Movie Review: Bambi

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Beautiful artwork and fun classic moments

Cons: The mother's death will upset kids

The Bottom Line:

Beautiful nature

With a tragic story point

That could upset kids

Unique Entry in the Disney Canon

Bambi is a coming of age story that follows the first year in the life of a young buck. It follows him as he explores his world. He makes friends with Thumper the rabbit and Flower the skunk and experiences all the joys, sorrows, dangers, and love of life.

Bambi is different from other Disney movies in that it doesn't have any humans in it. Still, the impact of man is felt several times in the course of the story. Overall, the movie is a series of smaller moments, many of them classic - Bambi discovering ice, the naming of Flower, all three of them falling in love, Thumper quoting his father, etc. And of course there's the most famous event of all, the death of Bambi's mother. I never saw the movie as a kid, so I don't have the traumatic memories of it, but it would have upset me greatly had I seen it as a kid.

The artwork in this film is beautiful. Many of the backgrounds look like they were painted using watercolor, a look they used extensively in the late 70's. Still, it really works well here. The animal movement is the best yet, even while making them semi-human.

The DVD release includes a restored full frame picture and full surround, or the original mono. Extras on the two disc set include behind the scenes featurette, recreations of the story meetings for this movie, games for the kids, and two deleted scenes recreated using the storyboards.

To me, Bambi doesn't have the same appeal as Snow White, Dumbo, 101 Dalmatians, or some of Disney's other movies. Still, it's a movie I enjoy, and I recommend it to everyone who enjoys classic Disney animation.