Their interactions with the legendary studio head were limited but impressionable. (Watch above for exclusive archival footage of the Disney animators approach to drawing realistic animals for Bambi.)īehn and Dunagan at a recent ‘Bambi’ event at Disney Studios (Disney) Eventually, Walt Disney asked Dunagan’s mother if he’d also lend his voice to the lead character of the studio’s fifth animated feature, following Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo. “So the animators at Disney would have me sit on a stool, look left, look right, look afraid, and I did, and they would draw,” he said. He was initially hired as the model for Disney animators to capture the eponymous fawn’s facial expressions. The curly-haired blond worked at a Shirley Temple-esque pace, making seven films (including Son of Frankenstein and Tower of London) between 19. And both ultimately lead successful (if “normal”) lives as in the private business sector.Īt 3, Dunagan won a local talent show in Memphis that led his family to Hollywood. Both later enlisted to serve their country. Both were showbiz tykes who left Tinseltown shortly after the release of Bambi. It’s more than their Disney connection that binds Dunagan and Behn. I certainly never talked about it in the Marine Corps.”
military for 25 years: “We didn’t talk about it. “When I got married for the second time, it was about a year so after that my wife finally found out.”Įxplained Dunagan, a decorated veteran who served in the U.S. “I never really spoke about it to others,” Behn revealed to Yahoo Movies at a press event for the film’s 75th anniversary and release of the new Walt Disney Signature Collection DVD/Blu-ray. They didn’t even share this intel with some of the people closest to them. Neither did Peter Behn, also 82, who was also a 4-year-old whippersnapper when he dispensed those oft-quoted words to the wise as the young rabbit Thumper. But throughout most of his lifetime, Donnie Dunagan, now 82, rarely mentioned his credential as the voice of the young deer in Disney’s 1942 animated classic. Well, I played him when I was 4.” Maybe throw in a “ Biiiiiird“ for a good measure. “Ever seen Bambi? Of course you’ve seen Bambi. You’d think it’d be a great party conversation starter. However, adults who know that "Bambi" came first - over 50 years before "The Lion King," in fact - will have the record straight of who actually copied who.The voices of Bambi (Donnie Dunagan, left) and Thumper (Peter Behn, right) in ‘Bambi’ (Disney/ Everett) "The Lion King" is no doubt a more popular film to modern audiences, and it's likely that a child might be familiar with "The Lion King" before watching "Bambi," not the other way around. Some kids may identify the similarities if they've seen both films, and they may even attribute the duplicate narrative in the reverse order. It's not plagiarism when you're copying something from your own studio, it seems. When initially pitching "The Lion King" in the 1990s - according to the movie's home video bonus material - filmmakers referred to it as "Bambi in Africa" to help animators wrap their minds around what to aim for (via Forbes). The stories and themes of the two Disney films are strikingly similar, though that's by design. There may come a point while watching "Bambi" that older viewers gasp and realize Pride Rock totally takes a hint (or two, or three) from the Great Prince of the Forest. It brings to mind a similar gag animated decades later in Pixar's "Toy Story 2" when Buzz Lightyear's wings pop out upon seeing Jessie performing an impressive stunt. Flower's body turns red, becomes stiff, and falls over when he meets his female counterpart, while Thumper's ears point upward and his foot thumps rapidly. As they do, the visual gags employed by the animators seem to allude to rather adult content for an otherwise tame movie, especially for Flower and Thumper.
Though they insist it won't happen to them, Flower, Thumper, and Bambi all soon become twitterpated themselves as they encounter a female skunk, rabbit, and deer, respectively. Then you feel light as a feather and before you know it, you're walking on air." So basically, "twitterpated" is when an animal gets, well, excited. He explains to them, "all of a sudden, you run smack into a pretty face. If only going by Friend Owl's own definition, being "twitterpated" is strictly a physical fixation and has nothing to do with anyone's actual relational compatibility.
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