“You Can’t Run Away From Trouble – Ain’t No Place That Far.”
The basic storyline of Splash Mountain is comparable to the storyline in both the Lion King and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. It’s about a character who runs away from the troubles and responsibility of his home, only to realize one day he has to face his bullies and go back home. Brer Rabbit wants to spend his days idling away in his Laughin’ Place, while Simba wants to lounge around in Hakuna Matata bliss and Rudolph wants to live life amongst the misfit toys. It also bears resemblance to The Jungle Book, in which Mowgli wants to spend his days carefree in the jungle, only to realize he needs to go back home and assume the responsibility of a human.
Of course, the storyline of Splash is most easily comparable to its source: Song of the South. In the movie, little Johnny gets depressed from the bully kids next door who pick on him. They kick him, insult him and want to hurt his puppy. So Johnny wants to run away from home. Uncle Remus tells him the story of Brer Rabbit and convinces him that no matter what, Johnny will have to one day face his troubles.
In both Splash and the movie, we see that Brer Rabbit didn’t have much strength of his own, being a small little guy, so he had to use his brains to foil his enemies, tricking Brer Fox and Brer Bear to send him right where he wanted to go. “Yes sir, I was born and bred in the Briar Patch!” Little Johnny uses the same tactics as Brer Rabbit, outwitting the bullies.
“It’s the Truth, its Actual… Everything is Satisfactual! It’s a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day!”
