Save Splash Mountain Information

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever been to Disneyland or Walt Disney World and ridden Splash Mountain?

Splash Mountain’s future is at stake!

Disney is trying to re-theme Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Those calling for this change have said that Splash Mountain’s theme is politically-incorrect and not inclusive enough in our diverse world. We are here to tell you that it’s all false.

Song of the South, the 1946 Disney movie that Splash Mountain is based on, is not racist in any way! It’s a genuinely-inclusive, wholesome, family-friendly movie that takes place after the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, during the Reconstruction Era, with both black people and white people living together in harmony—something rarely seen in 1940s era movies. Its main character, a white boy named Johnny, befriends Uncle Remus, a black man, and takes joy in hearing Remus’ stories about Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Bear. Johnny learns from those stories how to cope with the challenges he is facing while living on a plantation.

Since its original theatrical release, Song of the South has been a subject of controversy. Some have falsely accused its portrayal of African-Americans of being racist and offensive, thinking that the black vernacular and other qualities are stereotypes. And the plantation setting is sometimes accused of being idyllic and glorified. Because of the controversy, Disney has not released Song of the South on home video in the United States or put it on streaming services. Movies that portray our past and culture must never be erased. No matter how good or bad certain parts of history may be, people who erase their past, history and culture cease to be a people.

Despite all that, Disney continued featuring the characters, songs and other elements from Song of the South and Splash Mountain in their official media until 2020, when Bob Iger and his band of ideologues that have held The Walt Disney Company hostage for the past decade or so, decided to give in to an oversensitive minority and eliminate all traces of the film and attraction, including not allowing them to appear or be referenced in newer Disney films, television shows and books; stopping production on merchandise featuring them; removing the popular song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” from parades, shows, and background music loops throughout the parks; pulling the Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear costumed characters from meet-and-greets, parades and shows at the parks; and more. Disney fans, shareholders, the majority of the public and many past and present Disney employees have been angry and unhappy about all of this ever since. Doing all of this is not only an act of true racism and flies in the face of Disney’s “diversity and inclusion” pushes, but it also shows that they’ve put politics ahead of profits. Therefore, we’re gathering together to demand that all of these changes be reversed! Even if construction may have already started on the retheme, do not let that discourage you–it’s never too late to do the right thing and the work on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure can always get brought to a screeching halt and Splash Mountain can still get restored and made into a historic landmark on both coasts.

Song of the South is based on actual African-American folktales, while The Princess and the Frog has absolutely nothing to do with real African-American heritage and is actually based on the 2002 novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which itself is loosely based on the German fairytale, The Frog Prince, published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm. How can Disney claim to be “inclusive” if they are erasing actual African-American traditions and culture?! There is also the backstory that Carmen Smith and Charita Carter, the two main masterminds behind this unwanted retheme, came up with. They went out to Avery Island to look at its salt mine dome. Therefore, TBA would see Tiana and several employees of different skin colors running an employee-owned food cooperative housed in Avery Island’s salt mines. Not only are there no mountains in Louisiana, but it also would’ve been impossible for Tiana to own a salt mine and for such a multiracial operation to exist in Louisiana during the 1920s and 30s due to the segregation laws of that period. And slaves worked in the salt mines of Avery Island and died in them! This would also destroy Tiana’s character and make her look like a hypocrite. Splash Mountain never had such problems and now they want to replace it with something that DOES have such issues and DOES have inherent racism and insensitivity tied to them while Smith, Carter, etc. used “we want to be really authentic” as an excuse for trying to make light of something so horrible and genuinely racist!

