Character page for Disney's Song of the South.
Br'er Rabbit
- Barefoot Cartoon Animal: His rabbit feet are displayed in all his appearances.
- Bindle Stick: He is frequently shown carrying a bindle stick.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Anyone who doesn't respond in turn to his friendly greetings is liable to get punched in the nose after fair warning. Br'er Fox of course exploits this to trap him.
- Guile Hero: Uses his wit and cunning to get out of any situation.
- Lovable Coward: Notably when getting caught by Br'er Fox and pleading not to be thrown into the briar patch. He starts faking his cowardice to lead his enemy on, but when Br’er Fox starts raising the torture stakes, he understandably needs a moment to regain his composure.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Joel Chandler Harris gives Riley as Br'er Rabbit's real name. A very few Disney comics mention it now and then.
- Rascally Rabbit: Br'er Rabbit likes to trick his enemies.
- Real Men Wear Pink: He's a male rabbit who wears a pink shirt.
- The Trickster: He gets himself out of evil's clutches by fooling his adversaries. It's more or less a way of life for him.
Br'er Fox
- Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Like all other anthropomorphic animals in the film.
- Brains and Brawn: The brains when paired with Br'er Bear. He has some trouble controlling the brawn.
- Bullying a Dragon: He can't hide the fact that he doesn't have much respect for his partner, and openly laughs at Br'er Bear getting stung by bees. Since Br'er Bear is... well... a bear, this has predictable consequences.
- Complexity Addiction: Br'er Fox's need to prove himself smarter than Br'er Rabbit means that his plans can get rather elaborate. The Tar-Baby trap, for instance, hinged entirely on Br'er Rabbit being gullible enough to pick a fight with a voiceless doll and not stopping to think about what he was doing.
- Cunning Like a Fox: Zig-zagged. His traps are good enough to catch Br'er Rabbit off his guard, but Br'er Fox himself isn't cunning enough to see through the rabbit's words. By the time of the "Laughing Place" story, Br’er Fox has apparently had enough tricks played on him to recognise what Br'er Rabbit's trying to do, but he's forced to go along due to Br'er Bear insisting.
- Foul Fox: Br'er Fox, true to form, is one of the main antagonists who seeks to eat Br'er Rabbit (the other being Br'er Bear).
- The Hyena: His manic demeanour is complimented by his maniacal laughter.
- Jerkass: And how.
- Lean and Mean: No wonder he's so hot on that rabbit's trail; Br'er Rabbit would clearly be the first square meal Br'er Fox has had in a while!
- Motor Mouth: The Disney animation directors actually had to invent a new animation process to keep up with James Baskett's rapid-fire delivery of Br'er Fox's dialogue.
- Obviously Evil: This is one fox who likes to bare his teeth, that's for sure. Basically the villain of the movie, though Ginny's brothers aren't too far behind.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: He insists on being the one to not only outwit but also kill Br'er Rabbit, even if he has to fight with Br'er Bear about it.
- Pride: His fatal flaw. He insists on using traps and snares to catch Br'er Rabbit because he wants to prove his cunning, and refuses to let Br'er Bear simply club him because, as he puts it, “there’s nothin’ smart about that!”
- Spared by the Adaptation: Generally, stories involving Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Fox end with Br’er Fox getting caught in his own trap and dying, which naturally doesn't happen here. Granted, he would always return for the next tale.
- Villainous Glutton: Is very obsessed with cooking Br'er Rabbit. This is at least half of his motivation for catching him, although he’s perfectly willing to abandon this in favour of inflicting something more painful on his archenemy.
Br'er Bear
- Bears Are Bad News: If you happen to be a potential meal or cause of irritation for him, watch out.
- Beary Funny: A lot like Goofy in his dopey years, he's so stupid that it can be amusing and also has a playful and lighthearted side in him.
- Boring, but Practical: His go to solution for dealing with Br'er Rabbit? "Knock his head clean off."
- Brains and Brawn: The brawn. Things don't go well when he decides to act as his own brains.
- The Brute: He is a simple bear. If something or someone frustrates him, he threatens to bludgeon it.
- Catchphrase: “I’m gonna knock his head clean off!”
- "NOW LOOK!" - for when he’s really pissed off.
- Dumbass Has a Point: He may be lacking in brains, but he is smart enough to realize that Br'er Fox's arrogance and need to prove himself smarter than Br'er Rabbit with overly complicated schemes are the reason Br'er Rabbit keeps outsmarting them and that the best way to handle him is to just knock his block off and be done with it.
