13 August

Bambi premiered at Radio City Music Hall on August 13, 1942, and promptly made half of America cry. Based on the 1923 novel by Felix Salten, the film followed a young deer through the seasons of his life in the forest.

The death of Bambi’s mother remains one of the most emotionally devastating moments in cinema. Entire generations of children had their first encounter with loss and grief in a darkened movie theatre, watching a cartoon deer call out for a mother who would never answer. The film was not a box office success on its first release — wartime audiences wanted escapism, not heartbreak — but re-releases in 1947 and 1957 turned it into one of Disney’s most beloved and enduring films.