Bambi

[LifeNRA]

Diggers Corner - NRA

11250 Waples Mill Road
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Tuesday, June 07, 2005

“Man has entered the forest.” That ominous sounding quote is probably quickly recognized by anyone who grew up in America in the last 50 years. I’m sure you remember seeing Bambi and his little anthropomorphic friends as the bloodthirsty hunters chased them across the silver screen. That single film has probably created a negative impression of hunters in the mind of more people than all the efforts of PETA and HSUS combined. And now Disney is coming back for another generation of kids.



On Saturday night I was clicking around the TV and much to my chagrin noticed that Bambi was playing. Since I hadn’t seen it in about 20 years I watched. The film was much worse than anything I remember. The way unseen “hunters” ran through the forest literally blasting anything that moved was the most ludicrous thing I had ever seen. Not to mention the fact that the moviemakers had the hunters showing up to hunt in the spring and Bambi and his friends evidently spend years in the care of their mothers—unlike real wild animals that mature much more quickly.



I will admit that it is an incredibly effective film, that is if the goal is to turn people against hunters. The way the animals suck the viewer in with their human qualities and cries of desperation when the “hunters” enter the forest. It almost makes you believe that hunters want to shoot everything that moves and don’t care if they recklessly burn down the entire forest.



And don’t believe that Walt Disney didn’t know that his portrayal of hunters was wrong. Before the film was released in 1942 the editor of Outdoor life sent Disney a telegram asking him to add a forward to the film explaining that the film was a fantasy and not an accurate portrayal of hunters. Disney refused to do so even though the movie didn’t premier for several months. After Disney’s refusal Outdoor Life approached the distributors of the film who also encouraged Disney to include a forward. Disney again refused. The entire episode was detailed in the September 1942 issue of Outdoor Life.



Disney has recently released a special edition of Bambi on DVD and the whole purpose of putting it on TV was to promote the special release, as well as the upcoming film Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest. This new film will be out sometime next year.



Bambi and the Great Prince is evidently going to be about Bambi learning from his father and learning how to deal with the death of his mother. I guess the makers thought that simply re-releasing Bambi every 10 years or so wasn’t effective enough at turning young kids against hunting, so they’ve made this new film to step up the pressure.



The fact is, in modern America man entering the forest is the best thing that can happen to wildlife. It is because of hunters and their dollars that the white tailed deer and wild turkey are now at record numbers. In the last 67 years hunters have contributed more than $9 billion—yes billion—to wildlife habitat improvement and management. Without hunter dollars there would be no state wildlife agencies. Without the money from federal duck stamps, the National Refuge System would be a fraction of its current size. Without the Pittman-Robertson money collected from taxes on sportsmen, wildlife would not be as secure as it is today. And when that fire rages in the forest today, it is man who puts it out.



No one has a more vested interest in the preservation and protection of wildlife than the people who interact with that wildlife. Hunters are the ones in the woods observing wildlife, preserving wildlife and being a part of nature. Unfortunately, Bambi and the new sequel will be seen and believed by those who’ve never seen a sunrise from a tree-blind and never heard quail calling at night. So let’s destroy the myth, let’s stand up and tell our friends and neighbors that we are hunters and we are proud. Don’t let the propaganda turn future generations against us.



Dawson

[Andrea]

I obviously was not affected by watching Bambi when I was growing up. I can imagine most of us here saw it too when we were little.
My boys have seen it. They pretend to be shooting at the tv screen. I don't really think much about the anti-hunter sentiment. I love the movie. I hunt deer. I think the only people that get riled up about it are the anti-hunters anyway. I could be wrong though. Oh well. I just know that it did not turn me against hunting, so Disney failed if that was their goal.

[SaskMan]

Interesting post and one I had not put any thought into before. If turning people off hunters and hunting was their goal then I'm not sure if they succeeded. I still hunt. It is very true that the ones that care about the wildlife and nature are the hunters, the ones experiencing them first hand, very true. But........anybody else feel sad when Bambi's mom got shot???? I did , maybe not as a kid but when I watched it recently as and adult, I did. But it won't stop me from hunting.

