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Bambi

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This article is about the 1942 Walt Disney film. For other uses, see Bambi (disambiguation).
Bambi
File:Theatrical2.jpg
Directed byDavid D. Hand
Written byFelix Salten (novel)
Larry Morey (story adaptation)
Perce Pearce (story direction)
Bill Peet (illustration)
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringBobby Stewart
Donnie Dunagan
Hardie Albright
John Sutherland
Paula Winslowe
Peter Behn
Tim Davis
Sam Edwards
Will Wright
Cammie King
Ann Gillis
Fred Shields
Stan Alexander
Sterling Holloway
Distributed byRated RKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
August 13, 1942
Running time
70 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget(unknown)

Bambi is a 1942 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and originally released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on August 13, 1942. The fifth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is based on the 1923 book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten. The main characters are Bambi, the young prince of the forest, his parents (the Great Prince of the forest and his unnamed mother), and his friends Thumper (a white nosed rabbit), Flower (a skunk), and his childhood friend and future mate, Faline (also a white-tailed deer). For the movie, Disney took the liberty of changing Bambi's species into a White-tailed deer from his original species of Roe Deer, since roe deer don't inhabit the United States, and the white-tailed deer is much more familiar.

Plot

The story of the natural life cycle—birth, death and re-birth—is the true plot of the film. It is a case study in the very basics of life: the "doe-eyed" innocence of childhood; parental love; discovering and learning about the world around us (both its beauty and its danger); loss and grief; developing friendships; loyalty; balancing risk and need; growing toward independence; being at one and in harmony with nature; and romantic love.

Like the majority of Walt Disney's feature-length animated narratives, Bambi embraces both joy and tragedy. Bambi is a movie that alternates frequently between these two extremes, with the one typically being used to set up the other. For instance, the joy of Bambi's first walk through the forest is interrupted by a frightening thunderstorm. His first visit to the meadow is joyful until it is interrupted by hunters who fire upon Bambi and his mother.

The pivotal scene in the movie involves Bambi's mother and her death at the hands of a hunter. In the sequence, the audience sees the joy/tragedy motif used again. The scene is set in late winter, and Bambi and his mother struggle to find food as mournful music plays. Joy is felt as they discover a patch of new grass, signaling the arrival of Spring, and joyful music is heard on the soundtrack. As they feast, the mood changes again, and we hear Man approach off-screen, represented only by his theme music (a low, three-note motif). Bambi's mother suddenly catches Man's scent, and orders her child to run, but she is too late. As they flee across the snow field, shots ring out. The camera stays with young Bambi as he runs through the forest, finally stopping to catch his breath. He notices at this time (as does the audience) that his mother is nowhere to be seen.

In a series of heartbreaking dissolves, Bambi wanders desperately through the forest calling for her, but no answer comes. Bambi is startled by the sudden appearance of his father, the Great Prince, who informs him that his mother can't be with him any more. Bambi casts his head to the ground, and when he lifts it again, the audiences see that he is crying, realizing what has happened. Bambi follows his father into the forest, taking one last look back as he leaves his childhood and innocence behind.

The movie then skips (very abruptly) forward in time to the spring, when Bambi, Thumper, Flower, and Faline are all seen having grown up to adulthood. They become "twitterpated" over potential mates. Bambi and Faline become a couple, however their happiness is threatened by Ronno, a buck who is himself after Faline. He fights with Bambi and at first seems to have the upper hand until Bambi somehow manages to wound Ronno in his shoulder and throw him from the clifftop on which they were fighting. Ronno falls from the cliff and into the river, from which he is not seen again.

Man enters the forest again, and is responsible for a forest fire that sends all the life in the forest running for refuge in a river. Faline is cornered by hunting dogs while fleeing, and is rescued only when Bambi bravely fights them off. Bambi and his father barely escape.

The film ends with the birth of Bambi and Faline's two fawns, with Bambi standing proudly at the top of the mountain, looking down at them proudly as his father did at his own birth.

