10 facts about Walt Disney's 'Bambi'

Walt Disney's animated classic 'Bambi' was released on this day, August 13 in 1942. We present some interesting trivia about the film...

A screenshot from the trailer of 'Bambi' (1942). Pic courtesy/YouTube

1. 'Bambi' was adapted from the book 'Bambi, A Life in the Woods', written by Australian author Felix Salten.

2. The film ranked third in American Film Institute's list of its 10 Top 10 -- The best etn films in each of ten classic American film genres

3. 'Bambi' was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in December 2011

4. Although 'Bambi' is considered a classic today, the film was not successful at the box office due to being released during World War II. It lacked access to much of the European market.

5. Critics were dismissive about the film and Disney's attempt to distance himself from the fantasy genre in order to showcase an element of realism in an animated. Walt Disneys' own daughter Diana has complained to her father that Bambi's mother didn't need to die in the film.

6. Legendary singer-songwriter and ex Beatle Paul McCartney credits the shooting death of Bambi's mother for his interest in animal rights.

7. 'Bambi' received three Academy Award nominations: Best Sound (Sam Slyfield), Best Song (for "Love Is a Song" sung by Donald Novis) and Original Music Score.

8. Facing financial difficulty, Disney was forced to slash 12 minutes from 'Bambi' before final animation to save production costs.

9. To make the animals in the film appear more realistic and lifelike, animators visited the Los Angeles Zoo and Walt Disney set up a small zoo at the studio with animals such as rabbits, ducks, owls, and skunks, and a pair of fawns named Bambi and Faline so that the artists could see first-hand the movement of these animals.

10. A prequel to the film titled 'Bambi II' was released as a direct-to-video title in 2006.