Disney's Sing-A-Long Songs - Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah [VHS] Volume 2 Review
Purchasers of Disney's "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," the second volume of the company's
Sing Along Songs series, may discover that not everything is as "satisfactchull" as it could be with this tape--it all depends on why you're buying it. If you've sought out the video because of a sentimental devotion to the musical the title tune is taken from,
Song of the South, then you're bound to be disappointed. Disney's undying efforts to make nice have spilled into this segment (the first of a nine-song package), and all is sanitized so that the original film's disconcerting depictions of then-de rigueur racial inequality cause no modern-day discomfort. But that's not to say the scene of Uncle Remis strolling a hummingbird- and butterfly-lined road and singing his song isn't a sure-fire mood-lifter, or that it doesn't succeed in its mission, which is to jog joyful childhood memories. And it is the only way to see any of the film on video; Disney has no plans to ever release the controversial film. In fact each of this collection's numbers (all ingrained collectively on a generation now raising its own kids), aims to knead adult viewers' nostalgic sides (presumably part of a strategy to perpetuate Disney die-hards). Especially effective are
Cinderella's "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," the Davy Crockett series' "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," and
Snow White's "Whistle While You Work."
--Tammy La Gorce
