"Bambi"

MARCH 9, 2005—Those drip-drip-drop little April Showers have never looked so cool and refreshing. Film South Florida.com spoke with Disney animator Dave Bossert—who's worked on such contemporary Mouse House classics as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King—about the facelift Bambi received for its DVD debut. Bossert visited South Florida on March 8 to meet with students at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and the Miami International University of Art and Design.

Film South Florida.com: Film South Florida: OK, how many boxes of tissues did you go through while cleaning the sce"
ne in which Bambi’s mother is shot?

Dave Bossert: I know, that’s really something. We watched every frame multiple times. I watched Bambi, or parts of it, at least 60 times in the past year. It really is a work of art. I felt like I was on the scaffold in the Sistine Chapel with a Q-tip taking the dirt off the alfresco.

Film South Florida.com: In the DVD feature Restoring Bambi, the process of cleaning Bambi is described as keeping the image free of dust, dirt and scratches. Bet that sounds simpler than it really is. In layman’s terms, please briefly describe the frame-by-frame restoration process.

Bossert: We start with making a high-resolution scan off the original negative. When Bambi was made, Disney used the best techniques of the day but they had inherent flaws. Dust, dirt, cell scratches and various anomalies were photographed in each frame. Our job was to determine what elements needed to be removed. We were all led by a guiding force, which was the artistic intent. It’s not like Michelangelo intended for a layer of dirt over the alfresco.

Film South Florida.com: How did having Walt Disney’s notes—as reenacted in the DVD feature Inside Walt’s Story Meetings--on Bambi help with the restoration?

Bossert: It was all part of the whole puzzle. Finding the story notes was a real treat for the artists working on the process. So was having access to the Animation Research Library, and the original artwork from the original film. It all contributed to knowing what to bring to the table when you start a project of this magnitude.

Film South Florida.com: What’s was the hardest part about restoring Bambi?

Bossert: I can’t say there was a hard part. The whole was a labor of love. When you’re so intent of bringing back the original beauty [of Bambi], nothing appears to be hard. We had to some custom software to tackle certain problems. Other than that, it was an absolute joy. One of the issues was that Bambi was completed during World War II. There was a shortage of materials, especially petroleum products. So Disney got into the habit of washing and reusing cells. That introduced scratches to the acetate. After the cells get washed, it gets warped, so there’s a ripple. There were photographed scratches in every frame. There also were patches in the area of the frame that got washed because of the light reflecting off the warps. Those were the two items we had to deal with.

Film South Florida: What did you notice about Bambi during the restoration that you had not noticed before?  

Bossert: Probably the fact that there was a jitter to the film frame, where the image moved around. I had not noticed it when it was projected. Once the frames stabilized, and we did a split screen, we could see a difference.

Film South Florida.com: From an animator's perspective, how would yoou describe Bambi’s place in Disney's long history of producing animated features?

Bossert: It was one of the first of the more realistic types of the films the studio tackled. The story line dealt with themes that resonate with every generation, like [the animals] growing up and making friends, falling in love, dealing with the loss of a parent. This resonates in everyone’s lives. Also, I think it’s a film about hope. It’s the original Circle of Life.

Film South Florida.com: It was also the first Disney film to feature the death of a character, according to Inside Walt’s Story Meetings.

Bossert: You don’t actually see [Bambi’s] mother killed. It’s implied. But that does create tension in the film. It’s a very sad moment.

Film South Florida: Which Disney classic is now most in need of a facelift?

Bossert: We’re working on a schedule. We just completed restoration of Cinderella. We’re about to start on Lady and the Tramp.

Film South Florida.com: Disney is producing a direct-to-DVD sequel to Bambi [on which Bossert served as a consultant]. How easy is it going to be to pull off a sequel to an acknowledged classic that's more than 60 years old?

Bossert: I think it’s a daunting task. Disney would not have gone that road unless it had secured a story line. The story guys spotted a moment after Bambi’s mother was killed and the father tells Bambi that his mother is not going to return. Time passes, and Bambi’s grown up. The story guys looked at that moment and thought it would be a terrific story to tell, Bambi bonding with his father and growing up. I’ve seen the film, and it pays homage to the original Bambi in an amazing way. They pulled together some of the most talented animators. Andreas Deja, one of our top animators, who worked on Scar [from The Lion King] and Gaston [from Beauty and the Beast], worked on the film. It looks beautiful. Also, the sequel features background art and effects animation from the original Bambi. We would not do that if were not doing a topnotch job.

Film South Florida.com: Disney recently closed down its 2D production unit to concentrate on making computer-generated animated features. Are the days of hand-drawn animation—at least at Disney—numbered?

Bossert: I disagree. The studio is still producing traditionally animated films. The public just happens to favor CG films at the moment. But it’s all about the stories. If you have a great story, it makes no difference what technique the filmmakers use. I won’t be surprised if there are more 2D films in the future. Disney is in the business of creating great entertainment that appeals to the masses. That can be done with CG, hand drawn, or with puppets, like A Nightmare Before Christmas. Or a combination of techniques.

Film South Florida.com: With Pixar’s relationship with Disney possibly coming to an end after next year's Cars, how important is Disney’s first foray into CG, the upcoming Chicken Little, to the studio’s future in animation?

Bossert: I saw Chicken Little. It’s a tremendous film. But I’ve not got much to say [about Pixar’s future with Disney], other than I hope they get everything worked out.

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