#idk if it's impressionism or ink wash or xieyi or shan shui or what

[bambinification]

Tyrus Wong's influence on Bambi's artstyle really cannot be overstated.

Like, I'm sure a lot of people have Pointed Out that Bambi's backgrounds are unlike other Disney works because of Wong's inspiration coming from Chinese ink paintings. But after watching 4 hours of behind the scenes content for Bambi, I *really* want to hammer it home for people that he didn't just bring in an idea that Walt liked. Walt literally *asked* for the aspects of Wong's work, without even knowing what he was asking for.

During Bambi's production, Walt Disney struggled for a Long time to capture the exact style he wanted. He emphasized ad nauseam that he didn't want Bambi to be a cartoon with anthropomorphized characters and environments. When his artists were working on concept art based on photographs taken in real forests, the art was constantly too detailed. They couldn't have complex backgrounds with every single leaf drawn in, but they also couldn't NOT have leaves drawn in, right? Additionally, from day one, Walt insisted on subtlety. He didn't want a cartoon, but he didn't want photorealism. He wanted to capture the essence of nature, to make you Feel the forest more than seeing it in detail. He wanted realism of Vibes.

Hey, does that sound familiar? Almost like those qualities were popular in ink wash paintings in China during the Song dynasty?? (And then later in Japanese ink paintings??)

Walt Disney did not have the education or the words to express that he wanted qualities of traditional Chinese landscape paintings in the Song Dynasty. But the aspects that he described wanting in his creative meetings are *textbook* features of Chinese and Japanese ink paintings. Essence over detail, an end result that definitely *looks* like a detailed landscape, but with techniques in minimalism and almost pre-impressionism.

So when Wong showed his concept art to his supervisor, it was less of a "oh this looks rad" situation and more like a "sent from God to answer our prayers" situation. Tyrus Wong didn't just influence Bambi; I genuinely believe he saved the film. He was the only person to give Disney exactly what he was asking for, and he did it with ease because he was familiar with an artform rich in qualities that Walt was specifically looking for.

Now, I know most people know Walt himself moved Wong to head background supervisor after that. However, Wong was laid off during Walt's anti-union bitch fit in 1941, and I don't think Wong was hired back. Even so, the animators that remained at Disney in 2005 clearly hold great reverence for his work. He's mentioned in all but two of the backstage featurettes.