Song of the South helped break the color barriers in Hollywood. The African-Americans in show business today can thank the likes of Hattie McDaniel, James Baskett, Nick Stewart, Johnny Lee, Roy Glenn and the rest, all of whom defended the film, for paving the way. Hattie McDaniel (who played Aunt Tempy) and James Baskett (who played Uncle Remus and voiced Br’er Fox) were the first African- American woman and man to win Oscars. Nick Stewart (who voiced Br’er Bear, who he is pictured with at the top) founded the Ebony Showcase Theatre, which provided a venue for performers of all races using money that he earned from working on Song of the South and other films. When the Ebony Showcase Theatre was stolen from the Stewart family and torn down by the Los Angeles government in 1998, Disney did nothing to help the Stewarts! Erasing the last remnants of Nick Stewart’s and other pioneering African-American actors’ legacies is not inclusive at all! We’re not only helping to restore and preserve the movie and attraction, but we’re also helping Valarie Stewart, Nick’s daughter, get their theater back!

The Disney executives’ ill-advised decision to continue keeping Song of the South in the vault and perpetuating the lies and artificial controversies they created themselves by not releasing the film is also a true act of racism and a major disrespect to all of the show business pioneers that were involved in the film! If Disney still wants to add a Princess and the Frog attraction to their parks, it must not be at the expense of Splash Mountain or any other existing attractions—Build one from scratch somewhere else! Even despite Disney’s attempts to erase Song of the South, Splash Mountain and everything that came from them, most people still love them and they are far more popular and profitable than The Princess and the Frog!

Song of the South is not a white supremacist product of its time as too many people say! Despite the lies that some people have been perpetuating for years, Walt Disney was actually a progressive visionary. He wanted to bring African-American folklore, culture, history and traditions to the big screen and hired real African-American actors to do it! Song of the South, Splash Mountain, and everything else connected to them are a legacy and tribute to African-Americans and the paving of the road to their accomplishments as a people. The Uncle Remus stories also teach valuable lessons that people need to learn now more than ever!

Until our demands are met, we very strongly encourage everyone to boycott Disney and make it known that you’ll never go back to Walt Disney World or Disneyland ever again until Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is canceled, Splash Mountain is restored, Song of the South gets officially released, “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” and the Br’er costumed characters return to the parks in full force and all things Song of the South start appearing regularly in official Disney media and merchandise again like they used to. There is no way that Disney can hide or erase them! We need Splash Mountain and Song of the South more than ever in today’s world!

We need your help, and here is what you can do.

Call Valarie Stewart, Nick Stewart’s daughter, at 323-331-6370 and ask her what you can do to help.

Friend Valarie Stewart on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peopleneedtoknow

Visit the website for Valarie Stewart’s Ebony Showcase Theatre non-profit charity to learn more: https://www.ebonyshowcase.org

Join the “Save Splash Mountain and Release Song of the South” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/751080852358711

Sign and share the following petitions:

To Save Splash Mountain and Keep it as it is in Magic Kingdom and Disneyland: https://www.change.org/p/everyone-to-save-splash-mountain-and-keep-it-as-it-is-in-magic-kingdom-and-disneyland?r edirect=false

Bring the Brers from Disney’s Song of the South Back to the Disney Parks: https://www.change.org/p/bring-the-brers-from-disney-s-song-of-the-south-back-to-the-disney-parks?source_location =topic_page

Stop Censoring Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah: https://www.change.org/p/tell-disney-to-stop-censoring-zip-a-dee-doo-dah?signed=true

Release Song of the South on DisneyPlus: https://chng.it/R7Z9LpNZjg

Write letters to the following addresses:

Walt Disney World Guest Communications:

P.O. Box 10040

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

Email: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/help/email/

Disneyland Guest Services:

P.O. Box 3232

Anaheim, CA 92803-3232

Email: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/help/email/

Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company

500 S. Buena Vista St.

Burbank, CA 91521

Send a letter to Bob Iger through OurBell: https://ourbell.com/product/save-splash-mountain/

Contact Florida Governor Ron DeSantis:

400 S. Monroe St.

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

Phone number: 850-717-9337

Contact California Governor Gavin Newsom:

1021 O Street

Suite 9000

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone number: 916-445-2841

Go to this link to request Song of the South be added to DisneyPlus. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page, click “Submit feedback”, then click the bar underneath “What would you like to do”, click “Request a movie or show” and then add Song of the South: https://help.disneyplus.com/csp?id=csp_article_content&sys_kb_id=56420ea2879d6d5432467557cebb35a8