The animated story of Bambi, a young deer hailed as the 'Prince of the Forest' at his birth. As Bambi grows, he makes friends with the other animals of the forest, learns the skills needed to survive, and even finds love. One day, however, the hunters come, and Bambi must learn to be as brave as his father if he is to lead the other deer to safety. Courtesy of the IMDb.

CRITIQUE

Bambi is a slow moving atmospheric feature film that runs only 70 minutes. It’s not the first animated feature film but was one of Disney’s first, and one of their best, I might add. When I was a kid, I grew up with the Disney films (at a time when Walt Disney Pictures came out with instant classics). Naturally, Bambi was one of the first I saw. What’s interesting from my point view is how I look at the film then and now.

This film to a child’s innocent eyes is just an amazing animated film full of wonder and magic. It’s enchanting coming of age tale only Disney pictures knows how to make.  And it’s a sad tale at that.  Before The Land Before Time, Kimba, the White Lion (which inspired Disney’s The Lion King, something Disney does not want to admit), and before Charlotte's Web – Bambi was one of the first family animated films that dealt with the subject of death, and as a kid viewing it for the first time truly brought tears to my eyes.

But viewing it as an adult or perhaps movie buff is a whole different experience. This was the first time I watched Bambi all way through in a long, long time. And I guess, from all the film classes I took and even my own film study that I’ve been doing the last couple of years, I’ve noticed things I didn’t notice before. In other words, I noticed the settings and the way the film was presented more so than the actual story itself. And I have to admit, the detail of scenery is quite amazing, even for a 1942 animated film. It’s almost like viewing Citizen Kane or Gone With the Wind. I also noticed right away the lack of dialogue. Viewing the making of Bambi on the second disc, someone mentions there are only 1,000 words all together throughout Bambi. Not sure if that is correct but I did notice more of the character’s expressions and the musical score than the actual dialogue. Not too many films today do it the way classic contemporary films did it during the silver screen era. There is only one film that comes to mind recently that used more mise en scene and acting over spoon-fed dialogue, Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.”

What is also genius about Bambi are the seasons that it portrays. Spring, summer, fall, and winter all have special screen time to shine and even become characters of their own. With special detail of vivid colors, different musical themes, and even characters reacting differently to each season, it holds to be true that each season is a separate character in the film. This is a brilliant plot device that old films used but today hardly any film follows the example. The technical term for this is narrative advancement, which goes to show even animated films uses the same tricks of the trade as live-action films.

I truly think this film should be looked at with a critical eye like Gone Wth The Wind and Citizen Kane. The historicity of the film is great. It’s just as much of a cinematic all-time classic. And as those two films made an impact in Hollywood filmmaking for many years to come, Bambi made an impact on animated feature films the same way.

Bambi is so much more than a family film about a deer and his trails of youth/life and innocence lost. It’s not just an emotional picture but a technical cinematic achievement as well. As many classics as Walt Disney has made throughout the years, Bambi is a lifetime classic. But acknowledging the fact that it is simply the best Disney film doesn’t take my words to figure it out. Moreover, the good thing about Bambi – unlike all the other Disney films out there - is it’s the one film that can be enjoyed without being a guilty pleasure. One thing to keep in mind is, because how slow-moving the film is, it’s not something to watch over and over.  You have to be in the right mood to view the film. That is one of the unique traits of atmospheric stories.

THE VIDEO

Walt Disney Pictures present Bambi in 1.33 full screen format, as it was filmed and presented theatrically in 1942. The Picture Digital Restoration isn’t really truly noticed until mid-half of the film where the colors are bright during the spring, summer, and winter seasons. There is a documentary that explains how the picture was restored, available on the second disc. I’m going to stress that this was the best quality I have ever seen Bambi and arguably the best quality it will ever be. They were able to clean it up so perfectly that the colors jump out right at you, but they didn’t enhance anything massive, so there isn’t any CGI that does not belong. It still appears to be a film from the 40s, some people have a problem with that but for me it shows how much of a period film it is and also how films can live on perhaps forever.

