Song of the South is set in Reconstruction-era Georgia, where seven-year-old Johnny and his parents take a trip to the Georgia plantation of Johnny’s grandmother. Johnny soon learns that his parents are separating, and he will be staying at the plantation with his mother and grandmother while his father works in Atlanta. Distraught over this separation, Johnny runs away to find his father. During his escape, Johnny first hears Uncle Remus telling stories of someone named Br’er Rabbit. Johnny and Remus become friends, as viewers are treated to numerous stories from Uncle Remus that are portrayed via animation segments. As with Harris’ stories, the film version of these tales provides Johnny with some much-needed life lessons.
James Baskett portrayed the character of Uncle Remus masterfully. Child star Bobby Driscoll played Johnny. Driscoll went on to star in many Disney films, including the “Pecos Bill” segment of Melody Time (1948), So Dear to My Heart (1949), and Treasure Island (1950). He also notably voiced Peter Pan in the classic 1953 Disney film of the same name. Fellow Disney child star Luana Patten, who also starred alongside Driscoll in Melody Time and So Dear to My Heart, played the role of Ginny Favers.
Song of the South is significant because it was the first live-action drama made by Disney. “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” won the Academy Award for Best Song and James Baskett won a special Academy Award for his portrayal of Uncle Remus, the first Academy Award ever given to black male actor.
Both Joel Chandler Harris’ writings, as well as Song of the South, have been the subject of controversy for many years due to the issues of race and slavery, and how those issues are portrayed in both the Uncle Remus stories and in the film. Specifically, the depiction of former slaves (including dialect), race relations in Georgia during Reconstruction, the setting of a post-Civil War plantation, and use of the term “Uncle” (used at times as a patronizing label for elderly black men) have been criticized. It is worthwhile to note that the Disney company never made the complete version of Song of the South available on home video or DVD in the United States because of these controversial issues.
The Beaver Brothers and Chick-a-Pin Hill
Disney created an elaborate “official” backstory for Splash Mountain. Unfortunately, due to the location of this backstory, few Disney guests are aware of it. Imagineers paid homage to Joel Chandler Harris by creating a few signs that appear to be front pages of a newspaper called Rabbit Tales (unfortunately, Rabbit Tales is no longer on display). Most of these signs are in the queue for the attraction and are simple safety warnings.
However, in order to see the actual backstory, you will need to keep your eyes open as you depart the Walt Disney World Railroad at the Frontierland station, which sits above the entrance gateway to the attraction. Hanging on a wall is a copy of Rabbit Tales, with a front page article by Jasper P. Woodchuck. The front-page headline reads: “Guests Plunge 52 Feet, Wind Up In Briar Patch.” This article is very elaborate, and explains how Splash Mountain first came to be:
Towering up and above everything hereabouts is Splash Mountain. Used to be that once upon a time, when most of us were still critlins, Splash Mountain was called Chick-a-Pin Hill. But that was then and back before a moonshining raccoon named Rackety made a slight, but potent error. While mixing an experimental batch of brew, his juice producing still ended up being blown sky high. Many who were there at the time speculated that it was an overabundance of blueberries that caused the disaster.
This was unfortunate, not only for Rackety, but for the industrious Beaver Brothers, who had only recently finished construction on their new dam. Unknown to the Beaver Brothers, Rackety had built his juice still in the woods that backed up to their dam at the high end of the foothills. When the still exploded, the beaver dam burst forth, and all the water it was holding back flooded the thousands of burrows, holes, and tunnels that crisscrossed the inside of Chick-a-Pin Hill. From that time on, all the critters round here couldn’t help but call this place Splash Mountain.
Luckily, Mr. Woodchuck does not stop there in his Rabbit Tales article, as he provides guests with much more detail on Splash Mountain’s backstory:
Now days, Br’er Rabbit’s been living in a briar patch, deep in the heart of Splash Mountain. And not so long ago, old Br’er Rabbit took it into his head, that if he’d just up and leave his prickly home in the briar patch, then he’d be able to leave all his troubles behind, as well.
