Some critics say it is one of the greatest movies of all time.
I’ve only seen it once and barely remember most of it. But I hang on to the awful parts.
I’m talking about Bambi. It was on this date, August 21, 1942, when Walt Disney’s animated movie “Bambi” was released. It is based on the book by Felix Salten.
In my adulthood, I have become a lover of deer. We live in the perfect place to watch them, as our house has a full bank of windows overlooking a meadow. Every day, we fill troughs of corn for them and throw out a bag of fresh apples. Many of them live near us, raising their young in our woods. They come here when they are injured. My greatest hope is that in their little deer minds, they know this is a safe place to be.
As I watch them, from year to year, I get to know their families and packs. I can tell when someone is missing. I worry about them even though I realize I have no control over their little deer lives.
I’m sure it was a big damn deal the first time I spotted a deer in real life. Growing up in the city, about the only animals we saw were the occasional birds on a wire and a random scrawny squirrel here and there. Certainly no Bambis. No Thumpers either.
Now, being in the midst of rabbits and deer makes me extremely happy.
I see many people on social media who loathe deer. Mostly because deer eat their flowers or chew on their landscaping. Honestly, I don’t understand the fervor. The deer need to eat, and they have every bit the same right to be here as we do. Why can’t bygones be begonias?
Oh. I know. The landscape.
Anyway, back to Bambi. It is truly a sad story. There is a lot of loss in that tale. Bambi’s Mom gets shot and killed by Man. Heck, Bambi gets shot by Man. And dumb, dumb Man nearly burns down the entire forest.
Walt Disney took a lot of criticism at the time for making a movie such as this. The critics said it was too unpleasant, too flesh and blood. They said Disney had drifted away from fantasy. Well, the critics were right about it being realistic.
It showed just how awful Man could be, and “Man” didn’t like to hear it.
Even Disney’s own daughter, Diane Disney, complained about the needless death of Bambi’s mother. Walt explained to his daughter that he was just following the book. She told him, point blank, that there were other instances where his movies had veered off from the original material. She also pointed out that he was Walt Disney and could do whatever he liked when it came to making his movies.
But it came off as it did, and today it is renowned.
It mostly turns out good in the end. At least for a while. At least where Walt leaves it. Bambi gets the girl, Faline, and he becomes the new Great Prince of the Forest. With Thumper. And Flower.
And today, I’ll stand, like I always do. In front of our windows. Watching the deer. And I’ll give thanks for them, and give thanks for a world where we still have deer. And rabbits. And even Flowers. The stinky kind.
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“When gratitude becomes an essential foundation in our lives, miracles start to appear everywhere.”
– Emmanuel Dagher
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“The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.”
– Robert Holden
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“Whatever we are waiting for—peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance—it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.”
– Sarah Ban Breathnach
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Oh Sweet Deer. And then there was sad Bambi.
