Bambi Meets Godzilla

Bambi Meets Godzilla
Directed by Marv Newland
Produced by Marv Newland
Written by Marv Newland
Cinematography Marv Newland

Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969) is a cartoon created entirely by Marv Newland. Less than two minutes long, the film is a classic of animation—#38 in the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons (1994).

Newland was originally planning to do a live-action film; but, when he lost an essential magic hour shot, he drew this film in his room.

Plot

The opening credits scroll over an animated image of the character Bambi serenely grazing while the Call to the Dairy Cows from Rossini's opera William Tell (1829) plays in the background. After the credits, Bambi looks up to see Godzilla's giant foot coming down, squashing him flat (set to the final chord of The Beatles' "A Day in the Life" played at half-speed). After a moment, the closing credits scroll over the image of Godzilla's foot on top of a squished Bambi. At the very end, Godzilla's claws twitch once.

The bulk of the movie's running time is consumed in the opening credits, all of which name Marv Newland, including crediting Newland's parents for creating Marv. The closing credits give grateful acknowledgement to the city of Tokyo "for their help in obtaining Godzilla for this film".

Screenings and distribution

This cartoon prefaced Godzilla 1985 during the film's theatrical release and on the VHS release from New World Home Video. Two sequels were later made without Newland's involvement: Son of Bambi Meets Godzilla and Bambi's Revenge, giving Godzilla a hot foot.

References

External links