August 13 – Anniversary of the Opening of Bambi

Posted on August 13, 2014

On this date in 1942, a classic animated movie made its premiere!

Bambi has been around so long, it's super famous, and even people who have never seen the movie (like me) tend to know the story and the names of the most important characters. But let's see if we can challenge you on some stuff you may not know:

1. The book that the movie was based on, Bambi, A Life in the Woods, is by an author from what country?

2. The book version of Bambi was a roe deer. What kind of deer did Disney transform him into?

3. In 2008, the American Film Institute presented 10 Top 10 lists – the best ten films in each of ten film genres. Bambi made the list of animated films. What number do you think it was?

4. How many full-length animated movies had Disney released before Bambi was released in 1942? Bonus points for naming some or all of them!

5. Time magazine listed Bambi in its Top 25 ____ Movies of All Time list. What surprising genre fills in the blank?
6. What did Disney set up at the studio so that artists could do a good job on the film?

7. An important character in the movie is the main villain, Man (who, by the way, ranks #20 on AFI's list of Heroes and Villains). In addition to lacking a character name, what important aspect of movie character development did Man lack?

8. How did hunters like the movie, when it first came out?

9. Does Bambi's mother get shot on or off screen?

10. What was the name of Bambi's mother?

ANSWERS:

1. The author, Felix Salten, was Austrian.
2. Movie Bambi was a white-tailed deer.
3. Bambi was rated #3 of all animated films on AFI's 10 Top 10 List (2008).
4. Four previous full-length animated movies preceded Bambi: Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo.
5. Bambi made Time's Top 25 Horror Movies of All Time! Wow!
6. Disney set up a small zoo in the studio. Animals such as rabbits, ducks, owls, skunks, and two fawns lived at that studio zoo!
7. Man never appears on screen! So we have no idea what he looks like!
8. Many hunters were upset with Bambi. Outdoor Life editor Raymond Brown called it “the worst insult ever offered in any form to American sportsmen."
9. She gets shot off screen. The plan was originally to illustrate her death—but then writers decided the event was too dramatic and upsetting for on screen.
10. Like the villain, Man, Bambi's mother has no character name, but of course Bambi calls her Mother!

Also on this date:

Perseid Meteor Shower

Feminist Lucy Stone's birthday

International Left-Handers' Day

Sharp-shooter Annie Oakley's birthday

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