Tyrus Wong: The real-life Bambi
On August 21st, 1942, 75 years ago, Walt Disney Animation Studios released Bambi. The film garnered three Academy Award Nominations for Best Original Score, Best Original Song, “Love Is a Song,” and Best Sound and was a critical hit, but a commercial failure. Today, however, it is regarded as a true Disney classic thanks to the many talented artists who worked on the film. One of the film’s artists was Tyrus Wong, who passed away on December 30th, 2016 at the age of 106.
Born in China on October 25th, 1910, Wong immediately developed an interest for drawing and was encouraged by his father to pursue it. In the 1920s, due to the deficient economy in China at the time, Wong and his father relocated to the United States, leaving his mother and sister behind. Just like Bambi, Wong unfortunately would never see his mother again.
After graduating the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, Wong’s father passed away. From 1936-1938, Wong worked for the WPA (Works Progress Administration) making paintings for libraries and other public spaces. In 1938, he found employment at the Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was hired as an “in-betweener,” which means an artist that creates thousands intermediate drawing that help bring the animated sequences to life.
Not long after Tyrus Wong was employed at Disney, he learned that the studio was working on adapting the novel Bambi: A Life in the Woods by: Felix Salten for the screen. As he took to heart what Walt Disney told all of his artists, “Don’t animate thoughts, animate feelings,” and with inspiration from the landscape paintings of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.), Wong created atmospherical watercolors and pastel paintings for the film that astonished. Because of his good work, Wong was promoted by Disney to the job of inspirational sketch artist for the film.
Not long after “Bambi,” finished production the Walt Disney Studio strike occurred and Tyrus Wong was unfortunately fired from the studio. Wong was one of the very few artists who had not been a part of the strike, but he was simply let go of amidst all the other artists who had grown to resent Walt Disney which led to the strike in the first place. He was hired in 1942 by Warner Bros. Studios where he did concept art for Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and The Wild Bunch (1969). He retired in 1968.
Surprisingly, Tyrus Wong received no literal recognition for his work until many years after his retirement in the 1990s. In addition to being a Hollywood artist/painter, he was also a printmaker, calligrapher, greeting-card illustrator, and kite maker. He was awarded the Disney Legend Award in 2001. His work continues to be influential at Disney even today. It is extraordinary that just like Bambi the deer, Tyrus Wong was orphaned as a young man, and suffered a great deal of other trials in life but in spite of all those trials, became a incredibly remarkable artist.
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