Published: November 29, 2009 03:24 am      

‘Bambi’ an insult to American sportsmen?

When the American Film Institute released its list of the Top 100 Movie Villains of all time, No. 20 on the list appears only as “Man.”

The man, of course, is the faceless hunter in the 1942 Disney film “Bambi.” Villain? Well, he certainly sets the story in motion.

The gentle doe and her son hear the all-too-familiar “boom” sound of a rifle while grazing in the woods.

“Quick, to the thicket!” Bambi’s mother yells to him. “Faster! Faster, Bambi! Don’t look back! Keep running! Keep running!”

Then there’s one more “boom,” and it becomes apparent to the audience that Bambi is running alone. Once safe in the thicket he was told to run to, he calls for his mother. The snow starts to fall quickly, and in near-blizzard conditions Bambi runs through the forest calling out to her. What he finds is his stoic father, who very bluntly tells the young buck that his mother would no longer be with him.

OK, who didn’t cry the first time they saw Bambi?

Well, a whole lot of people, actually. In fact, the movie bombed in 1942. Some say it had a lot to do with World War II, which was raging in the European and Pacific theaters. But others say it was because the animals were too realistic and because “Man” was the bad guy. No one wants to sit and watch a movie that’s message is how horrible humans are and how they are violating nature. At least back then, long before Al Gore made it popular. Hunters at the time protested the movie, calling it “an insult to American sportsmen.”

They re-released it in 1947, and “Bambi” did marginally better at the box office. But it’s been the future generations that have made the movie successful. And memorable. Ah, Disney. The kinds of messages they send to children. Hunting for deer is bad. Your toys come to life when you leave the room. There actually are monsters in your closet. Follow white rabbits down holes.

We only mention it because West Virginia’s buck gun season started last Monday and Division of Natural Resources officials expected 280,000 licensed hunters to hit the woods last week in 51 out of 55 counties. The four holdouts, McDowell, Wyoming, Logan and Mingo counties, have sat out this gun season again because of low deer population. Those counties limited hunting to bow season.

Of course the 2009 season numbers aren’t in, but state officials reported a deer harvest of 162,371 in 2008. And if every licensed hunter bagged one, this year’s harvest could exceed last year’s by 100,000. And, of course, we know that not every hunter brings one home.

In fact, according to 21.82 percent of our voters on our weekly online poll, deer season can be summed up with “going to camp with the guys.” Maybe fellowship, tasty snacks and beverages and a warm fire in a quiet setting is a bit more appealing than sitting for hours in a tree waiting for a deer to walk by.

For 18.18 percent of our voters, deer season means bagging one and bringing home the venison.

But the majority of our voters, or 60 percent, must have seen the 1942 movie and were affected by that dramatic scene. Those voters said “Why would anyone want to shoot Bambi’s mother?”

Of course, it’s not a scientific poll, and there could be a reason the totals were so skewed. It could be, and we’re just supposing here, that the deer hunters might just have spent their days in the woods last week and didn’t have the chance to vote in the poll.

Regardless, whether you hunt or not, check out “Bambi” again. It’s a tear-jerker, for sure, but they don’t make animated movies like they used to. It wasn’t made with computer animation software, and no mega stars provided the voice overs for the cuddly forest animals, but it’s a work of art.

This week, let’s talk a little about Project Safe Neighborhood, an effort of the City of Fairmont and its police department to crack down on crime in the Fourth Street area. Good idea or unfair to homeowners?

Log on. Vote. E-mail me.

Misty Poe

Managing Editor

mpoe@timeswv.com