While out in Los Angeles, I was honored to sit in a round table discussion and Q+A Press Conference with Donald “Donnie” Dunagan (young voice of “Bambi”) and Peter Behn (young voice of “Thumper”) moderated by Disney Archivist Becky Cline. Plus learn so much but animation with artist Paul Felix. Actors Donald and Peter talked about being young boys working with Disney, their careers after Bambi and more. Paul chatted with us about how he gets inspired to draw, favorite projects and working on the new release of Bambi on DVD! Check out what they had to say inside…
Donald “Donnie” Dunagan (young voice of “Bambi”)
Peter Behn (young voice of “Thumper”)
Q & A Time:
What was it like acting as a child?
Donnie: I was a little boy, sometimes I just wanted to be home riding my bike and playing my puppy.
Peter: I remember going into the sound booth w/a voice director to read my lines. I would mimic him. The thing I remember most is the recording equipment was in the booth with us and was fascinated. It was so mechanical.
Did you See Bambi after you filmed it?
Donnie: I saw it with Peter in theaters at the premiere
Peter: No, not for some time
What did you do after Bambi?
Donnie: I went into the US Marine Core when I got older. In 1977, I was a battalion commander. I saw that Disney was going to re-release Bambi and I was horrified that my base would find out. I could imagine all of my soldiers saying that their battalion commander was Bambi! LOL!
Peter: When I got older, I built houses and worked in real estate
Q+A Press Conference with Paul Felix, Visual Development Artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios
Q&A Time:
How has animation changed over time?
Animation starts with hand drawing – that hasn’t changed much. Things need to be much richer now. The drawings from Bambi to Moana are all the same principles.
How was it working on Bambi?
Designing Bambi is deceptively tricky! I’m known for designing environments instead of characters. I looked at some of Mark Davis’ drawing of deer for research. My first drawings Bambi looked more like a fox. But everyone has their own unique take.
Recommendations to new art students?
Make a Portfolio(life drawing is a good talent)
Don’t limit yourself to just drawing
Learn a sense of art history
Original Drawing of Bambi
Amanda and I caught up with Donnie a few days prior, who was staying at our hotel, we had to get a selfie! LOL!
The movie Bambi will be released on Digital HD May 23rd and Blu-ray & DVD June 6th. If you have Disney Movie Rewards and purchase Bambi, you have the option to buy a special tank featuring the Paul Felix art inspired by Bambi, ends July 31st. Click here.
Images via Disney
