Bambi
Brief Description:
The life story of a young deer, who passes through springtime gambols with his young friends, autumn fears with other deer, winter struggles with his mother… and eventually, in the fullness of time,
springtime love. But Bambi’s trials aren’t over yet. Man is still his greatest enemy, and he will strike one last time…
(written by me, obviously)
Date: 1942
Genre: American family animated drama adventure film
Running time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cast:
Bobby Stewart (Baby Bambi)
Donnie Dunagan (Young Bambi)
Hardie Albright (Adolescent Bambi)
John Sutherland (Young Adult Bambi)
Peter Behn (Young Thumper)
Tim Davis (Adolescent Thumper)
Sam Edwards (Young Adult Thumper)
Paula Winslowe (Bambi’s Mother / Pheasant)
Stan Alexander (Young Flower)
Tim Davis (Adolescent Flower)
Sterling Holloway (Young Adult Flower)
Will Wright (Friend Owl)
Cammie King (Young Faline)
Ann Gillis (Young Adult Faline)
Fred Shields (the Prince)
Margaret Lee (Mrs. Rabbit)
Mary Lansing (Aunt Ena / Mrs. Possum)
Perce Pearce (Mr. Mole)
Thelma Boardman (Girl Bunny / Quail Mother / Female Pheasant)
Directors: David Hand, James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, & Norman Wright
Production company: Walt Disney Productions
Based on: Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten
(starts at 8:00)
Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 5/5
Okay, so the setting here is adorable. So sweet and woodsy, with such poignant or delightful music! Very vintage (the voices are SO 1940s), and very cute. ;) And I loved the theme song when I figured out what it said.
Characters: 5/5
Basically Bambi is so cute, his mother is darling, his friends are adorable, and his father is awesome. They’re not deep characters at all, but they’re so sweet.
Plot: 5/5
The story starts off very sweet and slow with Bambi’s birth and slow development. Up to past the halfway mark it’s simple and happy. After that we have tragedy, then a jump forwards and more happiness and then tragedy again and yet more tragedy, followed by a bittersweet ending that tugs at the heartstrings. There’s quite a bit of comedy, both physical and spoken, and the young animals’ breathy voices and stumbling sentences are so cute and childlike! And the little romances are kinda adorable. ;)
Theme/Message/Topics: 5/5
I think this film strikes me most as an allegory of life. It speaks so poignantly about how great pain comes and suffering follows, but then time goes on, and new days come with new experiences, friends, and blessings. How death is followed by birth, heartbreak by elation, storm by peace. And, as my little brother said, “the forest has to burn to grow again.”
Content: 5/5 (low)
One euphemism.
Violence: 5/5 (low)
A fire, and lots of hunting; birds are seen dropping dead.
MASSIVE SPOILERS!!! Bambi’s mother is killed off-screen, dogs attack Bambi and Faline but she escapes unhurt and he is only hinted as hurt. END OF MASSIVE SPOILERS!!!
Ranged from not too intense to almost too much for my siblings (7-15), so it’s up to the individual viewer.
Overall: 5/5
It’s sweet and vintagey and pretty and just a little heartbreaking… :’)
P.S. Bambi II (2006) falls in the middle of Bambi’s storyline, between his going to live with his father and his adult life. There’s a real cool fan-edited version on Archive with the two films spliced together.
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