- Dumb Muscle: The muscle is the only thing he is using and he's too slow to realize any obvious tricks until Fox plainly points them out.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Fittingly for the setting.
- The Millstone: More like a rock that drags Br'er Fox down with him, as his idiotic and monolithic ways are often one of the main reasons why Br'er Fox's schemes fail.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Most of the time he doesn't come across as much more than a Looney Tunes villain as he lets both Br’er Fox and Br’er Rabbit do the thinking instead. When however he does decide to think for himself (not much but enough to get pissed) he becomes a colossal threat that sends everyone, even Br'er Fox, running for cover.
- Psychopathic Manchild: It isn't rare to see him happy and agreeable as long as you let him play. Him throwing destructive tantrums when he doesn't get his way isn't very rare either.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Whenever he gets really mad at Br'er Fox and/or Br'er Rabbit they both know it's their cue to go Oh, Crap! and keep a safe distance.
- Stating the Simple Solution: Br’er Bear doesn’t have much faith in Br’er Fox’s complex schemes and would rather just bludgeon Br’er Rabbit to death. Br’er Fox, however, won’t allow that.
- Too Dumb to Live: He's pretty much a plot device, both in the movie and the folk tale, to screw with Br'er Fox and his plans.
- Villainous Glutton: While obviously not to the extent of Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear doesn't seem to mind the idea of eating Br'er Rabbit either. He did, after all, make himself comfortable at Br'er Foxes dinner table and get his bib ready.
Uncle Remus
- Adults Are Useless: Averted, as he's the most sensible and helpful character in the movie.
- Cool Old Guy: A mentor and a pleasant fellow who tells good stories to kids and advises them.
- Magical Negro: His wiseness establishes him as one. He could also be a subversion, since in the end he actually DOES step forward and save the day, rather than motivating a white person to do it themself.
- Nice Guy: He's the only character in the movie to not be shown having any real character flaws or being rude to people at any point. Given that the movie was trying promote tolerance, this was probably intentional.
Ginny Favers
- Barefoot Poverty: She wears shoes for Johnny's party, the rest of the time, she is barefoot.
- Doomed New Clothes: The dress she dons for Johnny's party.
- Nice Girl: Generally pretty friendly.
Johnny
- Break the Cutie: If deprived of his father and/or Uncle Remus.
- Briar Patching: Johnny pulls this trope on Ginny's brothers.
Toby
- Break the Cutie: Mourns for Johnny after the bull attack and has to tearfully explain to John Sr. what has happened.
Ginny's Brothers
- Barefoot Poverty: They are always barefoot as they come from a poor family.
- Karma Houdini: The closest thing they get to a comeuppance is being told off by Remus.
- Kick the Dog: Threatening to drown a dog is too long to say but it is arguably even more drastically evil right?
- Older Sidekick: Joe is the older one of the two but is Jake's lackey.
Sally
- Adults Are Useless: Especially in her case as her actions almost lead to her son's demise.
- Control Freak: She is so determined to raise Johnny the way she sees fit that she won't listen to anyone's advice unless Miss Doshy overrules her.
- Not Now, Kid: She doesn't listen to her own son or anybody else for that matter and she even shows reluctance when Johnny requests to invite Ginny to his birthday party.
Miss Doshy
- Adults Are Useless: Averted but not quite to the same extent as Uncle Remus, she openly refuses his advice but she at least understands that Johnny needs a role model or at least a friend and sees Remus as such.
- The Cassandra: She warns Sally that she's only doing Johnny more harm than good by telling Uncle Remus not to tell him stories.
John Sr.
- Rich Kid Turned Social Activist: Possibly. The family conversation at the start of the movie indicates that many people are "mad at what Daddy writes in the newspaper" at his job in Atlanta, though apparently John Sr. and his wealthy mother stand by it. Given the Reconstruction Era setting and Joel Chandler Harris's (who compiled the books the film is based on) own career as an Atlanta journalist, it's implied he is a vocal opponent of the looming Jim Crow laws.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: He leaves the plantation soon after arriving and Johnny spends the rest of the film pining for his return. He finally returns after his son is attacked by the bull.
Mr. Bluebird
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Wears a top hat.
- A Dog Named "Dog": A blue bird named "Mr. Bluebird".
- Parrot Pet Position: There's even a lyric of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" about him going on one's shoulder.
