Bambi and the Spring Sprite

Bambi and the Spring Sprite is an upcoming animated featurette produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and introduced by Chelsea Kane. The featurette's animation technique combines traditional hand-drawn animation (with digital ink and paint/animation using Toon Boom and Adobe Creative Suite) and extensive use of computer generated imagery. It is partially set to Igor Stravinsky's "The Firebird Suite", which was featured in the segment of the same name for Fantasia 2000.

Plot
After a long winter, an adolescent deer fawn named Bambi (Ashleigh Ball) walks deeper into the forest than he ever had before. His head sways from side to side, walking almost in a daze, following a scent that doesn't seem to be there.

Approaching a strangely unfrozen pond, he stops suddenly, eyes examining a dead, hollowed tree that almost seems to cradle the other side of the pond. Tilting his head slightly, he exhales slowly, smelling a mustiness in the air that normally only accompanied spring. Where can this smell have come from in the dead of winter?

He carefully tests the water with a hoof before dipping fully into it. Careful to keep his stance on the bottom, he trots cautiously across the distance to the hollow, breath rising in clouds around him. Entering the hollow, he unconsciously lowered his head, ducking to enter the space, and breathes gently up to the roof. His breath warps the air, touching a giant ice sickle, before falling to the ground and settling.

But no, it doesn't settle, it keeps moving. Bambi stared, hypnotized by the movement, as it grows into a Spring Sprite (Helena Bonham Carter). She smiles at him, for he knew that's who she is, her form, clear as glass, whipping around in an unfelt wind. He smiled back as she hugs him; she reminds him of his mother, a great alive force that never left him, but also of himself, a curious being. Bambi respectfully backed out of the hollow, allowing the Sprite by and she exploded out, her mere presence bursting everything into growth in her green form.

Bambi stares on in wonder as everything blooms. Life streams off of her in swathes, almost seeming to paint itself across the surroundings, as she moved out of the pond. Her delicate hands form flowers and spread grass, bringing what was once dead back to life. Prancing slightly, Bambi stopped at a little tree and stared at it somewhat mournfully before looking back at her. She giggled at his face before wrapping the tree in her arms, swirling herself around it before zooming away to bring more to life.

Staring in awe at the tree, Bambi's mind floats back to his first spring, his mother's gentle nuzzle on his face, all the creatures there to greet them. He inhales deeply and could almost smell her. Happy feelings flood his mind as spring began to filter back into the forest.

He opens his eyes. The Wildwood Heart forest around him is strangely quiet. Where had the Sprite gone? His ears swiveled, trying to pick up the tiniest sound as he approached the foot of the cliff. Bambi was tense for no other reason than that he had never been this close to the darkest border of Wildwood Heart before. Things were said before the sun sets on the thirteenth day of early spring, only those very superstitious approach it. Surely the Sprite wouldn't have…

Slightly in the middle of the thirteenth night of spring on the full moon, the Sprite becomes pale as her lonely walk throughout the dark hollow in the dry area becomes more lively than she ever imagined, exceedingly frightening because of her exposure to the possibility of encountering the ghost. The atmosphere of fear increased in intensity, until it broke the tension at a false alarm, where upon the Sprite and her friends, Thumper (Tiffany Grant) and his sisters (Emma Rose Lima, Makenna Cowgill, and Ariel Winter) laugh hysterically in relief.

Immediately, the Headless Horseman (Andrew Laing) appears, laughing maniacally, riding a large black horse. Then follows a spectacular chase scene wherein the visually impressive Horseman pursued the Sprite with wild abandon, only to be deterred when she makes her way to the end of her path. The Horseman then hurls his own severed head (shown to actually be a fiery Halloween Jack-o-lantern), at the Sprite. The jack-o-lantern is seemingly hurled right at the audience, bursts into flames as it collides, and everything fades to black.

One foggy morning, the only things found by the Sprite's path are a shattered pumpkin and a slightly lighter patch of ashes. Bambi tells Faline (Alyson Stoner), Flower (Wendee Lee), Thumper and his Mama (Kath Soucie), Papa (Dee Bradley Baker) and Sisters, Friend Owl (Keith Ferguson), and his father (Patrick Stewart) that he forgot to protect the Sprite. They encourage him to follow the Sprite's tracks where she entered throughout the dark woods last night.