Mr. Bluebird, and all the other critters who inhabit Splash Mountain, tried to warn the happy-go-lucky hare that moving away from home didn’t mean getting away from trouble.
And sure enough, as soon as Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear got wind that Br’er Rabbit was leaving his briar patch and setting out for an adventure, they decided to set a trap and catch him. Luckily for Br’er Rabbit, he was able to trick Br’er Bear into springing Br’er Fox’s hastily devised rabbit trap. This made Br’er Fox so furious that Br’er Rabbit decided to play another trick on the two, and he began to tell them about a secret “laughing place” that only he knew about.
Sure enough, Br’er Bear and Br’er Fox followed that rabbit right to the foot of a twin oak tree. And with Br’er Fox pushing and shoving, Br’er Bear was able to climb all the way up and look down into the hollow of those two trees. But instead of finding a laughing place, all Br’er Bear found was honey bees. Suddenly, the rotted old tree gave way with a snap and pitched Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear into a darkened, water-filled cavern, buzzing with hundreds of angry bees.
Br’er Rabbit laughed and laughed at the joke he’d played on the two scoundrels. In fact, he laughed so hard that all the other critters started laughing and singing, and before long, that underground water cavern actually turned into Br’er Rabbit’s laughing place.
Unfortunately for Br’er Rabbit, however, he tended to laugh just a little too long at his own joke, and before he knew what was happening, Br’er Fox snuck up behind him and plopped a sticky honey hive over his head.
Br’er Rabbit was dragged by the ears, up to the top of Chick-a-Pin Hill, where Br’er Fox’s lair was hidden in a hollowed log that jutted out over the mighty Splash Mountain waterfall. Br’er Fox threatened to skin Br’er Rabbit, and then to roast him, and eat him. But thinking quickly, Br’er Rabbit told Br’er Fox to go ahead and do anything with him he wanted, so long as he didn’t throw him over the waterfall and into the briar patch.
Slow-witted Br’er Bear liked the idea, and decided that flinging Br’er Rabbit into the briar patch was the best thing to be done. Br’er fox tried to prevent him, and in the struggle, all three went over the falls and into the briar patch.
The briar patch is, of course, Br’er Rabbit’s home sweet home. All the critters hereabouts turned out to congratulate clever Br’er Rabbit on having gotten away once again. And while Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear tried (unsuccessfully) to untangle themselves from the sharp, prickly briars, Br’er Rabbit promised his friends that once and for all he had learned his lesson about leaving home, and that he is now there to stay forever and ever—at least until the urge to go adventuring strikes him once again.
The unfortunate news we have to report today, however, is that human-type critters have now been seen using hollowed-out logs to plunge over Splash Mountain’s roaring waterfall, and then splashing uninvited into Br’er Rabbit’s briar patch homestead located far down below. So far as we know, the human critters have caused no more serious problems than disturbing the peace with their screams.
Our reporters will continue to keep an eagle eye on the situation and report any undue incidents in the next issue of Critter Tales.
Woodchuck’s Rabbit Tales article includes even more information, this time in the form of an account from one of the oldest residents of Splash Mountain, Br’er Owl:
Br’er Owl has lived all his life in the vicinity of Splash Mountain. He was, in fact, born and bred in the heart of Splash Mountain. His home is located deep inside the mountain, in a place called Tall Tale Tunnel. It can be said of Br’er Owl, as it can be said of ma
ny critters of his ilk, that he is partial to stretching the truth somewhat. Perhaps that, and not the cave’s size, is why his home is called as it is. But if ever there’s any one critter in all of this country that knows the comings and goings of those who live in and about Splash Mountain, he’s the one that knows what’s what.
“Of course, this place wasn’t always called Splash Mountain,” Br’er Owl hastens to tell just about anyone who’ll stop long enough to listen. “It used to go by the name of Chick-a-Pin Hill, and some of the folks still call it that...but then Rackety’s raccoon still went and blew up. Since it (it being the still) was sitting in front of the Beaver Brother’s dam, and the dam was sitting in front of Chick-a-Pin Hill...well, this place just sort of got itself flooded. So we critters, mostly Br’er Rabbit, I guess, started calling it Splash Mountain. Because mostly, splashing around in a flume of water is what you end up doing once you’re inside.”
