"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," I said.
"No, no, it's not that," Thumper said. "If you can't say some'tin. It's some'tin. People try to correct the grammar, but it's wrong."
There it was — Thumper corrected me. Well, when I say Thumper I mean Peter Behn, the voice of Thumper from Disney's iconic animated film "Bambi."
Sixty-nine years after its release, "Bambi" is coming to Blu-ray on March 1 with two discs packed full of special features and added bonuses. Park City resident Behn weighed in on his role in the film and how his early experience in Hollywood affected his life.
Too rambunctious for the voice of Bambi, 4-year-old Behn was chosen to be the voice of the playful rabbit in 1937.
His father had recently finished working on the screenplay for Howard Hughes' "Hell's Angels" and auditioned his son for a role in Disney's next animated movie.
Over a period of two years, from ages 4 to 6, Behn recorded what are now some of Disney's most memorable lines.
Understandably, Behn, now 76, does not recall much of the recording sessions he did as a 4-year-old.
"I do remember being in the studio and the little zoo they had," he said. "(But) a lot of what I recall I was told."
Recording sessions took place in the Disney studios. A director would read lines to Behn with proper inflection and Behn would mimic it.
"It was kind of a game," he said. "The whole thing was meant to be a fun experience."
"Bambi" animators changed the film as they went, adjusting the story line and character roles as the film progressed. Behn therefore recorded lines in eight sessions over two years.
During this time, his family moved to Tucson, Ariz., where his father taught English at the University of Arizona. Behn and his mother took the train from Arizona to California to record his parts.
Although before the age of 6 Behn had carved out a little niche in Hollywood for himself, he never went on to pursue acting.
"I'm not a fame and glory kind of guy," Behn said. "It's something that just happened to me that became a part of my life for a long time that was something I didn't talk about."
Behn instead pursued a career in real estate and was working in Vermont when Disney finally tracked him down to interview him for an early "Bambi" video release.
After overseeing a project at The Canyons Resort in Park City, Behn decided to retire there and has since built an energy-efficient home that is almost completely self-sustainable.
With the Blu-ray release coming out, Disney has put Behn on quite a schedule traveling around the country as a Disney legacy.
He will also meet Donnie Dunagan, the voice of Bambi, for the first time on the TV show "The View" on March 4.
(Interestingly, Dunagan became a career Marine for 20 years and was a major. He never told his fellow Marines he played the voice of Bambi out of fear of the inevitable nickname that would follow him.)
The "Bambi Diamond Edition" is available as a two-disc combo pack with Disney's newest technology, "Second Screen." After downloading the app on an iPad or computer, viewers can sync their device with the movie to play and explore interactive features.
Other features include an inside look at the making of a film with breakdowns of every scene, character and song.
e-mail: smoreton@desnews.com