Tyrus Wong, the leading background artist of Bambi, died yesterday at the age of 106. He was the second to last living crew member of the film (the last is animator Don Lusk) and his impact on the film was immense. His paintings created the whole look of the film, turning the planned very detailed description of the forest into a mystical, beautiful place that we can see in the film.
Marc Davis said later that Wong's influence made the film, bringing a solution to the much-sought artistic style of the film. As Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote in their book "Bambi: The Story and the Film": Here at last was the beauty of Salten's writing, created not in a script or with character development, but in paintings that captured the poetic feeling that had eluded us for so long." The two legends gave Wong enormous credit in their book, saying that his influence was one of the things that made Bambi the masterpiece it is.
The last survivors of Disney's Golden Age are fading fast. Bambi is my second favorite animated film of all time and the most beautiful-looking, very much because of this great artist's influence. His passing is a huge loss for animation. Rest in Peace, Tyrus Wong, you will be missed.
