Donnie Dunagan, who played the voice of young Bambi in the Walt Disney classic Bambi, answered some questions about the Blu-ray “Diamond Edition” release of the film on March 1, 2011.
Q: How did you get cast in Bambi? What did you do before that role?
Donnie Dunagan: Mr. Disney called my mother in Westwood, California….near UCLA, and told her he would like me to come to the studio and talk about being the facial model for an animation story of a little deer. My mother was thrilled. Then the two of us laughed about how I could try to look like a deer. I had previously been in the following films, from age 4 & 1/2: Mother Carey’s Chickens, as Peter, 1938; Son of Frankenstein, also as a Peter; Peter von Frankenstein, 1939 (released in early ‘40); Fixer Dugan, 1939; Forgotten Women, 1939; Tower of London, 1939 as Prince Richard; Vigil in the Night, 1940; Meet the Chump, 1941, and to top that off, Bambi in 1942.
Q: Who did you work with when you were recording your lines?
Donnie Dunagan: I wish I could answer very specifically. As a candid man, let me share this, first, a very nice man who was gracious to my mother and me, talked me through some of the words and script. But I had no clue of the story line; had never even seen a deer. At age 6, I was not jaded or ever rude to anyone, but he and my mother could tell that I was bothered by some of those unknowns, as this was my first voice-over work. Then a wonderful lady took me, and the girl that played my sweetheart in Bambi, to a small room and coached us on the storyline, using a book and some drawings. My Mother also rushed me to a Zoo, I think the L.A. Zoo. I saw one deer. He looked dull and lazy to me. My Mother, as I remember this well, said do not say anything about a lazy dear at the studio! She is a wise lady. When I recorded my lines I unfortunately never got to work with or meet the wonderful voice actors that put so much charm and laughs into all the other characters in Bambi, including ‘Thumper’.
Q: Can you tell us what it was like working at Disney in the late 1930’s?
Donnie Dunagan: It was the thrill of my young life. Of the six films I was in– many with co-star billing, the most recent two films were not as exciting as Bambi, even for a rogue-ish kid. I just wanted to be playing baseball. When we got the casting to pitch-in for Bambi, I was re-excited about being in film again….forget baseball!
Q: What was the toughest scene for you to work on?
Donnie Dunagan: First off, I think when working initially as the facial model for
Bambi, it was being asked to look like something grim has happened to me. Second toughest for me was when they asked me to shout for my mother when she was in danger.
Q: Of what scene in Bambi do you have the best memories of recording?
Donnie Dunagan: When Thumper was teaching me (Bambi) a word during our speech lesson like “flower,” or “bird”, I started laughing during the practice of that scene, which slowed things down.
Q: Did you ever regret that you didn’t pursue a career in Hollywood?
Donnie Dunagan: I do now. If you are loaded with bright ideas of how I can get a producer or director interested in this older gunfighter/ character actor, voice over guy, send me your tips. This old jock is ready.
Q: How much did you deal with Walt Disney and the Disney animators?
Donnie Dunagan: I saw Walt Disney many times. He talked with me at least three sharing moments I can remember. He was interested in my ability to read news clips at age five. He was a leader; all over the place, helping, coaching, laughing. Even a kid like me back then could sense that he was keenly respected by the animators and production people. That was not always the case in other studios when the “Boss” came around. Mr. Disney was in a class by himself.
Q: What were some of your memories of working with Walt and his people?
Donnie Dunagan: Mr. Disney was a joy to be around. My sense is that the Studio had not had many children on lot before doing voice-over work. They were wonderful. There was one exception though, a single man who I called ‘Grump’. I took a water gun, that I was given on the set of “Frankenstein” in Christmas of 1939, and shot at him one day and got in a bit of trouble. Security took my gun away. The Disney Studio still has my water gun. I would like to have it back.
Q: Did your voice-acting in Bambi make you a sort of famous movie star?
Donnie Dunagan: I had been in major rolea as a little kid. I co-starred in six films before Bambi. I was a trained actor at age 6 (going on 18). Bambi is the best known and loved of all of those and being any part of it is the joy of my working life today.
Q: What´s your favorite message in Bambi? Was it dealing with the pain of loss? the friendship?, respect for your family and friends?
Donnie Dunagan: Bambi tells the story of life in realistic cycles of which evokes comedy, adventure, fantasy, courage, danger, emotions, laughter. Very much like the score, Bambi is a song that will never end.