The death of Bambi's mother is one of the most famous moments in American film history, a moment so upsetting to certain children that they had to be carried sobbing out of the theater during Bambi's numerous theatrical presentations. For this reason, and because of the horror and violence of the climactic hunting/forest fire sequence, many critics question the suitability of Bambi as a film appropriate for very young audiences. When Bambi was shown duing the Christmas period in December 2006 on UK channel ITV 2, the scene of the death of Bambi's mother and the Prince telling Bambi of her death was edited out.[1] When one takes Bambi together with the other Disney feature films created during the same period of the early 40s, such as the dark Pinocchio, the powerful Fantasia, and the serious Victory Through Air Power, one can see an attempt by Walt Disney to produce films pushing against the stereotype of Disney animation being "children's films". Nonetheless, it was more than forty years before Disney featured the death of a parent in the form of Tod's mom in the Fox and the Hound, and more than fifty years before they featured the on-screen death of a main character who wasn't a villain (Mufasa in The Lion King). The unseen "man" has also became the most hated villain in animation history & has been placed #20 on AFI's List of Heroes and Villians.

Pre-production

Walt Disney early in the preparation for this animated film decided to go to enormous lengths to achieve realistic detail. The artists heard lectures from animal experts, and visited the Los Angeles Zoo[2]. A pair of fawns (named Bambi and Faline) were shipped from the Baxter State Park in Maine to the studio so that the artists could see first-hand the movement of these animals. The source of these fawns, from the Eastern United States, was the impetus for the transformation of Felix Salten's roe deer to white-tailed deer[3]. The background of the film was also the Eastern woodlands — one of the earliest and best known artists for the Disney studio, Maurice "Jake" Day spent several weeks in the Maine woods, sketching and photographing deer, fawns, and the surrounding wilderness areas[4].

History

File:Bambivhscover.jpg
1989 VHS cover of Bambi.
File:Bambi97.jpg
1997 VHS cover of Bambi.

Release dates

United States

International

Re-release schedule and home video

Bambi was released in theaters in 1942, during World War II and was Disney's fifth full length animated film. It was an advance over the previous movies in sophistication of the animation, due to the experience gained in character animation at the Disney studio. The famous art direction of Bambi, which suggests emotion and the feeling of a forest rather than depicting a real forest, was due to the influence of Tyrus Wong, a former painter who provided eastern and painterly influence to the backgrounds. Bambi was re-released to theaters on 1947, 1957, 1966, 1975, 1982, and 1988. It was released on VHS video in 1989 (The Classics version), 1997 (Masterpiece Collection version) and remastered and restored for the March 1, 2005 Platinum Edition DVD.[5] The Platinum Edition DVD went on moratorium on January 31, 2007.[6] The Masterpiece collection version was the first Disney video to be THX certified.

Recycled animation from Bambi in other films

Animation from Bambi has been reused in several other Disney films, especially footage of birds, leaves and generic woodland. For example, one scene in The Fox and the Hound reused footage of the animals running from the rain in Bambi's "Little April Shower" sequence. The most reused footage from Bambi are the few seconds of Bambi's mother looking up from eating grass just before she is killed by the hunter. This footage has been used in hunting scenes in The Sword in the Stone and The Jungle Book. It is also featured in The Rescuers during the song "Someone's Waiting For You" and in the opening scene of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Even a latter-day Donald Duck short featured Bambi and his mother. They are drinking from a stream and then a bunch of garbage floats past them in the stream and Bambi's mother says to him calmly, "Man is in the forest. Let's dig out." They then leave.[citation needed]

Errors in Bambi's Animation

Several errors occur in the animation for the original film, from color to appearance to the way the characters move around. The platinum edition of Bambi DVD was released with all of these errors fixed. One example of animation that was fixed was the color of Mrs. Rabbit's fur changing 3 times during the film, ranging from grey to peach.

The 2nd error was during Bambi's walk through the forest. We start out with 5 rabbits walking with Bambi, including Thumper. Thumper's sisters change color from peach to brown, and sometimes there are 2 peach rabbits, or 3 brown ones. The number of Thumper's sisters ranges from 4 to 6 during this sequence. During the "Say Bird" part of the film, Bambi goes cross-eyed as he looks at the birds hovering above him.

The 3rd error occurs when Bambi and his mother are going to the meadow. After Bambi asks a question, we're taken to a shot with Bambi's mother emerging from a bush. We see her flash onto the screen after she has come out of the bush. The 4th also occurs on the meadow. When Faline and her mother are running away from Man,the other deer in the shot change colors.