He looks around and walks though the woods where the Sprite in her pale form walked unluckily in the darkness alone. Then he follows the tracks where the ghoulish Headless Horseman started chasing after her. After running through the drought, he stops running, and stood and stared, mourning the loss of his new friend. His eyes scans the area where the horror of the Horseman hurled a pumpkin at her.

Then he walks slowly, and he looks down at the slightly lighter patch of dust by a shattered pumpkin at his feet. He breathes slowly on it, kicking up some of the ash into the air and stirring the Sprite. She looked weakly up at him, her same dull gray colored form a mere shadow of what it once was and Bambi stared back, even though he still lives, he felt like a ghost. She huddles around herself, parts of her almost seeming to blow away in the wind.

"I'm sorry," she murmurs, turning her back to Bambi. "This is all my fault. I just wanted life…"

Bambi swallows back his remark and just stars at her, pleading for something to happen. He sighs, and raises his head, feeling the frail hope he has allowed himself to build up ebb away as he looks at the helpless Sprite. Glancing around at his surroundings, he recognized the path that the Headless Horseman chased after the Sprite.

And an idea strikes him. Bambi turns his head slowly back around to face the Sprite, lowering it to her level. His reddish-brown eyes meet her green-gold ones. "I have faith in you, Lady," he says simply, voice hoarse from the ash. "You bring life to things once dead. You can make this new."

The Sprite shifts to look at Bambi, blinking slowly. Then reaching up, she grabbed a hold of Bambi's budding antlers pulling herself up onto his forehead. Bambi slowly raised his head, moving carefully so as not to dislodge the Sprite. Even if the Sprite can bring life to the dry area of the forest; everyone he loves will still be dead.

Hearing an almost inaudible sound, Bambi realizes the Sprite was crying. He begins to walk as she becomes blue and the tears trickled down her face and fell into the air, hitting the thirsty ground and the old branches. Leaves explodes from where the drops landed and Bambi runs, feeling a lightness come over him that he could not quite explain. She smiles and leaps off of Bambi's head, becoming a great sheet of healing rain that covers the ground and the old trees as he runs, life bursting from the soil bigger and bolder than the old growth has ever been.

And Bambi still runs, eyes not believing what he is seeing. Though his heart achs, he laughs, watching as green explodes everywhere. The Sprite sweeps all over the drought, covering even the woods of the Headless Horseman with her power, the landscape changing from black to a world of colors. Finally Bambi stops running and he found himself at the foot of the old hollow tree, the one that had fireflies in it and looked like either a banshee or a phantom that scared her last night.

A laugh tinkles above him and he knows the Sprite is back from spreading life to everything where the Headless Horseman had chased after her. She comes down to him, glowing with a healthy luster that Bambi has not seen even before. Looking at him, broad smile on her face, she touches the tree and it bursts into bloom.

The two stares at each other, Bambi still panting from the run, the Sprite floating in her radiance. "Thank you for all you've done, Lady," says Bambi politely, eyes flicking away from her so she would not see the pain in them.

"Don't thank me yet, Young Prince Bambi," she says lightly. "I'm not finished."

Bambi looks up questioningly at her face. Raising her arms, she lets out a joyous laugh before disappearing in a flash of light.

Production
It's an all-new story featuring the Spring Sprite (from Fantasia 2000), her companion Bambi, Faline, the Great Prince of the Forest, Thumper and his sisters, and Friend Owl (from Bambi and Bambi 2), and the Headless Horseman (from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad). The legendary story may be considered an exercise in the theme of life-death-rebirth deities, as well as a stylized interpretation of Friday the 13th on the full moon, at midnight, which occurred on Friday, March 13th, 2009 at 12:00 AM, and the subsequent return of wildlife to the devastated region.

Strings

 * 18 Violins I
 * 16 Violins II
 * 14 Violas
 * 12 Celli
 * 10 Double basses
 * 2 Harps

Woodwinds

 * Flute 1: Flute, Piccolo
 * Flute 2: Flute, Piccolo, Alto flute
 * Flute 3: Flute
 * Flute 4: Flute, Alto flute, Bass flute
 * Oboe 1: Oboe
 * Oboe 2: Oboe
 * Oboe 3: Oboe, English horn
 * Oboe 4: Oboe, English horn
 * Clarinet 1: Soprano clarinet (in C/B♭/A), Sopranino clarinet (in E♭/D)
 * Clarinet 2: Soprano clarinet (in C/B♭/A)
 * Clarinet 3: Soprano clarinet (in C/B♭/A), Bass clarinet (in B♭/A)
 * Clarinet 4: Soprano clarinet (in C/B♭/A), Bass clarinet (in B♭/A)
 * Bassoon 1: Bassoon, Tenoroon
 * Bassoon 2: Bassoon
 * Bassoon 3: Bassoon, Contrabassoon
 * Bassoon 4: Bassoon, Contrabassoon
 * Saxophone 1: Alto saxophone
 * Saxophone 2: Alto saxophone
 * Saxophone 3: Tenor saxophone, Alto saxophone
 * Saxophone 4: Tenor saxophone
 * Saxophone 5: Baritone saxophone

