Disney's Splash Mountain Ride Inspired By Studio's 'Most Racist Movie': Here's Why

Disney Parks have reportedly been urged to overhaul the theme of its famous Splash Mountain ride.

The park’s popular log flume ride has recently been getting calls for Disney to alter its whole attraction motif. In the wake of the protests against police brutality and racial injustices and amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, fans and parkgoers have claimed that Disney’s Splash Mountain is based on the 1946 Disney film “Song of the South” — which has been dubbed one of the “most racist movies” for its stereotypes of black people.

According to a report from CNN, the controversial live-action animated musical film has long been criticized for romanticizing the post-Civil War period in South America. “Song of the South” is set in a plantation in Georgia in the 1800s during the Reconstruction era. It shows African Americans and white people living in harmony — a theme that completely dismantles any sense of politics, history or ideology happening at the time.

Although the 1948 film has been lauded for its innovative mix of live action and animation — where the popular “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” was accoladed with the 1948 Academy Award for best original song — the original release has since remained a subject of controversy.

Critics have denounced its inaccurate and offensive portrayal of black people, highlighting how the movie showed racist stereotypes of African-Americans.

In the movie, black cast members predominantly acted as happy-go-lucky slaves who seem pleased to serve their white masters. One of them is the popular Uncle Remus (James Baskett), a plantation laborer who tells stories to a young white boy.

Luckily, the film was never made available on home video across the country and is even excluded from Disney Plus’ slew of vintage movies. Groups such as NAACP have also previously protested “Song of the South’s” initial release, USA Today reported.

Meanwhile, despite the Splash Mountain ride being a mainstay at both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland California, thousands of people are promoting a re-imagined theme based on a vastly different and racially uplifting Disney movie.

The 2009 animated musical “The Princess and the Frog” is Disney’s first film to introduce a black princess. According to Alex O, Princess Tiana, the movie’s protagonist, will also be the very first princess to have a ride directly inspired from her — and a thrilling one at that.

“'Princess and the Frog' is a beloved princess movie but has very little representation in the parks,” Alex O wrote. "Tiana could be one of the first princesses with a thrill ride, as well as giving her a much-deserved place in the parks.”

Even Disney cast member Frederick Chambers has already conformed to the idea. As per CNN, Chambers, who works at Disneyland California, developed an idea to change the ride’s theme using “The Princess and the Frog,” though he initially talked about it with just his fellow “cast members.” But bbelieving the re-theme to be “very plausible,” Chambers took his idea to Twitter and immediately garnered praise online.

Chambers told USA Today that though his ideas may have garnered significant attention, his cooked-up suggestions were initially just for fun. He also paid respects to employer and Splash Mountain Imagineer Tony Baxter, who “took a problematic film from Disney’s past (which was redistributed in the '70s and '80s to reasonably success)” and combined it “with reused America Sings Animatronics, and a log flume ride vehicle” — which also explains as to why Disney parks even considered referencing the movie for one of their park rides.

"The bones of the attraction are good, but I think it's time for us to take a serious look at where our stories come from and how people of color are represented on screen and in the parks," Chambers said.

So far, the online petition for the park's ride change has around 14,000 signees.

Disney parks have yet to comment on the matter.