

In any case, aside from the marvelous animated vignettes, the film is more boring than watching ice melt. I think it was Bosley Crowther of the New York Times who famously said the ratio of live action to animation in the film was three to one, and that this was precisely the ratio of the film's mediocrity to its charm. That pretty much sums up the film perfectly.

If you really want it, just import it. Otherwise, you're not missing much.