Of the "big five" Disney films (the first five animated features that Walt Disney oversaw and largely considered, by fans and historians, to be the pinnacle of the studio's output), "Bambi" is the one that is, for some reason, often overlooked. Maybe it's the simplicity of the story (it clocks in at a barely-feature-length 70 minutes), the fact that it didn't have the same cultural impact as the other films due to its release during World War II (when much of the foreign market was cut off and the Disney studio itself had become a de facto army base), or because all anyone can talk about is how traumatizing the death of Bambi's mother was (therapy helps), but for whatever reason, it often doesn't get the attention and respect it deserves. Hopefully, the new Signature Edition of "Bambi," timed to its 75th anniversary (out on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on May 23rd, and Blu-ray June 6th), will help restore its luster because really this movie was quietly groundbreaking and inspired countless Disney productions in the years to follow.

The idea for "Bambi" came to Walt while he was still plotting his first animated feature. Rights to Austrian author Felix Salten's "Bambi: A Life in the Woods" had first been attempted as an ambitious live-action feature, before it even got on Disney's radar. (M. Lincoln Schuster of the Simon & Schuster publishing house first brought the book to him.) But Walt, ever the visionary, knew that the technology and artistry at his disposal couldn't properly bring the story to life. But by the time production on the film began in 1939 (on the same day Germany invaded Poland), Walt felt confidant that his animators and artisans could knock it out of the park. After all, the studio had just completed work on "Fantasia" and "Dumbo," two of the most jaw-dropping animated features ever. They were at the top of their game.

Then Walt talked about how realistic and natural the film looked, which came about through canny management. "I picked certain artists who were not good at character animation and I put them into effects," Walt said. "How we can make a raindrop look better. How we can make storm clouds effective and move. The effects men would experiment with anything." Walt summed it up proudly: "I gave them things in my school that they never got in art school." And it shows.

The "Bambi" Signature Edition will make you appreciate just what it took to bring this masterpiece to life. And could you please stop crying about Bambi's mother? It's been 75 years.