Then, Br’er Owl will ruffle his feathers about some, and if there’s still one little critter left sitting in front of his hollowed-out old root, the place he calls home, then Br’er Owl will start in to spinning his favorite yarn about his most favorite character in the whole wide world. That being Br’er Rabbit, of course.
“What you call this place don’t make much never mind,” Br’er Owl scoffs, sort of uppity-like, “because the point is, what’s likely to happen if you go on down deep inside of Splash Mountain is to find Br’er Rabbit having one of his typical zip-a-dee-do-dah adventures.”
The Imagineers went much further than just providing a backstory for Splash Mountain. They actually provided a summary and narrative of many of the storytelling elements found in the attraction. It’s almost as if the Imagineers spoiled their own attraction! Perhaps that is why the Rabbit Tales article is a bit off the beaten path rather than in the primary queue.
The backstory for Splash Mountain ties in well with the queue and the storytelling elements in the attraction to emphasize two overarching themes: the weak can beat the strong if they use their intellect, and there is no place like home.
Splash Mountain
According to Sam Clemens
Another version of the Splash Mountain backstory, though a brief one, is heard by thousands of Magic Kingdom guests each day, but is largely ignored or forgotten. During the Liberty Square riverboat’s journey around the Rivers of America, narrator Sam Clemens provides his unique take on the story of Splash Mountain:
See that peak just beyond the outskirts of Frontierland? That’s Chick-a-Pin Hill...or at least it used to be. Dam burst a few years back and folks been calling it Splash Mountain ever since. Some have even taken to riding hollowed-out logs over the big falls. Seems far-fetched, I know…but it’s true.
Storytelling Elements
The Queue
The anticipation for Splash Mountain builds as soon as guests enter the Magic Kingdom by walking underneath the train station. Splash Mountain is one of the “coming soon” posters in the tunnel. The poster is a classic, featuring a happy Br’er Rabbit and the frightened duo of Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear all riding a log down the falls of Chick-a-Pin Hill.
Exterior Queue
You approach Splash Mountain either from Liberty Square or from Adventureland, as Frontierland is the only Magic Kingdom land where direct access is not afforded from the central hub. Whether you are stumbling out of the Liberty Tree Tavern after a hearty lunch on the Liberty Square side, or walking off a successful plunder on Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland, the exterior of Splash Mountain is impossible to miss. It is a massive mound of dirt, rocks, and grass that stands approximately eighty-seven feet tall. A signature Splash Mountain tree stump crowns the massive structure.
In Building a Dream, The Art of Disney Architecture (2011), Beth Dunlop describes the dramatic impact that the exterior façade has on park guests:
“Splash Mountain is the closest to literal storytelling that we have,” says Tony Baxter, the long-time Imagineer who designed it. Based on the 1946 feature film Song of the South, this log-flume attraction … occupies the equivalent of an eight-story building. Splash Mountain is loud, quiet, musical, talky, hot, cold, wet, dry, tame, and scary—all within the span of a few minutes.
As you approach Chick-a-Pin Hill, you see a fun Splash Mountain sign directing you to the entrance of the attraction. Br’er Rabbit peeks out from an old wooden window with a big smile on his face, his bags packed. Rounding the corner past the Briar Patch, the gift shop for Splash Mountain located adjacent to the attraction, you see a second sign with Br’er Rabbit standing high atop a stack of chairs, tables, and miscellaneous other items. He is clearly on the lookout…but for what? The answer is just down the hill with one of the most fun photo spots in all of Disney World, featuring re-creations of Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear clearly on the lookout for Br’er Rabbit, who is sitting unnoticed on the end of Br’er Bear’s club.
At this point, you get a very good look at the Frontierland train station. The station is themed to its surroundings, with wood plank construction, weathered shingles, and old lanterns hanging from several perches. The positioning of the station and the railroad tracks themselves in many ways replicates the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, as you must travel underneath the station to enter the Splash Mountain queue.
