
CORPORATE LINE: Disney’s spectacularly animated forest fable, a fawn named Bambi is born, destined to become “Prince of the Forest.” He soon befriends other woodland creatures such as Flower, a bashful skunk, and Thumper, an outgoing rabbit. As the years pass, they encounter a number of life’s lessons in the woods, including the death of Bambi’s mother at the hands of hunters. Eventually, Bambi comes of age, completing the cycle of life and taking his father’s place.
Based on the classic novel by Felix Salten, BAMBI demonstrates the strength of family values and camaraderie. Director David Hand adds a mixture of great songs and life-like backgrounds to make this early Disney film an unforgettable film classic for all ages.
THE MOVIE: First and foremost, Bambi is a classic. Even after watching such amazing technical achievements in cartoons today Bambi still looks wonderful. The colors are warm and inviting.
The story of Bambi is timeless. We see it in all films regardless of age or genre. Bambi grows in the face of uncertainty and triumphs after tragedy. Who isn’t inspired but that? Children certainly are inspired—even though it raises discussions of death and questions about mortality. Honestly, it’s not a fun subject to discuss with children but a necessary one.
The environments are particularly important in a film that doesn’t rely heavily on dialogue. Thankfully, Disney’s brilliance made Bambi interesting scene after scene. The orchestration is lovely and carries the film when there is no dialogue.
Bambi’s growth as he sprouts antlers and learns that he can be strong is very inspiring for children. Every child wants to believe they are older and more capable than they are and it shows that some day they will be.
DVD FEATURES: The features are plentiful and we are thankful.
“Inside Walt’s Story Meetings” is based on actual notes taken from meetings with Walt and his creative team. This is a golden moment in history and viewers have a front row seat. Those early Disney years were some of the most creative in the history of film. It’s great to understand things such as why the shooting of Bambi’s mother was never shown—something that a parent can appreciate.
“Drawn To Nature” shows Disney animators interacting with real animals to catch their movements and attempt to bring those interactions to the film. “The Making of Bambi” talks with a few living original animators of Bambi and today’s animators at Disney. The voice actor segment is interesting and quite enjoyable.
“Restoring Bambi” involves how the current Disney studios restored the original. With before and after shots its amazing how much was restored and how great it looks. The great thing is that it didn’t detract or attempt to modernize the styling to fit the modern animation of the day. The original look and feel was restored so it looked as brilliant as the day it was released.
“The Art of Bambi” looks at the pencil sketches and the full colored art. This is a great extra that may inspire children to draw their own sketches. “Tricks of the Trade” is a feature about the 1957 Walt Disneyland’s tv program that shows animation and the creation that goes well with the art segment.
There are so many great features that might be fun for children and certainly interesting for adults.
FRANKLY: Modern classics such as The Lion King took liberally from Bambi which proves the power of the story–the formula has been used again and again. We’ve had Bambi for a week and it’s been watched by my children ever day since—that speaks volumes for the timelessness of this classic. Bambi proves that special effects, fast paced films, superheroes, etc. aren’t all that kids are interested in—a good story and a movie made with love can go a long, long way.
+ Charlie Craine
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