Saturday, October 5, 2013

Br'er Rabbit

Br'er Bear (left), Br'er Fox, Br'er Rabbit
and the infamous tar baby (right)
Background History
Br'er Rabbit ("Br'er" is a "brother" with a heavy southern American accent) originally appeared the controversial Uncle Remus, a series of African folktales being hosted by the titular former slave (it was controversial due to the fact a white guy wrote the collection). Walt Disney made the equally controversial Song of the South which was based on the stories. Despite Song of the South being old shame for the Disney corporation, there were comics based on it.
The Actual Comic
It was produced in various European countries (such as Scandinavia and the Netherlands), where the film is virtually unknown. Despite featuring Uncle Remus (the narrator in the film), he was the only host and eventually disappeared. The comics followed the same basic formula as the animated segments of the film: Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox attempt to capture or eat Br'er Rabbit. Being a quick on his feet, Br'er Rabbit outsmarts the (relatively) idiotic Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox. Only the characters in the animated segments of the movie appeared in the comic. It is still part of a Disney comic book that is produced weekly. Also, a comic strip, Uncle Remus and His Tales of Br'er Rabbit lasted for several years and was collected in a trade by Dell.
References:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Disney/SongOfTheSouth?from=Main.SongOfTheSouth
http://classiccartoons.blogspot.com/2008/04/brer-rabbits-comic-stories.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Remus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_the_South
http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4616502

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