Brass

 * Trumpet 1: Trumpet (in B♭/C/D/F), Piccolo Trumpet (in B♭/A)
 * Trumpet 2: Trumpet (in B♭/C/D/F)
 * Trumpet 3: Trumpet (in B♭/C/D/F)
 * Trumpet 4: Trumpet (in B♭/C/D/F), Bass Trumpet (in B♭/C)
 * Trumpet 5: Trumpet (in B♭/C/D/F)
 * 3 Tenor trombones
 * 2 Bass trombones
 * 6 French horns (in G/F/D)
 * 2 Wagner tubas
 * 2 Tubas

Percussion

 * Timpani
 * Drum set
 * Field drum
 * Gran Cassa
 * Clash cymbals
 * Suspended cymbals
 * Crotales
 * Xylophone
 * Glockenspiel
 * Triangle
 * Tambourine
 * Chau gong
 * Woodblock
 * Temple blocks
 * Güiro
 * Vibraslap

Keyboards

 * Grand piano
 * Celesta

Voice Cast

 * Ashleigh Ball - Bambi
 * Alyson Stoner - Faline
 * Helena Bonham Carter - Spring Sprite
 * Jack Mercer - Spring Sprite (laughs and screams)
 * Patrick Stewart - Great Prince
 * Cree Summer Francks - Mena
 * Tiffany Grant - Thumper
 * Katie Lowes - Trixie
 * Ariel Winter - Daisy
 * Gwendolyn Yates Whittle - Ria
 * Emma Rose Lima - Tessie
 * Kath Soucie - Mrs. Hare
 * Chris Phillips - Mr. Hare
 * Keith Ferguson - Friend Owl
 * Wendee Lee - Flower
 * Andrew Laing - Headless Horseman

