Can't see this being re-released in the near future

I was reading about controversial material this evening and Song of the South came up. I saw this in the theater in 1986 as a kid. I had a little cartoon book using the characters. I don't remember getting anything negative off it and after watching it years later still remembered the animated sequences. I had just watched it a month ago or so, so I popped in my Laserdisc to watch it with a more critical eye.

The story in and of itself is OK. The biggest problem is they are never to clear of the timeframe and still mention a plantation. If you watch you can figure out the real timeframe but just a glance it can be misconstrued and far too easily. A few other scenes fall in a gray area depending on how you look at them.

Disney seems to want to wash their hands of it yet remember it at the same time. They know it exists, won't release it, but still will release figures of the animation, use the characters in Splash mountain etc. They however ignore the other aspects of the film.

It can be looked at innocently enough, or you can interpret it as you wish. I don't forsee Disney releasing it at the present simply because it only takes one wrong interpretation to spoil it. I think the largest problem is that it can be looked at as the viewer wants to look at it, and Disney doesn't want that viewer looking at it any other way than the way it was originally intended.

It still has some funny moments, the precarious position Brer Rabbit is in when he gets snagged by the trap. Every time I see him trapped like that I can't help but laugh.

While I'd hope they'd eventually release it I just don't see it happening.