This moment is debatably more saddening or shocking than scary, but in a film about happy talking deer, it can safely be classified as pure terror. Halfway through the film, Bambi and his mom are just eating some new spring grass in a quiet meadow, when all of a sudden Bambi's mother perks up her ears and tells Bambi to run. The frantic music begins playing, and that calmness from moments ago is gone as they are suddenly fleeing for their lives from a poacher. Bambi escapes to the thicket as a gunshot rings out across the silent forest, making him quickly realise his mother has been killed. He searches for her as it snows, but to no avail. Even for adults, this is a disheartening moment, but there are a couple silver linings to be noted; though Bambi's mother is killed, his father decides to look after the fawn himself, which allows Bambi to live an otherwise happy life. Originally, the shooting of Bambi's mother was going to be shown on screen, but this idea was dropped after the studio thought it might be a little too intense for younger viewers. How kind of them. Something tells us Disney wouldnt have the balls to kill a character off like this in todays films.
