GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Comic-Con has announced that two actors from Disney’s animated film Bambi will be guests at this year’s event. The 2022 Grand Rapids Comic-Con will be held November 11-13 at the DeVos Place.
Happy to announce that Donnie Dunagan--the voice of Bambi in Disney's Bambi and Peter in the Universal Monsters film Son Of Frankenstein--will be at the Grand Rapids Comic-Con on November 11-13!https://t.co/uW4qOhpA2R pic.twitter.com/KRv9rjbvig
— Grand Rapids Comic Con (@grcomiccon) August 20, 2022
Donnie Dunagan will be one of the event’s guests. Dunagan voiced young Bambi in the film. He also starred in 1939’s The Forgotten Woman, Son of Frankenstein, and 1938’s Mother Carey’s Chickens. From 1952-1977, Dunagan served in the United States Marine Corps. Throughout Bambi, the character was voiced by multiple actors during different stages in his life. Bobby Stewart voiced Bambi as a baby, Hardie Albright voiced him as an adolescent, and John Sutherland voiced Bambi as an adult.
Peter Behn will also be a guest at the event. Behn voiced young Thumper, Bambi’s rabbit friend in the film. Just like Bambi, Thumper was voiced by multiple actors during different stages in his life. Tim Davis voiced Thumper as an adolescent and Sam Edwards voiced adult Thumper.
Bambi was released in 1942. The film follows Bambi from his childhood as a fawn to becoming the Great Prince of the Forest. It was produced by Walt Disney, and was his fifth animated feature film after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), and Dumbo (1941). David Hand was the film’s supervising director, with James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, and Norman Wright as sequence directors. It is based on the 1923 book Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten.
The film went on to be nominated for three Academy Awards. In 2008, the American Film Institute ranked Bambi #3 in its list of best animated films. A direct-to-video follow up film, Bambi II, was released by Disney in 2006. Directed by Brian Pimental, the film starred Alexander Gould as young Bambi, Brendon Baerg as young Thumper, and Patrick Stewart as Bambi’s father. In 2020, it was reported that Disney was developing a computer animated remake of the film, similar to director Jon Favreau’s 2019 remake of The Lion King.
This year’s Grand Rapids Comic-Con will also feature guests from other Disney films and television series. One of them will be Keith David. David voiced Dr. Facilier in 2009’s The Princess and the Frog and Goliath in the animated series Gargoyles. Outside of Disney, David’s other voice work includes Thrull in Netflix’s The Last Kids on Earth, Bolo in Adult Swim’s Final Space, and Solovar in The CW’s The Flash. His live action work includes this year’s Nope, 2021’s Black as Night, and 2019’s 21 Bridges.
Voice actress Grey DeLisle will also be a guest at this year’s Grand Rapids Comic-Con. DeLisle voiced Dewdrop in Pixar’s 2020 film Onward and Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers in Disney XD’s Marvel animated series Avengers Assemble. Since 2019, she has been the current voice of Martin Prince and twins Sherri and Terri Mackleberry in The Simpsons. Outside of Disney, DeLisle's voice work includes Vicky in Nickelodeon’s The Fairly OddParents and Catwoman/Selina Kyle in the Batman: Arkham video game series. Since 2000, she has been the current voice of Daphne Blake in the Scooby-Doo franchise.
The 2022 Grand Rapids Comic-Con will be held November 11-13. More information on the event can be found on its website. A video celebrating the film’s 80th anniversary this year can be watched below:
