Bambi Meets Godzilla
An extremely short cartoon made in 1969, less than two minutes in length, written, animated, and directed by Marv Newland, with costumes and set-dressing by Marv Newland. Marv Newland was produced by Mr. and Mrs. Newland, and they are all credited accordingly. All told, the credits themselves take up approximately half of the animation's running time, which is ironic given that the only person that ever worked on the short was Marv Newland.
So, what does Bambi Meets Godzilla depict (besides credits)?
Well, it starts with Bambi (a deer) foraging peacefully as the opening credits roll and classical music (specifically, "Ranz Des Vaches", from Gioacchino Rossini's William Tell) plays in the background.
And then Godzilla steps on him.
And the music turns into the Last-Note Nightmare from The Beatles' "A Day in the Life" just as abruptly.
That's it, really.
Notable for being the most inventive Credits Gag ever depicted (as mentioned above, every position is credited to Marv Newland), and for its brevity (total running time is 1:30, making it one of the shortest works to have its own All The Tropes page), Newland had intended to make a live-action film, but he lost the chance for an essential shot, and retreated to his room (interestingly enough, the room was rented from the same woman that provided Snow White's voice in Disney's iconic film) to create Bambi Meets Godzilla. It was voted #38 on the list of The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
Several sequels (not by Newland) were produced, but failed to live up to the quality of the original.
Not to be confused with David Mamet's book Bambi vs. Godzilla (more properly known as Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business[1]) which took its name from this short.
- Credits Gag: Nearly all the credits are to "Marv Newland".
- Curb Stomp Battle: Ow.
- Downer Ending: Unless you really hate Bambi.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin
- Failed a Spot Check: Bambi was too busy eating to hear a Godzilla approaching him?
- Foot Focus: Duh.
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: One of the credits states "Marv Newland. Produced by Mr. and Mrs. Newland."
- Giant Foot of Stomping
- Kill'Em All: Hey, fifty percent of the cast perished.
- R-Rated Opening: If you saw this at the start of the old Godzilla 1985 tape it certainly helped set the tone for the Darker and Edgier G-film that no longer had monster wrestling.
- Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
*SQUISH*
- ↑ And no, we ain't kidding.
