Bambi 2 - Der Herr der Wälder

Since The Walt Disney Company started to started to make direct-to-video sequels to their feature length theatrical releases in 1994 (with the release of "The Return of Jafar", sequel to "Aladdin"), it has earned an infamous bad reputation due to the often low quality of these sequels that seem to be made to capitalize on the original's name only, without really caring for delivering a good story, or good animation; almost as if there was not a real concern about making a good film. To my surprise, "Bambi II", the direct-to-video "sequel" (as it's more like an addendum) to the 1942 classic, is a considerable improvement over the previous series of sequels and it even surpasses most of the current Disney theatrical releases in terms of quality, art, and most importantly, entertainment.

"Bambi II" is about the long unexplored gap of the first "Bambi", covering the events between his mother's death and his growing up to adulthood. Under the care of his reluctant father, the Great Prince (Patrick Stewart), the young saddened deer (voiced by Alexander Gould) must learn to overcome his grief, his fears and to assume his place as heir of the position of Great Prince. However, his father is not too fond of caring for young children, so Bambi's tutelage will prove to be a difficult experience for both. Fortunately, Bambi will find some support from his friends, Thumper (Brendon Baerg) and Flower (Nicky Jones), but he'll also have to meet his soon-to-be rival, the mean deer Ronno (Anthony Ghannam), for the first time.

Making a follow-up for a classic like "Bambi" is not easy, but the fact that the writers (Director Brian Pimental and newcomer Alicia Kirk) decided to explore an entirely "missing chapter" in the life of the young deer instead of making a proper sequel, gave them enough freedom to create a story that not only is fresh and original on its own, it also gives continuity to the original without disrespecting it or blatantly copying it. Using the original film and Felix Salten's novel as inspiration, Pimental and Kirk craft a story about learning to be a father, and overcoming the loss of a dear relative, as well as about growing up and facing the vicissitudes of life.

Brian Pimental (one of the writers of the 90s classics "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin") takes his first chance as director giving life to this story and he doesn't disappoint. With a respectful, almost humble approach to the original film, he manages to capture the essence of "Bambi" and setting up the events that lead to the original's conclusion. Most of the current direct-to-video sequels by Disney have distinguish themselves for a considerably lower quality in the art department, but "Bambi II" is truly an exception, as it seems that the animators really tried to stay true to the first film's style (although of course, there were some modernizations), as even some backgrounds were reused to keep the same art direction.

The young Alexander Gould (Nemo in "Finding Nemo") once again proves that he has an enormous future as an actor (at least for voices) and gives life to Bambi with a natural freshness. Patrick Stewart, who voices the Great Prince, truly gives the feeling of stoicism and coldness the Prince must have, as well as his hidden heart of gold, forced to be hidden by the Prince's duties. Overall, the rest of the cast make a very good work, considering they had to try to emulate the work done almost more than 60 years before. Without modern slang or self-referential phrases, the cast gives an effective (and welcomed) sense of continuity between this film and the first "Bambi".

"Bambi II" will surely please most fans of the original, but while it's an honest attempt to make a respectful and original addition to the main storyline, it becomes a bit too clichéd for moments. The use of a couple of pop ballads may prove damaging on the long road, as while the songs are really good, they take away that atemporal characteristic the first film had and will definitely make the movie outdated a lot sooner than expected. Anyways, when compared to the other sequels Disnaye has been releasing, this flaws are really minor, as "Bambi II" makes a nice addition that at times surpasses the current theatrical released Disney films.

Sure, "Bambi II" is not better than the original, and that's OK because it doesn't try to be better. This modest and humble addendum to the story succeeds in what it's set up to make and delivers good entertainment and brings back good memories of the original. Walt himself would be proud of this sequel to his favorite film. 7/10

I'm an 18 year old guy, and I watched Bambi for the first time when I was 3 years old and I still remember how sad I felt when his mom died. I was thinking Bambi 2 was going to be another dumb Disney sequel.. but it was actually VERY nice to see how Disney kept to the "feeling" of the original movie.. very innocent. I loved that about the original. I bought the 2nd movie the day after it came out for my two brothers who are 7 and 10.. and they loved it! So.. I have to say, GOOD JOB Disney! :) We're proud to have Bambi 2 on our shelf with the rest of our Disney classics.

sincerely, "A guy raised on Disney" lol!

