The Making of 'Bambi'

THE MAKING OF BAMBI is accompanied by lushly illustrated samples of the many artistic drawings and artwork that went into the making of the film, particularly the striking images conjured by Chinese artist Tyrus Wong, who was responsible for the impressionistic background drawings of the forest.

Very informative narrative tells how a great deal of 'Bambi' didn't make the final cut; as originally story boarded, it would have taken two hours of running time but Walt Disney knew which material had to be cut.

Marc Davis makes some amusing observations on how he studied human baby faces to give the young deer and other animals innocent expressions; Frank Thomas tells how the ice skating sequence originated; John Lasseter, V.P. at Pixar calls the film "an artistic tour d'force"; others call it the "original circle of life before 'The Lion King' fifty years later"; and the importance of the multiplane camera being used to give the forest depth is emphasized, as is the beautiful use of music in a film where dialog is minimal and music becomes "a pastoral symphony", according to John Mauceri, who states: "It wouldn't be 'Bambi' without its music." There's even mention of how the project came about when Sidney Franklin, a producer at MGM, brought the Felix Salten story to Walt's attention as something that would lend itself to animation. Walt was so enthusiastic about the project that he supervised every aspect of the film even more closely than he had any other Disney classic. He was able to convince financial backers of the film (which did not make a profit on its first release) when he acted out the story before the impressed bank executives who did give him the money.

All in all, a wonderful tribute to the film, filled with the lyrical background music by Frank Churchill and Edward Plumb and with all of the comments accompanied by excerpts from the film to illustrate each point.

Summing up: The best kind of "making of" documentary you could wish for.