How was Splash Mountain racist? Song of the South movie controversy explained in wake of closure 

Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain will be permanently closing on January 23. This comes after the ride has caused a stir for its racist undertones. The closure will also make way for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a Princess and the Frog themed ride.

The closure of the Splash Mountain ride was announced in 2020, however, the exact date for the same was not set at the moment. On December 2, 2022, the renowned adventure park announced that it will be permanently closing on January 23. Splash Mountain will remain closed until the Princess and the Frog-inspired ride is created. The opening date for the same has not been announced.

As some mourned the loss of the park’s only water ride, activists were glad that the Splash Mountain was closing. For those unversed, the ride was inspired by the 1946 film Song of the South. The movie depicts the problematic post-Civil War lifestyle of Black Americans.

When the film premiered, its lead actor James Baskett was not allowed to enter any events related to the movie, including the Academy Award ceremony due to the racial segregation laws present at the time.

Since the announcement of the closure, it has been confirmed that Walt Disney World and Disneyland will be retheming their rides. However, Tokyo Disneyland has not addressed the same and their ride will remain open.

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How was Splash Mountain racist?

Song of the South, the movie that inspired the ride is about a young boy who visits his grandmother’s plantation to learn moral lessons from the wise Uncle Remus, who is played by James Baskett.

In the original outline of the Disney movie, white characters called Uncle Remus an “old darkie.” Jason Sperb, a film professor at Oklahoma State University and the author of Disney's Most Notorious Film: Race, Convergence, and the Hidden Histories of Song of the South, described Remus as a:

“one-dimensional character who has no purpose or identity beyond serving a white family.”

The Black characters also called their white family members as “massa,” which meant “master” during the time of the Civil War. The film also included the character Uncle Tom, a middle-aged black man who has settled in to take on the role of a slave to his white boss and dispensing wisdom to others in the meantime.

Adding to the concerns, the movie depicts characters romanticizing the Old South when racial hierarchy was prominent. The movie’s popular song Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah is also a Civil War song that was originally called, Zip Coon, which uses several Black stereotypes.

The song was problematic to the point that Tokyo Disneyland removed it from their Splash Mountain as well. The ride’s characters Br’er Fox, Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Bear also spoke in a stereotypical dialect which was uncomfortable to listen to, to say the least.

Criticizing the movie, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a Harlem congressman, stated that it was an “insult to American minorities and everything that America as a whole stand for.”

Jason Sperb also stated that the Splash Mountain attempts “to sanitize Disney history” by discarding the controversial aspects of the film in an interview.