Bambi lost money at the box office for its first release, but recouped its considerable cost during the 1947 re-release. Although the film received good reviews, the timing of the release, during World War II, hurt the film's box office numbers. The film didn't do so well at the box office in America, and the studio no longer had access to many European markets that provided a large portion of its profits. Despite this, today, the film is viewed as a classic. Critics Mick Martin and Marsha Porter call the film "...the crowning achievement of Walt Disney's animation studio." In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic"American film genres. Bambi was acknowledged as the third best film in the animation genre.
《小鹿斑比》首次发布时在票房上没有赚到钱,但在1947年的第二次放映中弥补了它的亏损。虽然电影收到好评,时间上安排的很好,但是在第二次世界大战期间,票房受到很大影响。那部电影在美国没有卖的很好,以及工作室不再有很多能赚取很大利润的欧洲市场。尽管如此,今天,电影已经被视为经典。批评家米克·马丁和玛莎波特称这部电影"…沃尔特·迪斯尼动画工作室最高的成就”。2008年6月,美国电影协会公布了“十佳”——美国电影流派的十大经典影片。《小鹿斑比》被看作是排名第三的最佳动画电影。