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Pop Culture Flashback: ‘Bambi’ Takes Down the Hunters (August 21)

No doubt about it, Walt Disney’s “Bambi” sort of took the fun out of deer hunting when the movie opened in theaters on this day.

August 21, 2026

Although still full of warmth and fun, Walt Disney’s Bambi shook up a few people when it first opened in theaters with some of its more serious and somber moments.

1942 – ‘Bambi’, Disney’s Sixth Animated Film

Bambi the deer and Flower the skunk — *(Walt Disney Animation via TVDB)*

It was on this day in 1942 that Walt Disney’s Bambi was first released in theaters. The movie initially lost money during its first release and not everyone was a fan. Some critics were actually opposed to film’s lack of fantasy elements. For others, some scenes were too realistic and somber. Many of us are still scarred from watching the sad scene when (spoiler alert) Bambi’s mother gets shot.

It is said that sales of hunting licenses fell dramatically after Bambi came out and in an edition of the magazine Outdoor Life, editor Raymond Brown wrote that the film was “… the worst insult ever offered in any form to American sportsmen.”

Despite what some people may think, Disney really didn’t have an agenda when he created the film, he was just following the book, Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten.

Bambi was re-released in 1947, 1957, 1966, 1975, 1982, and 1988 making it one of the best-known Disney movies ever produced. It was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Scoring, Original Song and Sound Recording. In 2006, Disney released the straight-to-video sequel Bambi 2, although it was released in some theaters in other countries outside of the U.S.

OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

1961 – Motown Releases First #1 Hit Song

The group The Marvelettes — The Marvelettes (Clockwise from top left) Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, and Wanda Young. *(Wikimedia Commons)*

Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, and Wanda Young, a quintet who called themselves The Marvels, were encouraged by their teacher to enter a talent show where the top three acts would be offered a trip to audition for the Motown record label. The Marvels came in fourth place. However, the school fought for the foursome to be able to audition as well. They were advised to come back with their own composition.

Georgia Dobbins contacted William Garrett, a local musician, for permission to use his song “Mr. Postman”. He agreed as long as he would receive songwriting credit. He then turned his blues tune into a teenager-approved dop-wop sound. “Please Mr. Postman” was not only the debut single by the Marvels (who by now were going by the title of The Marvelettes) but it also became Motown’s first #1 single record.

The Beatles did their own version of the song in 1963, and the song became another #1 hit when The Carpenters covered the song. Billboard named the song #22 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.