The 5th error occurs when Bambi and the Great Prince are looking down on Man's campfires. We see a shot of crows following the sequence and as the crows fly away, the same frame is repeated. As we switch to Faline, her eyes change color from blue to red.

The 6th error occurs when all of the creatures are climbing out of the pond to escape the fire. In it, we see a mother raccoon licking its baby, but in the next frame, it moves over 10 CM. The 7th error occurs during the opening credits. In this scene, each frame has a black border around them, like on a computer screen. This was fixed in the 55th anniversery along with the final error. The last error occurs when the Great Prince is "feeling the forest." In that shot, for about 10 seconds, you can see a few lines wriggling under his feet.

Another error occurs in one scene where it is snowing heavily, and Bambi has just lost his mother. In this scene, after the Great Prince says 'come, my son' and they are both walking away, you can see the Great Prince's mouth move just a little bit, even though he is not saying anything. In the original script the scene had more dialog, but the scene was later changed.

Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention PSA

In 1942 the animated feature film Bambi was released. Soon after, Walt Disney allowed his characters to appear in fire prevention public service campaigns. However, Bambi was only loaned to the government for a year, so a new symbol was needed.

In late 2006, the Ad Council in partnership with the United States Forest Service started a series of Public Service Announcement ads that feature footage from Bambi (& more often, Bambi 2) for wildfire prevention. During the ads, as the Bambi footage is shown, the screen will momentarily fade into black with the text "Don't let our forests… become once upon a time.", and usually (but not always) ending the ads with Bambi's line "Mother, what we gonna do today?" followed by Smokey the Bear saying "Only you can prevent wildfires" as the Smokey logo is shown on the screen.

The ads presently air often throughout the day on various television networks, and the Ad Council has also put them on Youtube.

  • Australian artist Ben Frost created a "Self-regenerating Bambi" sculpture and the original painting featuring Bambi in 2D form.
  • Young illustrator Elena Gallen created a double-headed Bambi as part of her Freakshow series (2006). These illustrations play with the well-known icons of Disney's fairy-tales converting them into circus freaks.
  • Former Charger and Cowboy wide receiver Lance Alworth was nicknamed "Bambi".
  • In an interview to Newsweek magazine, Steven Spielberg says that he considers Bambi the biggest crying movie of all time. "When I was a kid, I would actually get up in the middle of the night and make sure my parents were still alive."[7]
  • The off-screen character of "Man" has been ranked 20th of the 50 Greatest Screen Villains by the American Film Institute.[8]
  • In 1993, the producers at Warner Bros. Animation made a parody of this element on one of their Animaniacs episodes, a Slappy Squirrel segment entitled "Bumbie's Mom". In it, Slappy and her nephew Skippy go see the movie "Bumbie", a direct parody of Bambi, and Skippy cries when Bumbie's mom is killed by the hunter. Skippy continues to cry about it weeks after seeing the movie, much to Slappy's annoyance, so she arranges a visit with the doe-actress who played Bumbie's mother (who Slappy knew back in her acting days) to convince him that she wasn't really shot, she was just acting. Of course, soon afterwards, Skippy sees a parody of Old Yeller, and the process starts all over again.
  • In Kingdom Hearts, Bambi makes an appearance as a Summon creature who runs around and drops items beneficial to the party.
  • Saturday Night Live's TV Funhouse segment, used Bambi as a means to lampoon Disney's usage of older properties for direct-to-video sequels in the form of Bambi 2002. Of course, it contained rather absurd things such as a rapping Bambi, the New York Yankees, and American tourists, just to name a few.
  • In NBC's comedy Scrubs, the protagonist, J.D. (Zach Braff), was given the nickname of Bambi by a female nurse, Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes), when he was an intern. This nickname was continually used throughout the series.
  • On Judge Judy, Judy makes a sarcastic connection between a persons' "sob" story and that of Bambi, usually by saying, "That's the saddest story I've ever heard since Bambi."
  • On The West Wing Josh teases Donna after she fell for a practical joke which her predecessor had set up, he referees to her as 'Bambish'. Donna gets back at Josh when she plays her own practical joke, to which Josh admits that he, himself is 'Bambish'
  • On several episodes of the popular ABC show, Greys Anatomy, the character of George ( played by T.R Knight) is referred to as "Bambi." Apparently as a reference to him being more sensitive than some of the other male interns.
  • In the Friends episode "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry" Joey asks Chandler if he cried when he watched Bambi, to which he replies, "Yes it was very sad, when the guy stopped drawing the deer."
  • In the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever two henchwomen who guard the villain's house are called Bambi and Thumper

