BAMBI
As part of Disney’s Diamond Collection series, Bambi made its high-def debut in 2011. Six years later it has returned as part of the studio’s Signature Collection series, joining Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (#01), Beauty and the Beast (#02), and Pinocchio (#03).
Disney is notorious for releasing featured animated titles and then putting them back into the vault, only for them to be re-branded/re-released again. Bambi was released in theaters in 1942 and its development was a painstaking process by the revered Walt Disney and his staff of animators. While the Signature Collection does port over bonus material found on the 2011 release, it is the new material that Disney lovers may find most valuable.
While BackstageOL’s Dave Morales had the pleasure of talking with the men who voiced Bambi (Donnie Dunagan) and Thumper (Peter Behn) – watch the video – this new Blu-ray release is a treasure trove waiting to be unlocked. You get rare audio recordings of the man himself, Walt Disney, as he discusses the challenges of bringing Bambi to life, plus the effect the film has had on animation as a whole since its release 75 years ago. Two deleted scenes (“Bambi’s Ice and Snow,” “The Grasshopper”) and “Africa Before Dark” (an animated short with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit). Finally, there is a featurette on Tyrus Wong, whose concept art inspired the water-colored backgrounds in the film (this extra is exclusive to the digital release).