[LifeNRA]

[ QUOTE ]
........anybody else feel sad when Bambi's mom got shot????

[/ QUOTE ]

Now I think, Hmmmmmmmmmmm venison! LOL! Naaaaaa, didnt bother me either. I seen the movie, so has my daughter. She still sits on my lap when the hunting shows are on! Sometimes I can hear her say shoot! LOL! I love it when she does that!

[TreeStandBowHunter]

You know what, I don't know if I ever actually seen that movie. I can't remember . I know my kids never seen it

When I was growing up, we watched that mountain man guy....what's his name The guy that had that grizzley bear We never watched weak movies like Bambi

[Andrea]

[ QUOTE ]
You know what, I don't know if I ever actually seen that movie. I can't remember . I know my kids never seen it

When I was growing up, we watched that mountain man guy....what's his name The guy that had that grizzley bear We never watched weak movies like Bambi

[/ QUOTE ]

Grizzly Adams. You crack me up TSBH.

[TreeStandBowHunter]

Yeah, that's the show. It was on every Saturday or Sunday morning. Then we would watch the westerns after that. They beat the crap that's on today

I'm serious now, we watched movies that gave a man a back bone These shows today make wussies out of kids. All big hearted and everything else. You used to have kids doing manly things after school like playing in dirt or catching frogs and throwing them at the girls. Now you have boys picking flowers on the walk home from school for their mom

[Andrea]

HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!! You are right. I canceled the Cartoon Network the other day and ordered Boomerang. It shows nothing but the classics. Looney Tunes, Popeye, Flintstones, etc. And most everything else is locked out of their t.v. They can watch the classics, outdoor stuff, Discovery Channel, History Channel, TVland.

I miss the old days. Boys were boys and girls were girls.

[TreeStandBowHunter]

[ QUOTE ]


I miss the old days. Boys were boys and girls were girls.

[/ QUOTE ]


Yeah, the only thing is up here in Massachusetts, you don't know who is who

[Andrea]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


I miss the old days. Boys were boys and girls were girls.

[/ QUOTE ]


Yeah, the only thing is up here in Massachusetts, you don't know who is who

[/ QUOTE ]

It's almost as bad down here in the South. Sad, isn't it??

[buckee]

Ever notice that every show on the tube these days has a gay person or gay couple in them, from reality shows to sit-coms.
If they do a remake of Banbi, they'll have those mean hunters running through the woods, blasting at everything they see, and tagging along behind them will be the good guys (I say that with sarcasm in my voice), skipping along, picking wildflowers and smiling at one another.

[TreeStandBowHunter]

LMBO ,

Buckee, you just made me want to do something. Talk about me opening up a can of worms...or should I say you. If it goes foul, I will just blame you

[oo_buck]

[ QUOTE ]
Ever notice that every show on the tube these days has a gay person or gay couple in them, from reality shows to sit-coms.
If they do a remake of Banbi, they'll have those mean hunters running through the woods, blasting at everything they see, and tagging along behind them will be the good guys (I say that with sarcasm in my voice), skipping along, picking wildflowers and smiling at one another.

[/ QUOTE ]


HAHAHAHAHA

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

[ QUOTE ]
Ever notice that every show on the tube these days has a gay person or gay couple in them, from reality shows to sit-coms.
If they do a remake of Banbi, they'll have those mean hunters running through the woods, blasting at everything they see, and tagging along behind them will be the good guys (I say that with sarcasm in my voice), skipping along, picking wildflowers and smiling at one another.

[/ QUOTE ]

Reminds me of an episode of Southpark where Big Gay Al (I think that's his name) had the home for unwanted gay animals...

[slugshooter]

I loved Bambi when I was a kid. I never gave much thought to the whole killing of Bambi's mom thing, it obviously didn't turn me away from hunting. Who here didn't love the scene with Thumper "ice sliding" on the frozen pond. "Look what I can do !!!" and the timeless lesson "If you can't say nuthin nice, don't say nuthin at all." I've always loved anything Disney has done and in fact, I can't wait until next month when I go on vacation for a week in Florida and spend a couple days at Disney World.