Leading up to the March 1 release of the 2-disc Bambi Platinum Edition Disney has released some “Fun Facts” about the movie:
- Walt Disney was a man who was not particularly well-known for his praise, but announced, “Fellas, this stuff is pure gold” when overseeing the artists originally crafting the animation.
- In striving for realism, the artists heard lectures from animal experts, made field trips to the Los Angeles Zoo, watched specially filmed nature footage shot in the forests of Maine and even studied the movements of two fawns that were donated to the studio
- The two fawns donated to the studio were from the Maine Development Commission, named Bambi and Faline. The fawns were kept by the studio while artists studied their movements and behaviour. When they were fully-grown, they were released in nearby Griffith Park. Other animals, such as skunks and squirrels, were kept in the Disney zoo for similar purposes.
- To aid in designing Bambi’s scenes, Walt Disney travelled to Argentina in 1941, where he found his inspiration in the forests of Neuquén’s province, South West of Argentina.
- The World premiere was actually held in the UK; it was the first Disney full-length animated feature to hold its world premiere outside the United States.
- Pre-production began in 1936 and was intended to be Disney’s second full-length animated film after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Disney’s quest for perfection delayed the project significantly, so that Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and Dumbo (1941) were all released earlier than Bambi.
- Footage: 6259 feet
- Frames of Film: 100,144
- The studio counts a rough average of four drawings to a frame of film. Thus, the rough average of the number of drawings seen on the screen would equal about 400,576.
- The number of drawings made throughout the five years of the picture’s production mounts into the millions. It would be impossible to estimate how many.
- Although Bambi was discussed as early as 1936, actual groups of story men were not assigned to the picture until the Autumn of 1938, when three distinct story groups were put on the project.
- Although it is impossible to make a count of the exact number of Disney personnel who worked on Bambi, easily three-fourths of the studio had a hand in its creation. Well over one hundred of Disney’s finest artists, writers and musicians worked on Bambi alone, aside from the scores of technical men and members of non-creative staff.
| First animation | January 1940 |
| First animation clean-up work | June 1940 |
| First effects animation | July 1940 |
| First inking and painting | August 1940 |
| First scene sent to camera | September 1940 |
| Final animation | May 1941 |
| Final clean-up work | August 1941 |
| Final effects animation | October 1941 |
| Final inking and painting | January 1942 |
| Final scene in camera | February 1942 |
