The "Bambi©" Effect or Urbanization?

I have often wondered what effect the entertainment industry has had on our perception of and attitude toward animals.  Growing up on a farm I had first-hand knowledge of animal behaviour so as a child when watching the latest cartoon or movie depicting animals in a particularly 'un-animal' way I had an inherent understanding this was make-believe.  The question resurfaces each time I come across something which causes me to question the author's perception of reality.  I've held onto this picture for this very reason.

From "Edmonton Senior", April 2010.  The caption read:
A child makes a new friend at Edmonton's Valley Zoo.  Amba, a young female Siberian tiger, took a liking to him and the pair played together for nearly two hours.  She chased him as he ran back and forth around the cage.  They played "hide-and-seek" and "tag" through the glass.  It was remarkable.  Anywhere he went, she went.  They played until she became exhausted and went to sleep.

I believe this 'kitty' wants an extra snack, not a human to 'play' with!  She was hunting.  The same behaviour can be observed in any large predator found in a zoo; wolves or large cats will pace in their cage following small children and strollers.  She doesn't look like she's playing to me...

So what plays a role in misinterpreting this cat's intentions?  And possibly what has led to all sorts of problem encounters between animals and humans.  Conditioning through years of exposure to misleading media has led us to mistakenly believe all animals or wildlife are just pets in the making.  Fostering the false belief that they are innately amiable.  Combined with the increasing proportion of the population living in urban centres, with little to no exposure to 'true' animal behaviour means fewer and fewer people are able to recognize the reality of a situation they may find themselves in.   

My first exposure to the make believe world of animal behaviour was the movie "Bambi^©" and therefore my calling this phenonmenon the "Bambi^©" Effect.  Was this the beginning of the trend or did it start long before this?  It's hard to know when this really took hold but we now have a generation (or two) of parents with little to no understanding or knowledge of animal behaviour.  It now becomes necessary for parents to educate themselves so they are able to teach or pass the knowledge onto their children.  If not, we're left to read more misguided media such as the above photo and caption perpetuating the myth.