Uncle Walt spins in his cryo-chamber

Well, I hope you saw the Robert Smigel cartoon "Journey to the Disney Vault" on SNL tonight, because something tells me the Disney lawyers may keep it from being rerun. Smigel has picked on Disney before, but the use of Mickey Mouse as a character and the redubbing of a clip from "Song of the South" may be more than the studio will let slide.

As you know, Disney does not have all its animation product in release at once, and it promotes its limited-time-only DVD releases by saying that after such-and-such a date, the movie will go "back into the Disney vault." The cartoon started as an ad for a variety of non-existent sequels which are headed "back into the vault," then shows a young boy and girl disappointed at this fact and wishing they could visit the Disney vault. Then we find out we're actually watching a promo for yet another animated film, "Journey to the Disney Vault."

Anyway, when the kids arrive they find Mickey Mouse, Uncle Walt's frozen head, and a clip from "Song of the South" in which Uncle Remus has been overdubbed with white-supremacist lyrics. (Mickey tells the kids that Walt only showed this version at parties.) Mickey also makes reference to Uncle Walt's cooperation with the House Un-American Activites Committee.

Funny stuff, but I wonder if we'll see it again.