THE AUDIO

Walt Disney Pictures present Bambi in English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish, Disney Home Theater Mix (Dolby Digital 5.1), and French. I have to admit, the music is really the draw of Bambi audio wise. There isn’t too much dialogue and not many sound effects either. Since Disney didn’t master the recording of sound effects and such until the 50s, most of the sounds and dialogue here sound only mediocre. The stereo surround sound tends to get distorted a bit so it’s not worthy of a full volume blast. But it is worthy for probably medium volume. In the end, though, Disney was able to restore the sound to ever-so-perfection, so the music really sounds good.

THE EXTRAS

What the Disney studio figured out was to be able to blend the kiddy features with more adult-like features.  You take a look at some of the archives and making of’s with this set, you would ponder whether or not Disney took a look at Warner Brothers four-disc Gone With the Wind set for pointers on how to make a set PERFECT in every remote sense of the word.

With that said, the first extra I ventured on to was the 50-minute Making of Bambi. It was both insightful and inspiring, in a way. It explained both the up’s and down’s of the production of Bambi, as well as tidbits I didn’t know about before. I think the only thing missing was the author’s words and what was inspired to write the novel that turned into one of Disney’s best films.

The next feature was the cheesy games and previews. Unless you are under 5, stay away from the games. They are geared towards kids. Don’t get me wrong, they’re kind of neat, but just a complete waste of time, and the animation is sort of phony. As for the previews, I wish studios leave the previews in a special section and not have them start when playing the DVD.

Then there is the sneak peek at the new Disney direct to video sequel, Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest.  I do have a thing about these Disney sequels. Not one of them capture the greatness of the first film(s).  Each one of them follows the same damn formula.  And the magic Disney once had is just simply lost.  I question what Walt really thinks on how his “kingdom” has become.  And at first, I completely cringed at the thought of a Bambi sequel.  When I saw the preview, I thought the animation looked pretty elegant but other wise, a typically sequel.  I than realized as I watched the sneak peek, what the film is really about.  It’s an in-between-quell of events within the original Bambi movie.  That scene in the original Bambi at mid-half when the Great Prince of the Forest tells Bambi his mother died (in a vague but respectful way), that is pretty much where the sequel is going to expand on.  So it’s like The WB’s Smallville in a way, how it is an expanded story on a piece of element from the whole of the Superman story.  I think, if they tone down the dialogue, like in the first film; take extra care with detail of surroundings and seasons, and keep the voices somewhat similar to the ones in the original film, they may pull it off.  I do have my doubts and very little expectations, but not ruling the idea out completely until I see the film.  I just hope they don’t do something distasteful and unneeded again, like Lion King 1 ½.

Other tidbit featurettes include Restoring Bambi (similar to what the four disc Gone With the Wind set has) that goes into some depth on how they restored the film, and also explains why Disney is taking their time with each one of their titles.

Disney Time Capsule: 1942 - The Year of Bambi is a pretty good filler for what it is worth. Basically, it discusses the going on’s of the time period in which the film was released. It should appeal mostly towards kids but interesting for what is.

Other extras include two deleted scenes, The Old Mill animated short, The Art of Bambi featurette, and Tricks of the Trade featurette. They’re nice to watch.

Last but certainly not least, one of the best things I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing on any DVD set: Inside Walt's Story Meetings is a reenactment and account of dialogues from Walt’s meetings for pre-production of Bambi. A blast from the past, with voices that sound like the real people (at least, from what I can tell), and neat animation and storyboards that are presented while hearing the meeting. 

This extra is accessed when you click “play movie” on the first disc and then select “Walt’s Meetings.” This option allows you to watch the film while hearing various meetings condensed into what seems like one meeting. It’s similar to an audio commentary track but it’s ten times better. Well worth viewing, the best feature I have ever seen on DVD sets since getting into DVDs a few years ago. It’s cutting edge and just a fantastic feature to experience.

FINAL THOUGHTS