The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Walt Disney classic with a screening and reunion of the film’s stars on Monday, 15 May, 2017 at Beverly Hills, California.
Special guests of the event included Donnie Dunagan (voice of young Bambi), Peter Behn (voice of young Thumper), Disney legend and animator Andreas Deja (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin) and Walt Disney Animation Studios’ production designer Paul Felix. A tribute was given to the famous Disney artist Tyrus Wong, who was the original artist who created the minimalist background painting style used in Bambi. Host Leonard Maltin gave the audience a behind the scenes look into the Studio’s process and passion behind the animated feature while Felix said how Wong had inspired him as an artist.
Disney Animation tweeted Felix’s comment, “Bambi is still the basis of everything we do” and Behn’s comment, “I’m so touched to be involved in something that’s lasted almost as long as I have!”
“I’m so touched to be involved in something that’s lasted almost as long as I have!” – Peter Behn (voice of young Thumper) #Bambi
— Disney Animation (@DisneyAnimation) May 16, 2017
Bambi joins the Walt Disney Signature Collection with a variety of new bonus material, including recordings of Walt Disney discussing the challenges and triumphs during the production of the film, deleted scenes and characters, stories and effects that Bambi had on the studio, other films and artists, and much more. Bambi will also take its place in the collection alongside three other great achievements in storytelling- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast and Pinocchio.
Based on the novel Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten, Bambi is the story of a young fawn that loses his mother to a hunter’s bullet but ultimately matures into a leader. His forest friends, Thumper and Flower, are among the most memorable characters in animation history.
The Disney Studio spent five years in production on Bambi due to its exquisite hand-drawn artwork and attention to detail, and used the multiplane camera to give the film its depth of images.
Dearest Bambi: Happy 75 years!