Q: Do you have a quote from the film you like the most?
Donnie Dunagan: It was little ‘Flower’ saying…”That’s ok; he can call me Flower if he wants to.” I have seen children understand that really well. It says a lot if we pause and reflect on it.
Q: Not counting Bambi, what is your favorite Disney movie?
Donnie Dunagan: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is my favorite Disney film. I wanted to be one of the rogue Dwarfs– they were having a great time.
Q: What was your first thought, when you were asked to be the voice of a deer?
Donnie Dunagan: My Mother and I laughed and tried to understand how even wonderful Disney could put my child face and eyes on a little deer. Soon we sensed at the Studio that it was my eyes and expressions they were interested in.
Q: What is your fondest or happiest memory of your Hollywood career?
Donnie Dunagan: To be candid, the Bambi character voice is one of my best memories of working in Hollywood. Look now 70 years later the film is still loved all over the world. I hear from children in foreign countries even today raving about it, and the joy they have from watching it.
Q: Did you shoot any live-action reference footage for the film? Did you model for any of the animators?
Donnie Dunagan: No live-action camera was involved. Initially, as the facial model, what I called ‘drawing men’ (animators) at the time, sat around and asked me to look happy, look up, look sad, etc. Then voice work was offered after that.
Q: How were you chosen for the role?
Donnie Dunagan: Mr. Disney had seen me in other films and still photos and wanted to use my eyes and facial expressions to help draw animations on little ‘Bambi’.
Q: How did your early years in show business affect the rest of your life so far?
Donnie Dunagan: Now that fans know I am still alive– I was re-discovered about 6 years ago, I am having a great time with it. The Second World War changed Disney Studios and all of our lives greatly. Bambi was my last film work. From about age 9 until about 6 years ago (I am approaching 77 now), I never talked about being in those great classics. If I could get another role now, it would be the ‘Longest Comeback in all Film History’.
Q: Were you able to attend the film premiere of Bambi? What memories do you have if so?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes. In 1942, my mother took me to what I thought was some Los Angeles, California nearby desert town and we saw it. I was overpowered. I was so bright as a child that I thought I had it figured out. I was wrong. Nothing could have prepped me or anyone for the grand visual and happy and emotive story of Bambi. My Mother cried.
Q: How much interaction did you have with the other voice actors?
Donnie Dunagan: None, to be honest. I met a young girl one day when the story-line was being explained to me by someone from the production team, and only then did I realize that she was the cute female deer (Faline).
Q: You said that if your fellow Marines ever found out you were the voice of Bambi, your career would have been finished. Why do you regret not telling your Marine Corps friends about your past?
Donnie Dunagan: I had been promoted quickly and always in a leadership position. From an 18 year old Drill Instructor at Boot Camp then a 21 year old Senior Sergeant. The Marine Corps was my life and it was good. When I would think about it, the idea of some young strong corporal and others finding out that I was the voice of Bambi (even though Bambi was also a character of courage) was not appealing. I was worried that some of them would write home to say, “mom, guess who my commanding office is?….Major….Captain…Lt Bambi!” I did not think that it would add to our combat readiness!
Q: Bambi has entertained generations for 70 years, but looking back, when did you first actually realize that your vocal role in Bambi would touch so many people and will continue to reach out from generation to generation?
Donnie Dunagan: I would love to tell you I had that sense all the time. I wish that was so. Candor is that when Disney was about to re-release Bambi in two disc DVD, 5 years ago and my life story leaked out as part of it. The response from people in six countries and in America just overpowered me. Children or their parents in even hospitals would write and email me. That in itself was an honor that I am not or never sure that I deserve.
Q: By any chance, was there any memorabilia that you have from your work on “Bambi” that you have kept for yourself and treasured all these years?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes. Photos were taken at the Studio that we still treasure.
Q: How long did it take to do the recording of Bambi´s voice?
Donnie Dunagan: I am not too certain. My Mother drove me there at least four times in slow LA city traffic. We would be at the Studio for no more than two hours each recording session.
Q: What do you think was the reason why Disney cast you?
Donnie Dunagan: I was told specifically that it was my eyes and expressions in other films, and of course a great deal of luck.
Q: Did you like Bambi the first time you saw it as a child, did your like of the movie change with the time?
Donnie Dunagan: Loved it. The first time I could not believe anyone could make animation and backgrounds like Bambi. As I have grown older, I’ve listened to people talk about it when they did not know I was a part of it. I grew to realize that Mr. Disney had let me become part of a never ending love story in this world. My debt to him is great.
