Bambi

Bambi (1942) is often sneered at by contemporary film goers my age. In their minds, outside of the death of Bambi's mother, the film is a cutesy little joy ride about a happy little deer and his happy little forest friends frolicking about grassy meadows. They also find it much too slow and lacking in plot for their interests, instead switching on the film's spiritual successor The Lion King (1994), which most of my generation holds up as the greatest animated film of all time.

No offense to The Lion King, but it doesn't even come close to touching the greatness of Bambi. Outside of a few whimsical moments, this is a dark film about the cycle of death and life. It's more of a meditative piece than a traditional narrative, which will not appeal to those who absolutely require a detailed plot. The animation and backgrounds are breathtaking. Like the other early Disney features, there's strong traces of German expressionism in there (ex. the fight between Bambi and a rival deer is mostly shown in silhouette and violent colors, Bambi and Faline's dreamlike run through the meadow, etc.).

The atmosphere is not as cutesy as people recall. There is an undercurrent of dread to the whole thing, a sense of danger. As beautiful and enchanting as the forest can be, it is also dangerous. The way man is handled in the film is surprisingly mature: instead of putting the main characters against a laughable caricature, mankind's presence is unseen and feels more like a natural disaster than a living entity. In fact, Bambi might be one of the most adult films in the Disney animated canon. Ignore its saccharine reputation and give it another look.

I was staying over at the home of my three-year old niece; after everyone had gone to bed, I found and popped this title in the VCR. I had only a rough familiarity with the plot (like everyone, I knew Bambi's mother gets killed) and was also aware that "Bambism" has been used as describing a overly sentimental love of wildlife.

Oh wow. I found that while this movie certainly has a heart for its characters, it is not at all sugarcoated about the realities of animal life. Consider the following points it makes:

1) Animals do not live in nuclear families. Bambi lives with his mother only, his presumptive father is off in the background.

2). Animals often go hungry in the winter.

3). Male animals must be prepared to fight rivals as a prelude to mating.

4). Man (here assisted by canine lackeys) is easily the most dangerous threat creatures face.

Rather than putting a Hollywood gloss on animal life, "Bambi" if anything is better than what would be made today. Remember that the same studio recently put Hercules into a doting nuclear family, the actual circumstances of the hero's birth apparently thought too scandalous for contemporary children to be exposed to (though one presumes ancient Greek children handled them well enough).

Plus when you consider that a large sector of the populace takes a "humanity couldn't possibly be at fault" attitude toward the decimation of animal populations, you know that Point 4). above would today be softpedaled if not entirely neutralized by the addition of sympathetic human characters. Look what happened with the otherwise excellent TBS production of "Animal Farm."

And the animation!! The gorgeous, pencil-drawn Impressionistic renditions of the rhythms of the woodlands makes you wonder if modern animators haven't been spoiled by computer graphics. I'm only sorry I probably won't ever see this film in a theatre, as it was meant to be seen.

As cliche as it may sound, this is a timeless film for all ages. I cannot praise it highly enough.

From the opening scene where the multiplane camera glides through a quiet forest until the stirring forest fire climax, a viewer has to be aware he is watching one of the all-time great films. So much of the cycle of life is covered that it's hard to realize the film is a mere 69 minutes. In a book called 'The Making of Bambi', Ollie Johnston reveals that originally there was much more footage that Disney eventually trimmed, cutting out whole sequences before the film previewed. Obviously, he made a wide decision.

There is no extraneous scene here, it moves seamlessly through its cycle of life story with the charming animal creatures carrying the story to its logical conclusion. The background music complements all of the drama and comedy. The storm sequence is the most beautiful blend of music and drawings ever achieved by the Disney artists. The naturally drawn deer are the result of months of careful preparation and study, giving the entire film the feel of a nature study as well as giving the audience great entertainment.

The choral work is extremely effective, particularly on songs like 'Love Is A Song' (Oscar nominated), 'I Bring You A Song' and 'Little April Shower'. The impressionistic forest glows with a life of its own and is the real star of the film, thanks to the influence of Japanese artist Tyrus Wong. No wonder this was Disney's favorite film. It will stay fresh and young forever. An awesome achievement!

