The earlier animated Walt Disney films never shied away from showing the darker side of life, whether it be the pink elephant scene in Dumbo or the Pleasure Island sequence in Pinocchio. One of the darkest moments in all Disney films, and arguably in all of cinema, is the death of Bambi’s mom in Bambi. If the sequence wasn’t already dark enough, images have surfaced that show the moment of death, deemed too dark for children.
As you can see, rather than learning of the deer’s demise with Bambi stumbling across her body, we see the moment she gets shot while in the middle of prancing over a log. Seeing the storyboard might not have the same impact of seeing the completed scene, but these images show that Disney was capable of showing at least some restraint in how dark to let things get in an animated film. I wish they had shown this restraint in the opening scene of Up so I didn’t cry every time, but at least that scene proves even I’m human.
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What do you think is the darkest moment in a Disney film? Let us know in the comments!
[H/T Reddit]
