The kindly story-teller Uncle Remus tells a young boy stories about trickster Br'er Rabbit, who outwits Br'er Fox and slow-witted Br'er Bear.The kindly story-teller Uncle Remus tells a young boy stories about trickster Br'er Rabbit, who outwits Br'er Fox and slow-witted Br'er Bear.The kindly story-teller Uncle Remus tells a young boy stories about trickster Br'er Rabbit, who outwits Br'er Fox and slow-witted Br'er Bear.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total
Georgie Nokes
- Jake Favers
- (as George Nokes)
Nick Stewart
- Br'er Bear
- (voice)
- (as 'Nicodemus' Stewart)
Johnny Lee
- Br'er Rabbit
- (voice)
Helen Crozier
- Mother Possum
- (voice)
Jessie Cryer
- Laughter
- (uncredited)
Babette De Castro
- Bird Voices
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Cherie De Castro
- Bird Voices
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAfter abandoning his studies of pharmacology for financial reasons, James Baskett supported himself as an actor, moving from his home town of Indianapolis, Indiana to New York City, New York and joining the company of Bill Robinson, better known as Mr. Bojangles. After achieving moderate success on the stage, Baskett and his family moved to Hollywood where he found work in a couple of films. In 1945, he auditioned for a bit part of voicing a talking butterfly in this film. "I thought that, maybe, they'd try me out to furnish the voice for one of Uncle Remus' animals," Baskett remarked. Upon review of his voice, Walt Disney wanted to meet Baskett personally, and had him tested for the role of Uncle Remus. Not only did Baskett get the part of the butterfly's voice, but also the voice of Br'er Fox and the live-action role of Uncle Remus as well. Additionally, Baskett filled in as the voice of Br'er Rabbit for Johnny Lee in the "Laughing Place" scene after Lee was called away to do promotion for the picture. Disney liked Baskett, and told his sister Ruth [Disney] that Baskett was "the best actor, I believe, to be discovered in years". This was one of the first Hollywood portrayals of a black actor as a non-comic character in a leading role in a film meant for general audiences. Even after the film's release, Disney maintained contact with Baskett, where the two became close friends, like brothers. Disney also campaigned for Baskett to be given an Academy Award for his performance, saying that he had worked "almost wholly without direction" and had devised the characterization of Remus himself. Thanks to Disney's efforts, Baskett won an Honorary Academy Award in 1948. Four months after the Academy Awards ceremony, James Baskett died from heart failure resulting from diabetes. After his death, James' widow, Margaret, wrote a letter to Disney and told him that he had been a "friend indeed and [we] certainly have been in need."
- GoofsBefore Uncle Remus tells the story about the Laughing Place, the mud on Ginny's dress disappears and reappears between shots.
- Quotes
Uncle Remus: You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far.
- Alternate versionsOn a 1991 British VHS release and a British television broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation in 2006, the "The End" card was displayed on a blue background instead of the original 1946 cream one.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Magical World of Disney: Donald's Award (1957)
Featured review
An embarrassment for the Disney people, but not to anyone who enjoys great movies
Political correctness having been pounded into our heads by the media, I can understand the underlying racial issues that have blunted this Disney film's reputation--no one really wants to be reminded of this particular era (the post-Civil War) when rich Southern white folks called the shots and the black folk did all the hard work--but I can't imagine any film-goer of any color passing up the chance to see James Baskett as Uncle Remus (this was his swan song, dying about a year after this film's original release and just a few months after winning a special Oscar for his contribution). I saw this in the 1970s at a drive-in theater and the experience was magical, it stuck with me for years. It's an emotional, lovely movie about childhood, the friendship between kids and adults, and the confusion about right and wrong. There are no issues here about white and black, but then, this isn't the proper film to address those issues. It is the South at the turn of the century, and in that regard it's not much different from "Gone With The Wind". There are beautiful animated interludes and a handful of terrific songs, Brer Bear is a riotous Disney character, and the live-action youngsters (Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten) are wonderful--the scene where he gives her his fancy collar is quite poignant. Driscoll and Patten were later teamed in Disney's "So Dear To My Heart", which is also worth finding. "Song of the South" is a film with a great big heart that needs to come out of the vaults. Let viewers judge for themselves.
helpful•9618
- moonspinner55
- Sep 6, 2005
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Uncle Remus
- Filming locations
- 4747 W Buckeye Road, Phoenix, Arizona, USA(plantation scenes, now VPX Phoenix)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $37,459,346
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,203,111
- Nov 23, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $37,459,346
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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