Disney may never live down Song of the South — or its attempted do-over

polygon.com:

Earlier this year, Orlando’s Disney World theme park closed down the water ride Splash Mountain due to its ties to Disney’s 1946 film Song of the South, known for its racist caricatures and reductive look at Reconstruction-era America. It’ll ultimately be replaced with a ride inspired by 2009’s The Princess and the Frog, a movie built around Disney’s first Black princess. The decision kicked off a wave of backlash, particularly from people who can’t stomach any sense of cultural change. Of course, a backlash to that backlash wasn’t far behind.

Missing from some of the discussion about Splash Mountain: any specific or nuanced reference to the chapter of Walt Disney Company history that the ride references, all of which the corporation has largely attempted to bury. Song of the South only exists as an artifact of random video uploading — Disney has never released the film digitally. But with a little digging, you can find another Disney movie that sheds light on the situation. Like Song of the South, it’s missing from Disney Plus. Also like Song of the South, it’s a 1940s movie that mixes live action with animation, leans heavily on a nostalgic view of America unsupported by historical record, and features a black character who wins over the white characters who view him as problematic and an upset to the status quo. The movie? 1948’s So Dear to My Heart, about a boy who adopts a black sheep on his grandfather’s Indiana farm and raises it to be a prize-winner at a local fair.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about So Dear to My Heart was that it was a do-over for the Walt Disney Company after the critical drubbing Walt himself took over Song of the South, his passion project. The main difference is that the troublesome