• Pre-production began in 1936 and was intended to be Disneys second full-length animated film after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Disneys perfection and quest for realism delayed the project significantly, so that Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and Dumbo (1941) were released earlier than Bambi.
• Sidney Franklin originally initiated "Bambi" as a film project in 1933, envisioning it as a live action film. He had even gone to the stage of recording Margaret Sullivan and Victor Jorys voices for the soundtrack. Eventually he realized that the technology simply wasnt adequate enough to make the film. After seeing "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), it dawned on Franklin that there was someone who could realize "Bambi" as a movie. So he contacted Walt Disney who immediately leapt at the idea of working on the project. Disney started work on the film in 1936, though he was also developing "Fantasia", "Dumbo" and "Pinocchio" at the same time. All this explains why there is a dedication in the films opening credits "To Sidney A. Franklin - our sincere appreciation for the inspiring collaboration".
• A test animation of baby Bambi stuck on a fallen tree-trunk was sufficiently charming to convince Walt Disney to make the film.

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