Credits

 * Written and Directed by
 * Brian Pimental
 * Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi
 * Art Directors:
 * Carl Jones
 * Carol Kieffer Police
 * Supervising Animators:
 * Spring Sprite: Anthony DeRosa
 * Bambi: Randy Haycock
 * Faline: Jared Beckstrand
 * Great Prince: Ron Husband
 * Thumper and his Sisters/Mr. and Mrs. Hare: Chris Bailey
 * Friend Owl: Dale Baer
 * Flower: James Lopez
 * Headless Horseman: Glen Keane
 * London Animation Supervisor:
 * Bambi: James Baxter
 * Animators:
 * Georges Abolin (Bambi)
 * Tim Allen
 * Tony Bancroft
 * Tom Bancroft
 * Davide Benvenuti (Bambi)
 * David Berthier (Bambi)
 * Aaron Blaise (Headless Horseman)
 * Travis Blaise
 * Rebecca Wilson Breese (Spring Sprite)
 * Chris Buck
 * Dave Burgess
 * Michael Cedeno
 * Farouk Cherfi (Bambi)
 * Sandro Cleuzo (Spring Sprite)
 * Lorna Pomeroy-Cook (Bambi)
 * Lino DiSalvo (Headless Horseman)
 * Ken Duncan
 * Adam Dykstra
 * Russ Edmonds
 * Allan Fernando (Thumper)
 * Will Finn
 * Trey Finney (Bambi/Headless Horseman)
 * Stéphane Sainte-Foi (Headless Horseman)
 * Tony Fucile (Headless Horseman)
 * Thomas Gately
 * Rodolphe Guenoden
 * Lennie K. Graves
 * David Hancock (Great Prince)
 * Mark Henn (Headless Horseman)
 * Byron Howard (Bambi)
 * James Young Jackson (Spring Sprite)
 * Jay Jackson (Bambi)
 * Sang Jin-Kim (Great Prince)
 * Cory Loftis (Spring Sprite)
 * Satjit Matharu (Bambi)
 * Gregory G. Miller
 * Sachio Nishiyama (Great Prince)
 * Terry O'Toole (Great Prince)
 * Joe Oh (Spring Sprite)
 * Irene Parkins
 * Eric Pigors
 * David Pruiksma
 * John Ripa (Flower)
 * Tobias Schwarz (Bambi)
 * Yoshimichi Tamura
 * Barry Temple
 * Chris Wahl
 * Theresa Wiseman
 * Anthony Ho Wong (Headless Horseman)
 * Ellen Woodbury (Headless Horseman)
 * David Zaboski (Spring Sprite)
 * Kathy Zielinski
 * Story Development Supervisor: Burny Mattinson
 * Story Development Supervisor (London): Simon Wells
 * Story Development:
 * Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi
 * Kevin Deters
 * Ben Gluck
 * Glen Keane
 * Brian Lee Kesinger
 * Larry Leker
 * Raymond S. Persi
 * Brian Pimental
 * Jeanne Rosenberg
 * Robert Sledge
 * Visual Development:
 * Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi
 * Kelvin Yasuda
 * Glen Keane
 * Arturo A. Hernandez
 * Bob McKnight
 * Robert Sledge
 * Valeria Tutati
 * Lori Tyminski
 * Maria Elena Naggi
 * Giorgio Vallorani
 * Charles Pickens
 * Layout Supervisor: Mitchell Guintu Bernal
 * Layout:
 * Marek Buchwald
 * Ray Chen
 * Shawn Colbeck
 * Bill Hodman
 * Karen A. Keller
 * David Krentz
 * Background Supervisor: Dean Gordon
 * Backgrounds:
 * Sunny Apinchapong
 * Doug Ball
 * George Humphry
 * Natasha Liberman
 * Nadia Vurbenova
 * John Watkiss
 * Clean-Up Supervisor: Alex Topete
 * Clean-Up:
 * Emily Jiuliano
 * Vera Lanpher-Pacheco
 * Visual Effects Supervisors:
 * David A. Bossert
 * Ted C. Kierscey
 * CGI Supervisor: Shyu-Chyuan Huang
 * Artistic Coordinator: David A. Bossert
 * Assistant Artistic Coordinators:
 * Valeria Tutati
 * Lori Tyminski
 * Maria Elena Naggi
 * Giorgio Vallorani
 * Charles Pickens
 * Concept for "Headless Horseman chase scene": Glen Keane
 * Introduction by Chelsea Staub
 * Music:
 * Music from Bambi
 * Composed by Frank Churchill & Edward H. Plumb
 * Produced and Arranged by Ted Parson
 * Score from Bambi II
 * Composed by Bruce Broghton
 * Produced and Arranged by Ted Parson
 * "Firebird Suite - 1919 Version"
 * Composed by Igor Stravinsky
 * Produced and Arranged by Ted Parson
 * Conducted by Jung-Ho Pak
 * Performed by The Disney Young Musicians Philharmonic Pops Orchestra
 * Rehearsed at Disney Youth Group Programs, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, FL
 * Recorded and Mixed at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, UK
 * Post Production:
 * Post Production Sound Services:
 * Skywalker Sound
 * Sound Design and Supervision:
 * Christopher Boyes
 * Gregory King
 * Dialogue and ADR Supervisors:
 * Daren King
 * Robert Kizer
 * Dialogue and ADR Editors:
 * Morten Folmer Nielsen
 * Christopher T. Welch
 * Co-Sound Designers:
 * Yann Delpuech
 * Christopher Scarabosio
 * Re-Recording Mixers:
 * Christopher Boyes
 * Mark Ettel
 * Mel Metcalfe
 * Shawn Murphy
 * Terry O'Bright
 * Terry Porter
 * Keith Rogers
 * Christopher Scarabosio
 * Gregory H. Watkins
 * Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
 * First Assistant Sound Editor: Meg Taylor
 * Second Assistant Sound Editor: Christopher Scarabosio
 * Video References:
 * Video Reference Cast:
 * Spring Sprite – Sherri Lynn Stoner
 * Headless Horseman – Bobby Pontillas
 * Video Reference Crew:
 * Director: Gary Halvorson
 * Camera: Mustapha Khan
 * Cinematographer: Scott Kaye
 * Costumes/Props: Alexandra Welker

Trivia

 * The animation is based on the Friday, March 13th, 2009, at 12:00 at midnight, on the full moon event.
 * It's also inspired by the section Firebird Suite from Fantasia 2000, Bambi II, and the section The Legend of Sleepy Hollow from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.