Q: As Bambi is celebrating its 70th anniversary on Blu-ray and DVD in 2011, what comes to your mind when you know, a new generation of children will be watching this film that you took part in. Does it surprise you? Especially since the
film is so iconic and so much of a part of American pop culture and movie history…
Donnie Dunagan: Bambi has a unique persona in the sense that he embraced something different in human values, laughter, lasting feelings about life, like nobody else in this world has experienced or has ever seen. It is really a pleasure to view the movie in Blu-ray. My children, grandchildren and my 88 year old neighbor have all seen and savored the story. It’s a refreshing tale that still is a beloved classic. Mr. Disney insisted on all the backgrounds in the forest being done in actual oil-paints versus the convention of water colors. It is that original visuals of Bambi that allows the engineering of Blu-ray to just put you in a different atmosphere when you watch it.
Q: At the time, as there were not as many cartoons as today, what kind of work did you think you were going to do when you first heard you got the role of young Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: My mother and I had no idea how animation stories were filmed. I heard the news through media that was published. Mr. Disney had picked me to be the facial model for the deer. Before we got to the Studio, my Mom and I teased each other about maybe having to put on deer skin and move around on all fours.
Q: Your first role was in the 1938 film Mother Carey’s Chickens, what memories do you have of working with Anne Shirley, Ruby Keeler, Fay Bainter, Walter Brennan or Margaret Hamilton (known to many as the wicked witch of The Wizard of Oz)?
Donnie Dunagan: It was great fun. I have specific memories of that initial event. First, it took my parents out of grim economics of 1938. I sensed that and I was proud to know that I helped change that. Walter Brennan treated me like a grandson. Ruby Keller was a gentle queen. I think she just played her norm, all gracious and kind self. Fay Bainter contacted my mother several times after the release and we went to a top-end hotel for dinner with her and others. I do not have reportable memories of the others.
Q: Did you see the new Diamond edition of Bambi in Blu-ray HD? What is your impression about the sound and the voices in this digital restoration?
Donnie Dunagan: Bambi on Blu-ray will give more joy to young and tired eyes than anything else even on film from any camera. The colors are so sharp and the dimensions will capture you with loving arms. I wish Mr. Disney and his champion art teams could see this work of theirs, so loved by so many for so long, on Blu-ray.
Q: Why do you think Bambi has stood the test of time?
Donnie Dunagan: The caliber of animation in 1942 is absolutely stunning. It would not achieve that without being a story that is realistic about the cycle of life. Look at the closing emotions of Bambi. He stands on the rock platform next to his dad, who then retires the responsibility of the forest to Bambi. And, after lots of comedy, laughter, love, adventure, courage, life goes on. We all see some of ourselves in Bambi’s’ story.
Q: Did you get involved in theater during college, or later in your adult life?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes. But remember that from age 9 forward, I just never talked
about being in seven movies. My wife of near 19 years did not even know of the films until nearly our 3rd year together. (I ate some peanut butter for meals for a couple of days for that non-disclosure.) During my stateside time in 25 Marine years, I took some personal time off and did three live-stage theater roles, mostly for non-profit needs. I loved it.
Q: How did you envision working at Disney at the time? What did that represent for the kid you were then? How did they coach you?
Donnie Dunagan: If I understand well, let me share this with you, while coaches would tell me what mode or senses to say certain things, no one tried to change my age or my natural voice. Mr. Disney wanted real kids to be the ‘kids’ in the forest.
Q: How did the Disney artists manage to get you into that universe that you had only seen as static drawings? How did they inspire you to give life to your character?
Donnie Dunagan: Just to be yourself. A fun example, view the kiss scene given to Bambi by the female deer. When Bambi was sitting in a thicket feeling sorry for himself, being foolish, I was asked by the “Drawing Men” (animators) to look like something real bad had just happened to me that made me mad. I was having the time of my life then, so really I had a hard time putting on an ‘unhappy face’. The men drawing me were waiting for me to do it better. Then one man asked me about any recent bad experience such as a spanking, bad food, etc. I told them that my Mom had given me something called Castor oil last week….it was grim. “Donnie, pretend that you just had a double-dose of Castor oil. And I did, my face crunched up and eyes grew mad. So when you see that cute scene in “Bambi”, the thicket kiss, you can call that the Castor oil kiss.