Once you pass underneath the train tracks, you enter a shaded, relaxing courtyard with the train station, exterior queue, and Splashdown Photos (the photo shop for the attraction) creating almost a mini Splash Mountain land. There are plenty of large trees that provide cool shade during the summer months. Numerous old wooden crates are stacked nearby, further adding to the Old South theme, and several large birdhouses hang from the trees in the queue. These birdhouses are intricately detailed, and appear to have been created using acorns and nuts from the surrounding trees.
A wanted poster for Br’er Fox proclaims that he is “known for general nastiness,” and also informs us (and rabbits) that Br’er Fox “likes rabbit stew.” Just in case you get lost, three wooden arrow signs point to Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Bear, and Br’er Fox, respectively.
Interior Queue
The queue now winds into a barn where you can see even more thematic details that help to set the stage for the actual attraction. Both the exterior and interior of the barn follow the Old South theme, with weathered wood planks and lanterns visible throughout the interior.
Two copies of Rabbit Tales hang on the doors of the barn entrance. They warn: “50 Foot Plunge Ahead,” “Splash Mountain is a Turbulent Flume Adventure With High Speeds, Heights, Sudden Drops and Stops,” and “You May Get Wet!!” You will see a variety of old, dusty barrels, crates, and sacks (some of which are labeled as wheat and oats) inside the barn. Lanterns are used to light the two-story barn, with old blankets draped across rustic wood fences on both levels. Included amongst the barrels and crates are a variety of churns and other agricultural tools such as shovels and post-hole diggers.
The queue winds back outside temporarily before leading to a staircase that takes you to the second story of the barn. Once you reach the second story, you see many signs with warnings of the wet attraction that awaits, similar to the Rabbit Tales warnings seen earlier.
Upon exiting the barn, you proceed down what appears to be a cave via “Tall Tale Tunnel.” Various signs hang on the walls. One sign reads, “You can’t run away from trouble…ain’t no place that far.” Another reads: “Some critters ain’t never gonna learn!”
You see the interior of Br’er Frog’s home, as well as a shadow of Br’er Frog telling a good tale about Br’er Rabbit. It is interesting to note that Br’er Frog has taken over the narration duties from Uncle Remus for purposes of Splash Mountain. The controversy surrounding the character of Uncle Remus no doubt played a role in this decision by the Disney company.
Also displayed in the queue are portraits of various Br’er critters and locations in this fictional world:
Br’er Rabbit
Br’er Goose
&n
bsp; Br’er Fox, who is “lookin for trouble”
Br’er Bear who is “just lookin’”
The Briar Patch
Chick-a-Pin Hill
The Fishin’ Place
The end of the queue winds around to an interior corridor where cast members direct guests to board a series of hollowed-out logs (no doubt the work the Beaver Brothers or their buck-tooth kin). Each log seats up to eight guests (sitting 2x2), and each has a rabbit carved into the front of the log—think of it as a rustic hood ornament.
The Attraction
Once you’re past the queue and aboard one of the floating logs, the true magic of Splash Mountain reveals itself in a breathtaking number of additional thematic details.
Beginning / Outdoor Float
After boarding the beaver-carved logs, which always includes that awkward feeling of sitting down in a wet seat, the journey finally begins. The logs move forward, gently float around a right-hand turn before heading up the attraction’s first lift hill. On the left you will see Br’er Frog, who voices his concerns that Br’er Rabbit is “headed for trouble.”
One of the many things that adds to the excitement of Splash Mountain is the number of “false drops.” The first lift hill is steep enough to make unsuspecting guests think that maybe the big drop is ahead. Instead of the big splashdown, however, the attraction provides an ever-so-slight drop into the outside briar patch. That slight drop is enough to cause a small splash, which is fantastic for building anticipation.
The logs float around the front of Splash Mountain. To the right of the logs, you see the Chick-a-Pin Hill summit, with logs plunging down the steep watery cliff to the unseen base below. The sight of the fall, together with the screams of the guests, build even more anticipation for what’s ahead.
The Backstories and Magical Secrets of Walt Disney World Page 22