“Story sketches on Song of the South were a big advance in character development for the studio”.  Marc Davis, who animated on the picture, said, ‘Bill Peet is the one who deserves the credit for that conception…absolutely an incredible thing’”.  From The Disney Villain by Johnston and Thomas, Hyperion, N. Y. 1993

“Bill Peet’s story sketches for Song of the South (1946) do considerably more in that area on animation production that is arguably the most creative….   Peet…not only staged the action; he has suggested props, costumes, motivations, gags, bits of personality business, story continuity, locale, character relationships, and camera angles”.  From Treasures of Disney Animation, 1982, Artabras Pub. N. Y.  Copyright by Walt Disney Productions.

Referring to his work on Song of the South, “Bill Peet’s great story work seemed to lend itself to this type of casting ...which could have only been done by one person handling both the characters and completely controlling every single bit of action, timing and cutting.  He had developed strong character delineation, and the design of the characters inspired the animators to get a very loose handling of their work.  But more important, Bill’s business called for much personal contact between the bear, the fox and the rabbit.  Also, his relationships demanded split second reactions between the characters that would have been impossible in co-animation.”  From Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, by Thomas and Johnston, Abbreviate Press Pub., N. Y. 1981 Copyright by Walt Disney Productions.

“Bill Peet always had a strong, overall concept of the story material that integrated the humor in both the characters and situation.  Rather than spot gags, his integrity drove him to search out an idea that lifted the situation out of the commonplace, and still left the door open to further development in this new direction.  Yet after conceiving this in his mind, he could reject the entire notion if it did not work with the other parts of the story.” From Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, by Thomas and Johnston, Abbreviate Press Pub., N. Y. 1981 Copyright by Walt Disney Productions.