Soundtrack Listing

  1. Main Title (Love Is A Song)
  2. Morning In The Woods/The Young Prince/Learning To Walk
  3. Exploring/Say Bird/Flower
  4. Little April Shower
  5. The Meadow/Bambi Sees Faline/Bambi Gets Annoyed
  6. Gallop Of The Stags/The Great Prince Of The Forest/Man
  7. Autumn/The First Snow/Fun On The Ice
  8. The End Of Winter/New Spring Grass/Tragedy In The Meadow
  9. Wintery Winds
  10. Let's Sing A Gay Little Spring Song
  11. It Could Even Happen To Flower
  12. Bambi Gets Twitterpated/Stag Fight
  13. Looking For Romance (I Bring You A Song)
  14. Man Returns
  15. Fire/Reunion/Finale
  16. Rain Drops (Demo Recording)
  17. Bonus Interview – Introduced by Richard Kiley: Walt Disney
  18. Bonus Interview – Introduced by Richard Kiley: Ollie Johnston And Frank Thomas
  19. Bonus Interview – Introduced by Richard Kiley: Henry Mancini

The original 1942 release included 2 additional songs (that were subsequently removed)[9]: "Twitterpated" (Based on Friend Owl's lecture on the amorous effects of spring) Written by Helen Bliss, Robert Sour and Henry Manners

"Thumper Song" Written by Helen Bliss, Robert Sour and Henry Manners

Voice cast

Actor Role(s)
Bobby Stewart Baby Bambi
Donnie Dunagan Young Bambi
Hardie Albright Adolescent Bambi
John Sutherland Adult Bambi
Paula Winslowe Bambi's Mother and Pheasant
Peter Behn Young Thumper
Tim Davis Adolescent Thumper, Adolescent Flower
Sam Edwards Adult Thumper
Stan Alexander Young Flower
Sterling Holloway Adult Flower
Will Wright Friend Owl
Cammie King Young Faline
Ann Gillis Adult Faline
Fred Shields Great Prince of the Forest
Thelma Boardman Girl Bunny, Quail Mother and Frightened Pheasant
Mary Lansing Aunt Ena, Mrs. Possum, Pheasant
Margaret Lee Mrs. Rabbit
Otis Harlan Mr. Mole
Marion Darlington Bird calls
Clarence Nash Bullfrog

Supervising Animators

Notes

  1. ^ Kevin Jackson 'Tears of a fawn', The Independent, Feb. 6, 2005.
  2. ^ Walt Disney Collection: Walt's Masterworks — Bambi.
  3. ^ The Trouble with Bambi: Walt Disney's Bambi and the American Vision of Nature by Ralph H. Lutts: From 'Forest and Conservation History' 36 (October 1992)
  4. ^ Maurice E. Day, Animator, 90; Drew Deer for Movie 'Bambi': Obituary in the New York Times, published May 19, 1983)
  5. ^ How They Restored Bambi, Monsters and Critics.
  6. ^ IGN.
  7. ^ Interview with Steven Spielberg
  8. ^ AFI's 100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains
  9. ^ Soundtrack, IMDb.

See also

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to Bambi.
  • Barrier, Michael, Graham Webb, and Hames Ware. "The Moving Drawing Speaks." Funnyworld #18, Summer 1978. pp.21.
  • Stewart, Doug (Jun/Jul 2002, vol. 40 no. 4) "Fires of Life". National Wildlife Federation
  • Webb, Graham (2001). The Animated Film Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to American Shorts, Features, and Sequences, 1900–1979. McFarland and Co. ISBN 0-7864-0728-X.
Preceded by Walt Disney Pictures
1942 		Succeeded by
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