Q: How was the role of Bambi explained to you originally?
Donnie Dunagan: I remember asking “what is the story line” of this film? A nice lady at Disney cured that problem and explained. My mom also took me to a zoo to see my first deer.
Q: Now that Bambi is re-released on Blu-ray do you think the film still has a message to the new generations? And what kind of message?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes, quantum Yes. If Bambi did not have the magic, story line and characters all these 70 years, we would not be having these interviews, and people would not be eager, of all ages always eager to see it again and again. The Blu-ray release will take that great story and art-work to such a level that if I lived until 106 years, we will still be talking about and loving Bambi.
Q: How much is Bambi like you, design-wise? Did you work with Milt Kahl on that aspect of the character? How was he as a person?
Donnie Dunagan: Boy, would I love to share with you some memory of Milt Kahl. What an honor that would be. Sorry. I do not recall any action with him.
Q – Can you tell us about your specific memories of Walt Disney himself, watching him at work and how he related to you when you were a child?
A – Donnie Dunagan: In half of my prior six movies, on-camera roles, I came to understand the differences in crew and actors, and responding to the Boss coming around. Many were clearly in fear of the Boss coming in and work being done. This was not so with Mr. Disney. You could see the positive reactions, all the time – of workers, the ‘drawing men,’ all would say “Here he comes, ask Walt, he is coming…he will know what to do, Walt is here, show him that….” etc. That is what real leaders do. He built a major company during a grim economic time in America, and the people at Disney were his family.
Q: How old were you when you got the role of Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: I want to share good specifics with everyone, on my wonderful life story. But on your question I must guess some. My agent got some feeler contact months before Disney reached my mother. I was just six years old in the fall of 1940 when production started on the film and my trips to the Disney studio to work on it extended into early 1941.
Q: What was the hardest part about playing Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: If I had spoken of this while working on the film, I might have been fired! The hardest part was being serious. I loved the studio. The people were very different. I had a great time. Animators and all of the different people at Disney offered to show me how certain things worked, and the ice cream in the dining room was great.
Q: Do you still feel connected to the character of Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes, in many ways. Bambi had to fend largely for himself, rather young, and so did I. He had to learn some hard realities at a young age and stand-up to threats and real danger. So did I. He made it, despite much and tried to stand as an example. I hope I have too.
Q: What is your favorite encounter with a fan who knew you as the voice of Bambi, either then or now?
Donnie Dunagan: It was nearly 6 years ago, in central west Texas. I was asked to help at a local fund-raising dinner with lots of people attending. I was the third speaker. The first two, gentle, gracious caring civic folks, had asked the large crowd to please pay attention to this local funding problem and please help. They were gentle and passive. That was not moving the group to do much. Then it was my turn. Right after hello I said…”Now, no nonsense with this. Get you check book out, guys and ladies. Now waive them in the air…Hold them up. Good. Now pens out. Start writing….I am watching.” It got lots of laughs and guess what? Lots of checks. At one of the tables was a wonderful WWII widow and the only person in Texas that knew I was part of Disney’s Bambi. She turned to a friend at that table and said, too loud, “Would you believe that that fighter up there was Bambi in 1940-something?” Right behind her was the manager of the local TV station. Well, the next morning, with no notice, up pulls a TV van and a reporter. Then the Disney Studio heard of it from someone else and called me immediately.
Q: Did you have to record many takes before finding the right tone?
Donnie Dunagan: I do not think so. I remember that I was encouraged to just be myself, a real, natural kid. I suspect Thumper had the same instructions given to him, be honest, natural kids. If you listen to Thumper, he sounds just like some kid playing second base on a dirt field in New Jersey, very real…wonderful. Walt Disney was way ahead of his time in respecting the use of age appropriate voices for his characters.
Q: After all these years, do people still ask you to do recitations from Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes. Boy, did that get me by surprise! Kids always ask. At first I had to modify my long developed adult voice and get all the Marine tones out of it, in order to say “bird,” “flower” and so on. With some practice I have been able to do it!
Q: What was a recording session like, for you? Please share with us the details you can remember, what kind of facility, how did it seem to you as a young child?
Donnie Dunagan: It was a relaxed atmosphere in the sound booth with one or two Disney crew people there, plus my Mother. It was easy does it. I thought it would be harder, since there wasn’t any on-camera work. I recall there was very little pre-recording rehearsal time. The microphones were rather basic back then, one was in a small bird-cage on a stand. It was easier than one might suspect.
