Long before it became a girl’s name, Walt Disney released Bambi. It would be the fifth movie for the studio following the release the previous year of Dumbo. Interestingly the film that is now considered a classic in the Disney library is also one that lost money when it was first released, although it did profit when it was re-released a few years later. At this point it isn’t a surprise when a Disney animated film is released in high definition and it’s a trend that we shouldn’t expect to cease any time in the near future.
Bambi is based on the novel Bambi, A Life in the Woods, although comparing the film to the summary found on Wikipedia, there are quite a bit of details which didn’t make their way into the movie. The film begins with the creature of the woodland excited over the birth of the young Prince, a deer whom his mother will name Bambi. The young roe deer fawn soon befriends Thumper, a young rabbit, and Flower, a skunk. The animals of the forest help Bambi learn many things, meeting new animals such as Faline, another deer the same age as he is, but it is with his mother that he learns of the most important danger; man. The lesson regarding man will be one that will hit home when Bambi’s mother is shot and killed by a hunter leaving him to go with his father before returning in the spring to see how the forest and his friends have changed.
Bambi is a very, very simple story although there is one part of the film that seems incredibly familiar. At the beginning, all of the animals are excited about the birth of Bambi and go together to see the new Prince of the forest . . . . where have I seen something similar before? Anyway, regardless of other films in the Disney library having perhaps borrowed an idea here and there, the shortness in terms of length doesn’t really take away from Bambi in the least. What it might lack in depth as far as the story it more than makes up for when it comes to the animation.
I think many forget when watching some of these classic animated feature films is that these came at a time when there was no computer animation. Everything was done by hand and Bambi also shows just how much the team paid attention to trying to animate the movements of animals so that they would be replicated in the film so they would come across as being as lifelike as possible. This wasn’t something that was unheard of for the team of Disney animators and in looking at many of their classic films you will see they always had some type of reference material although it was usually for people. Bambi however features no human characters at all and instead focuses only on the animals but Disney and his staff really manage to bring them across in a very beautiful way and when combined with the backgrounds and foreground, it becomes a very vivid world which draws the viewer in almost from the very beginning.
Out of anything seen during the course of the movie the one thing which has stood out for just about everyone is the death of Bambi’s mother. I don’t honestly feel that most could tell you much more about the movie outside of this, but it certainly has made an impact. Even while watching World of Color at Disney California Adventure there’s a sequence that uses the more tragic portions of Disney films and I remember hearing a number of people commenting on how the death of Bambi’s mother was sad; this is the legacy of the movie for better or worse. Bambi though really is a basic movie in terms of plot as we follow through the birth and adulthood of Bambi and his friends. The adaptation however doesn’t go as far as what the novel did, but most probably wouldn’t realize this. It also seems that the novel has some darker tones in the later half which very well could be why it was avoided.
The transfer for Bambi is as impressive as the other classic Disney films. It’s sharp and clear, extremely vivid and colorful from the opening scene to the closing. We’ve all seen the commercials which show the comparisons and Disney really has managed to go above and beyond what is expected when it comes to these releases. Although they have released their remastered versions of movies in the past, high definition has taken the movies to the next level and in watching Bambi, I don’t feel there is much that anyone could hate about the transfer as it has achieved a level of perfection which will impress anyone. The film, being in a 4:3 aspect ratio, also allows viewers to watch it with Disney View. If you haven’t already become familiar with this, it places artwork on either side of the image which blends in perfectly with the scenes.
Bambi was released originally on blu-ray five years ago so this edition marks the 75th anniversary. There are some new features found on the blu-ray but there are also some which have been removed. Previously Bambi featured a second screen mode and was in fact the first Disney blu-ray to do so but that has been taken away. Also gone is Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings. This was a picture-in-picture mode that incorporated recreations of Walt’s meetings for the production of the movie. Past bonus features found on the DVD’s can be found within the classic bonus features section.
New to the disc is Studio Stories. This short feature includes select audio featuring Walt discussing the movie and its production as well as photos, video of the creative teams as well as some of the reference material and plenty of other material relevant to Bambi. The Bambi Effect looks at the impact the movie had and how it was groundbreaking in a number of unexpected ways. There is also Bambi Fawn Facts which gives kids, and maybe even some adults, some information about the real world animals that inspired the characters. The disc also has deleted scenes and an Oswald the Rabbit short. A DVD copy of the movie is included as well as a code for a digital HD version.
Bambi has a serene beauty which is captured perfectly in this high definition release. It may not necessarily be the best when it comes to storytelling but as far as memorable visuals and bringing animals to life in an animated form, Bambi may still be the best there is. Disney’s continued commitment to bringing their classic animated feature films to high definition is appreciated by fans around the world and this is yet another bright, shining gem in their crown.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.