Once upon a time...Walt Disney made timeless, beautifully animated classics for children, stressing the universal quality of the tale, and avoiding current references, cheap laughs (such as having animals fart) and in-jokes directed at adults. Well, folks, this wonderful films is a throwback to those days--its a grand, if often poignant, adventure in the woods, as Bambi learns to be courageous with the help of Thumper and Flower (back again, the former with four sweet, giggling sisters) and with his father.

This is, indeed, more a film for the present (since Mommy was taken away in the original) a Sonny-Daddy bonding movie, but the animation is gloriously anachronistic, carefully hearkening back to the classic Disney look, immersing the viewers, be they children or adults, in the luxurious changing seasons, all the while telling a solid story.

Some folks complain it isn't long enough, which I think is just another indication that we have become overstuffed and incredibly greedy--the original Bambi was a minute shorter than this, Dumbo just above an hour, and even Snow White only ten minutes longer. Do we need to SuperSize everything? Bravo Disney! If you had called this Prince Bambi instead of Bambi II, it would have cleaned up at the box office! Sensitive adults are advised to bring hankies.

Well, kiddies......... those horrific visions I had of Bambi, Thumper and Flower line-dancing in their ghetto-rap outfits with some knuckle-headed "Poptart" caterwauling in the background were all for naught. I'm not gonna give away all the goodies-would'nt be fair to all my fellow "Mousies" to spew out any spoilers- but I can tell you this......aside from a few issues that sorta chapped my inner child, this is simply the best DTV that "The House of Mouse" has ever released. The animation is every bit as good as a lot of the recent theatrical films , with beautifully rendered background art and an overall "Technicolor" look that was for the most part quite dazzling .........and how about them voices? I gotta admit the casting is excellent.

Story-wise, well....that's one of the things that I still ain't all that thrilled about . Despite having been "kiddiefied" from a book that was essentially written for adults, the original "Bambi" was still a wonderful film that catered to both ends of the age spectrum, a talent that Uncle Walt had in spades. This midquel is squarely aimed at the lunchbox-tetherball set to the point that unless you're a complete animation nut like yours truly, you might find one or two scenes a bit too cloyingly ooky to your liking. Still, it's heads and tail above any of the previous DTV "Twosies" and even a few of the "Feature" flicks released over the past 15 years, and I honestly think it's gonna do quite well.

One other bone of contention I have however, are the songs.Granted, they used a few snippets from the original's score, but all the stuff produced exclusively for the current film was your typically weak, formula-laden "contemporary" numbers that are so cookie-cutter bland that you can't even distinguish one from the other. That was one of the most wonderful things about the first movie ...even more than sixty years after it's release, the songs were so well written that they sound just as good now as they did then. Sad to say, it's gonna "date" the film in a most unflattering way. Second b.o.c. I have is in regards to some of the character animation ie: Ronno, the porcupine and the groundhog, especially Ronno. Pretty average design that clashes terribly with the rest of the animation and the exactly the sort of quality you come to expect from a DTV.As said, the rendering of "Bullyboy"Ronno was the worst...at times his looked like they'd been lifted straight from "Balto III".....not impressive in the least. On the other side of the coin, The Great Prince looked gorgeous as did the other deer.......Friend Owl was drawn absolutely spot on, though Thumper and Flower did look nice they still did'nt look quite enough like their original incarnations to retain all their charms. As for Bambi himself, well.......let's just say that 90% was beautifully done, but unfortunately the animators' attempts to "modernize" his facial expressions in a lot of his scenes failed quite miserably and were very disappointing. Despite it's flaws, it's still better than all the previous Disneytoon releases and well worth at least one watch.

Whenever I think about seeing movies that are sequels, I get some fear of what I'm going to find. This film, rendered directly to video, was never intended for the big theaters and has the disadvantage of following up on a film that was released decades earlier. In spite of all that, I confess that I liked what I found here, and I even find it difficult to understand why this film was never released in the big theaters.

The strongest and most favorable point of this film is the script, which is much more elaborate and interesting than the original film. In this film, set in the times immediately following the death of Bambi's mother, the young deer will try to adapt to living with a father he admires, but he doesn't know well and seems to maintain an aristocratic distance from everything and everyone. For this, he will try to respond to his father's wishes and prove to be more courageous and mature. It's a funny story, light, well-balanced and doesn't feel too sugary.

On a technical level, I think it is really necessary to highlight the good performance of the voice actors, in particular Alexander Gould and Patrick Stewart. The quality of the drawings, the elegance of a careful and well-defined line, the vibrant colors and the good light are the characteristics that most caught my eye in terms of visuals and cinematography. The soundtrack is quite good and does an excellent job.