In conclusion, having done some choral work myself as a glee club singer, I especially appreciated the great contribution made by the mixed chorus (male/female) that does such a wonderful job on all of the choruses that blend so seamlessly with the rich background score. Truly exceptional choral vocals conducted by Charles Henderson.

Enduring , overwhelming Disney's true vintage film about the moving adventures of a charming fawn , being a colorful and brilliant description of the changing seasons , Woods life and weather conditions notably leading to the attractive snowy , winter season. It is a heart-rending as well as heart-warming story of a young fawn growing up in the forest , concerning his adventures , fríenships , pursuits , fights and distresses . And , describing the often harsh education of a newborn , especially dealing with his friendship with an equally young rabbit called Thumper, a ground-drumming hare that unexpectedly proving to be the star of the show, and both of whom accompanied by a sympathetic skunk .

Superbly made action scenes with spectacular scenarios and breathtaking chases along with a witty dialog , all of them combine to provide an excellent movie and impressive appeal . Beind based very loosely on the book by Felix Salten , taking parts here and there . While the likeable animals are all given attractive human traits , as Bambi, Thumper the rabbit that still steals the show and Flower the Skunk , all of them are like members of rogue gangs of teens usual in the forties . Babycham shots occupy only a fraction of the running time in this flick , the remaining results to be a strikingly impressionistic renditíon of life in the meadows and Woods, and other rest containing some extremely sentimental set-pieces . Silhoutte , bizarre scenes , panorama , glmmer shades , some dark images and the cod use of classy soundtrack recall the best moments of another vintage Disney : "Fantasía" .

It contains wonderful and delightful songs composed by Frank Chuchill and Edward Plumb , including the following titles: Let sing a gay little spring song , Love is a song , Little April Shower , Twitter, The Thumper song .This enchanting motion picture , only released in video in 1994 , was very well realised with great sensibility and dignity , and from Disney's richest period , when produced such great hits as Snowwhite , Pinocho , Dumbo , Fantasía , Cinderella and subsequently Peter Pan , Sleeping Beauty , Jungle book , Aristocats , 101 Dalmats and many others. This Bambi displays splendid and colorful frames , interleaving magnificent animation with vulgar Americana style.

Rating 8/10 . It stands as one of the greatest kiddies' movies all of time , a genuine perennial tale from generation to generation. It proves that Disney animation is still the best to be found , here including some unforgettable and immortal images. As the movie turns out to be still an altogether a gorgeous and overwhelming experience to watch. This top-notch , irresistible tale is recommended for both , children and adults , but tinies should have an adult standing for their reactions to the fate of Bambi's mummy .

The characters and story from Walt Disney's adaptation of "Bambi" still hold up as well as they ever did. The animation, likewise, still looks very attractive and detailed. It's understandable if the animation in itself doesn't strike everyone now as being particularly impressive, given the many recent achievements in animation, but in itself it is an excellent job with the resources of its time. It all makes for an appealing and thoughtful classic that is still well worth seeing.

The main characters are well-chosen, especially Bambi himself and the always-engaging Thumper. Some of the best scenes are simply those of the various animal friends playing together – the scene of Thumper and Bambi on the ice being perhaps the most endearing of all. The change of seasons is used to great effect, both aesthetically and in advancing the story and its themes.

It's pretty interesting to contrast "Bambi" with "The Lion King", by no means to decide which is 'better', but rather to take note of the slightly different ways in which they handle some very similar material. Both present the story of a young animal 'prince', the way he explores and learns about his world, and the ways that he must adjust to the tragedies and challenges of adulthood. There are also a number of other interesting similarities. Bambi is at once the more innocent, yet also the more somber of the two.

One very interesting difference is that the greatest threats in "Bambi" come from humans, who are wholly external to the world of the characters, and over whose actions the animals have no control, whereas in "The Lion King" the threats and conflicts are all amongst the animal characters themselves. Both movies deserve to be ranked among the very best animated features of their eras, so there's no need to prefer one over the other – it can just make for even more interesting viewing to notice how these differences help to give each of the two movies its distinctive character.

"Bambi" is the kind of movie that can stick in your mind for many years, especially if you first saw it when young. The characters and many of their adventures make it very appealing, often even adorable, and yet it also portrays some of the most serious (and frightening) things that can happen in the lives of the young. It's a fine movie that accomplishes a lot, and it has held up quite well over the years.