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Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African American folktales compiled and adapted by Joel Chandler Harris and published in book form in 1881. Harris was a journalist in post– Reconstruction era Atlanta , and he produced seven Uncle Remus books.
Uncle Remus himself, and a couple of boys to whom he tells the tales, appear as framing devices and narrators in all the stories, except the ones from On the Plantation, Evening Tales, The Tar-Baby and Other Rhymes from Uncle Remus (despite the title) and the novels in the Abercrombie family series.
Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a plantation during his teenage years, Harris spent most of his adult life in Atlanta working as an associate editor at The Atlanta Constitution.
Publishers Weekly in a review of The Tales of Uncle Remus wrote "This collection is important as a way of introducing readers to the Harris tales; it also stands alone as a volume of wonderfully funny folktales. For many purists, though, it will not replace the original stories.
Br'er Rabbit (/ ˈ b r ɛər / BRAIR; an abbreviation of Brother Rabbit, also spelled Brer Rabbit) is a central figure in an oral tradition passed down by African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean, notably Afro-Bahamians and Turks and Caicos Islanders.
Johnny befriends Uncle Remus (Baskett), an elderly worker on the plantation, and takes joy in hearing his tales about the adventures of Br'er Rabbit (Lee), Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear (Baskett and Stewart). Johnny learns from the stories how to cope with the challenges he is experiencing while living on the plantation.
In the animated sequences of the 1946 Walt Disney-produced film Song of the South, like in the tales, Br'er Fox is the stories' antagonist, while Br'er Bear is his unintelligent accomplice. Br'er Fox was voiced by James Baskett, who also portrayed the live-action character Uncle Remus in the film, while Brer Bear was voiced by Nick Stewart.
The Tar-Baby is the second of the Uncle Remus stories published in 1881; it is about a doll made of tar and turpentine used by the villainous Br'er Fox to entrap Br'er Rabbit. The more that Br'er Rabbit fights the Tar-Baby, the more entangled he becomes. The phrase "tar baby" has acquired idiomatic meanings over the years.