Q: Did you do any other dubbing / voice over work after Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: No. Like a lot of companies affected by WWII, Disney changed immediately after Bambi came out and was used by our War Dept. to help our country. My family had some problems and I never was approached to work in films again, and I did not search that out either.
Q: What kind of interaction with Walt Disney did you have during the voice recording and live action staging. Also, did you keep in touch with Mr. Disney during the next decades after making the movie?
Donnie Dunagan: There was no follow-up with Mr. Disney. The start of WWII for America changed the country and life-styles more radically than younger generations can think possible.
Q: What would you say you’ve gained from your childhood career in film?
Donnie Dunagan: How to quickly identify reality from fantasy, and how to enjoy both but realize the difference.
Q: How do you feel now in 2011 about being the original voice of Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: Wonderful. Not many would understand this, if they had a clue of even half of my teen and long adult life. The reality is, at age 77, it is pure joy that both children and 80 year-olds can enjoy the film together. I could be working in the White House and children could care less. But let someone say, “that dude over there was the face, or voice of Bambi,” and I am an immediate adopted grandfather to them. That is just an unmatchable joy, and a real responsibility.
Q: Do you have a favorite scene from Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: The young deer kiss, while Bambi was feeling sorry for himself, sitting in a thicket. I had to pretend to have taken a double-dose of Castor oil, grim stuff for a kid, in order to make such an unhappy face with angry eyes. Boys at that age do not want to be kissed by a cute girl. I am glad that I grew-out of that phase!
Q: What are your current and future endeavors?
Donnie Dunagan: I am about as retired as a professor, who has a night job as a police officer. I tutor truly caring students, high school and college undergrads in science and physics, mostly pro bono. The hardest working kids anywhere. Sometimes we deliver food from our food bank to elementary schools. I’m also active in Lions Club, which is a great service to area communities. And I also work for peanuts for my wife. Captain Honnnny-Dooo. Ha!
Q: Did you ever go hunting yourself?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes, but with a camera only.
Q: Do you recall any aspects of Bambi that your mother recognized as being similar to you?
Donnie Dunagan: Nothing I can recall now. But I will share with you something… the drive between our home in West Los Angeles and Disney Studios was a drag! Boring! We learned to play spelling bee in the car, each one challenging the other. I had been reading newspapers since age 5 and could spell reasonably. One time I challenged my Mom that I could spell Disney “better” than she could. I remember her response,” How can you spell anything better than the correct spelling?” “Mom, bet I can….bet you a quarter.” ‘OK’ she said, thinking me a bit silly. She then spelled it D.I.S.N.E.Y., and then she said, “OK, smarty, how can you spell that better for a quarter?” My spelling of Disney was ‘F. U. N.’ She smiled, laughed and gave me a quarter.
Q: Why did you never talk about being the voice of Bambi even when you were still a child? Haven’t you been excited to show off with your Hollywood-adventures in front of your friends?
Donnie Dunagan: During WWII, and into early teens, my thoughts were focused on just getting by. I totally supported myself from age 13 and ½ on. While I did many school plays, and later was awarded many times for being a leading instructor at the Marine officer’s colleges, I had such a dislike for ‘show-offs,’ and those that boasted about themselves, that I became a very poor self-promoter. Now, in my 70s, I am having a ball with young and old people loving Mr. Disney’s Bambi with them and it is an honor to be a part of it.
Q: Have you had an interest in going back into voice acting at all?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes. I would do it in a flash. Moreover, I would love to get a shot at a real challenging on-camera character role. Send me that leading role and I will do 20 push-ups in the snow for you!
Q: Did anyone nickname you Bambi throughout your life?
Donnie Dunagan: Ha! Only in the last few years, all in good fun and mostly at my expense. And I have come to love that teasing.
Q: Were you excited about being in a Disney film? Had you seen any of their films before entering the studio?
Donnie Dunagan: I was so excited to learn we were going to the Disney studio that I constantly pestered my poor Mom. I had not yet seen a Disney film when I was chosen to do Bambi. We seldom went to the movies. Time was always pressed with practicing dancing, singing, language, and on and on. But I knew of the Disney studio and was thrilled to do it.
Q: What would Bambi’s fans find in this new Diamond edition Blu-ray?
Donnie Dunagan: Fans should put their senses on “Happy Alert.” Bambi on Blu-ray will knock your socks off. The Blu-ray technology is a visual atmosphere all its own, thanks to Mr. Disney’s insistence that even the background of the forest and the rain drops be painted in real oil paints. Stand-by for joy.
