A missing Song

My current Columbus newspaper project involves the early 70s, and this ad from Feb. 18, 1972 is proof that Disney's notorious Song of the South had a legitimate theatrical release in my lifetime. I think it had another reissue in the 80s but Disney has pulled it from release, and it's never had a legal home video release in the United States.

It's considered by many to racist, and indeed the context for the story (a white kid is told folk stories about the trickster figure Br'er Rabbit by the African-American plantation worker Uncle Remus) does conjure up a"happy slave" atmosphere, even though technically this is set after the Civil War. I've seen a bootleg DVD print, and it's not quite as cringe-worthy as many would claim, though it's also not really a timeless classic, either. James Baskett gives a good performance as Uncle Remus in his only real starring role in a movie, and Hattie McDaniel is fine as usual.