Oldies But Goodies!

I just purchased on DVD two oldies but goodies from Disney, "Song of the South" and "So Dear to My Heart."
I had seen them both a number of years ago but had forgotten just how enjoyable they are. They truly brought back memories from the golden era of Disney films. It was a nice escape for a couple of hours to a depiction of simpler time and movie making before the inundation and reliance on elaborate special effects, etc. In these films, the story was the star of the film.
One thing confuses me, however. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding "Song of the South", so much so that Disney has relegated it to it's films never to be released again due to it's depiction of African Americans, and perhaps (or not) justifiably so. But I actually find the depiction of Native Americans in "Peter Pan" as more disrespectful and offensive. Why has that been tolerated and not "Song of the South"? I don't get it.

Anyway, I'd love to see more movies like these. Simple family fun without the need for non-stop action and special effects. Just some heartwarming stuff. Anyone have suggestions for other like films of the era from Disney? "Treasure Island" of course. Others?

I really like "The Swiss Family Robinson". I even go up into the treehouse at Disney World.

I agree that there is a heavy reliance on effects; I, too, would like to see some simpler movies, even some like the ones I grew up on in the 90's. One of my favourite movies is "A Little Princess". It's just a sweet little film about a girl at boarding school. It has an amazing soundtrack and some of the shots are gorgeous.

Well, one thing I think is worth pointing out is that both So Dear to My Heart and Song of the South did use lots of special effects, more than most films at the time. The blending of animation and live-action is a special effect, and Disney has always been known for elaborate productions that pushed the limits of available technology at the time. If the story is the only thing of importance, think about whether those movies would work without the animation (So Dear to My Heart might, but not Song of the South).

A favorite Disney film of mine is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which pioneered underwater filming and obviously had great special effects. Okay, so one might say that it also had a story, but it still relied heavily on those effects to "sell" the plot, and that's not really that different from later films, even those made today. Sure, there are a lot of lousy movies made today that have great visuals and nothing else, but the same could be said of movies 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40, 50, 60. It's literally always been the case.

Now, I might also say that great advancements in special effects have changed the way stories are told. The constraints of the time would force filmmakers to think creatively to get around certain limitations, though I'm sure if they could have had the tech of today they would have loved it. Animation itself was a way to get around things that were for all practicality "unfilmable." The choices were to animate it or not make it at all. These days, those constraints are pretty much non-existent, and a filmmaker's imagination can be realized. That doesn't mean that every story put to film will be any good, but, again, that's a problem that has always existed.

So, having said that, to answer your questions, some favorites of mine:

The Reluctant Dragon
Treasure Island
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Moon Spinners
The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh
In Search of the Castaways
The Island at the Top of the World

Bill007 said:

I just purchased on DVD two oldies but goodies from Disney, "Song of the South" and "So Dear to My Heart."
I had seen them both a number of years ago but had forgotten just how enjoyable they are. They truly brought back memories from the golden era of Disney films. It was a nice escape for a couple of hours to a depiction of simpler time and movie making before the inundation and reliance on elaborate special effects, etc. In these films, the story was the star of the film.
One thing confuses me, however. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding "Song of the South", so much so that Disney has relegated it to it's films never to be released again due to it's depiction of African Americans, and perhaps (or not) justifiably so. But I actually find the depiction of Native Americans in "Peter Pan" as more disrespectful and offensive. Why has that been tolerated and not "Song of the South"? I don't get it.

Anyway, I'd love to see more movies like these. Simple family fun without the need for non-stop action and special effects. Just some heartwarming stuff. Anyone have suggestions for other like films of the era from Disney? "Treasure Island" of course. Others?

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How (where) did you get Song of the South?

I'll never tell!
But seriously, there is a seller on Amazon selling the DVD/ROM. The picture quality is pretty good but not pristine. Still, much better than the VHS copy I have.