Q: Are you involved in any new projects right now?
Donnie Dunagan: I have many uses of my time, all for good humanist purposes. I am usually up at 4:30am, and busy in helping others including veterans, tutoring children in math and sciences, and my own home life.
Q: What started your career in the film industry?
Donnie Dunagan: In Memphis, TN, late 1938. My parents and thousands of other in Tennessee were poor as dirt. My Mother entered me into a talent show contest. The theater was loaded with people. There was no TV yet and talent contests and even spelling bees drew large gatherings. I had learned to do some fun tap dances and songs. At not quite age 4, I won the contest. A real talent-scout was in the Memphis theater. He visited with my parents and a couple of days later we were put on a train to Hollywood. Within a month I was acting in the film Mother Carey’s Chickens for a wonderful director named Mr. Rowland Lee, who then took me into two other movies with co-star billing within half a year.
Q: One of your first roles was ‘Peter von Frankenstein’ in the film Son of Frankenstein – what do you remember about the experience on that set?
Donnie Dunagan: Son of Frankenstein was a child’s dream of fun. ‘Frankenstein’ off-camera, was a good humored guy, liked by all. Mr. Rowland Lee, the director, should get an award for courage, casting me with all those polished voices. I was still just a few months out of the deep south. It was great fun.
Q: How did you go about obtaining the role of Young Bambi? Did you have an agent as a child actor?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes. I had an agent when I met Walt Disney. But in the end, I know my Mother got a call from the Studio and was excited, as was I. Interestingly, I fired my first agent. He then said that I was too young to fire him. He had been rude to
my Mother thinking she was not a college graduate, and she was. So at age 5 and ½ I fired him.
Q: At what age did you enjoy Bambi best?
Donnie Dunagan: Boy, what a wise question. In the mid-1970s when it was first re-released, I was a mature man then, age 40, and with a ton of uncommon life experiences. I related to Bambi much better, taking some of the real life cycles that story shares and feeling them with my own life. Mr. Disney was way ahead of his time in visual story telling. I know Ph.D., heavy-hitters that have told me of their experiences realizing more life and humanities from each viewing of Bambi.
Q: Were you afraid at any time whilst first watching Bambi as a child?
Donnie Dunagan: Yes, while I had some sense of the story-line, nothing could prepare my Mother and I for the scope and power of Bambi the first few times we saw it. I had very wet eyes when Bambi’s mother was killed by hunters off-camera. Someone at the studio told us that the original drawings had her killed on-camera and that Mr. Disney had the very good taste to direct that to be changed.
Q: Bambi never dies, it is ageless, what do you think is the secret of this magical feeling? Is it the rhythm of the movie? Is it the voices? Is it the color and the photography?
Donnie Dunagan: Your question is darn bright and like some of the best questions in life, self-answering. Bambi is truly unmatched in visual animation. It is like the lead song….”Love is a story that will never end”… Bambi has so much story, so many real-life emotions, and beautiful animation. It is a love song to all of us, and it will never end.
Q: Can you tell me about the direction you get for the recording of Bambi desperately calling for his dead mother?
Donnie Dunagan: I remember this well. When I was told to say, with some stress, “Mother….Mother,” I must have not had the tone of fear that the story needed. A coach, I think it was a nice lady at the studio, asked me how I would cry out loud if my own real Mother was lost and in great danger. That made it easy…..thus, the fear-tone of ““Mother…Mother…”
Q: Donnie, can you share with us any final thoughts on Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: This animated film has been with us for almost 70 years now. It has additional dimensions that one may not see or feel in the first viewing. Bambi touches us, in many good humanist ways. Disney and Bambi are truly spelled F.U.N. I was a super lucky-duck kid to have been any part of it. And to this day, I feel indebted to Mr. Disney.
Q: Donnie, any final thoughts on Bambi?
Donnie Dunagan: Bambi, the Diamond Edition Blu-ray will extend this love-story to many generations. It is, after-all, Mr. Disney’s visual sense of the classic story that is with us now 70 years ‘young.’ Bambi is laced with emotions and joys we all have in our natural life. That is the magic bond with us and Bambi. We are there, in the forest with him and his friends. Thanks for letting this old warrior and Disney lover share this with you.
Bambi: Diamond Edition is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
For more information on Bambi: Diamond Edition, visit the official Bambi web site.