Disney/Buena Vista | 1942 | 70 mins. | G
Released in 1942, Bambi, Disney’s fifth animated feature is a masterpiece. Based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods Walt Disney and his talented animators created a simple yet affecting film about the lives of animals in the forest. Bambi is a wonderful story for children; taking the opportunity to explore the miracle of birth, the wonder of childhood and the ups and downs of coming of age without being preachy or self-indulgent.
The birth of a whitetail deer named Bambi (voiced first by Bobby Stewart, then Donnie Dunagan, Hardie Albright and John Sutherland), has the entire forest gathering to witness his first, awkward steps. Almost immediately, he finds a friend in Thumper (Peter Behn, Tim Davis, Sam Edwards), a rather outspoken bunny. Slowly, the fawn ventures out into the forest and becomes acquainted with its many creatures. He forms a friendship with a skunk he names Flower (Stan Alexander, Tim Davis, Sterling Holloway). It soon becomes clear to Bambi that all animals are his friends. When he’s old enough to go to the meadow his mother (Paula Winslowe) must always be on the lookout for the dreaded intruder known as Man. While in the meadow, Bambi meets his father (Fred Shields) a rather distant sort, who happens to be the Great Prince of the Forest. He also meets and is perplexed by the young doe Faline (Cammie King, Ann Gillis). Bambi’s first winter of life is a time of innocence and fun, but as he grows into a yearling, things begin to change.
Anyone who has ever seen a real deer in action will appreciate the animation work on display here. It’s amazing how realistic Bambi’s (as well as the other animals) mannerisms are. It’s clear that the folks at Disney must have studied precisely how a deer moves and reacts to certain situations. The realism of Bambi is one of the attributes that helps it stand out from the crowd. As people, we get a real sense of how dangerous day-to-day life is for animals in the woods.
Predating The Lion King by some fifty years, Bambi is a story about the circle of life. Bambi’s father is not a part of his formative years, gunfire is cause for great fear among all the animals in the forest, winter and starvation are constant concerns, a raging forest fire sends hundreds of animals scrambling for safety, and the death of Bambi’s mother is perhaps the single most heart-wrenching moment to ever grace an animated film. Despite all of this, Bambi retains a certain joy, innocence even, that permeates every scene. Bambi’s days as a fawn are marked by amazing discoveries, which will inform his adult life. Disney has made it a pleasure to be a part of that experience.
Disney’s 1080P transfer is reference quality material. Bambi‘s pastel visual palette is simply breathtaking, offering excellent color separation and outstanding consistency in black level and detail. And the clarity of the transfer print is simply amazing. One wishes every catalog title could be restored frame by frame with the care that Disney seems to give its classics. Can’t recommend it enough.
As immersive as this DTS-HD 7.1 High Resolution Audio sound mix is, purists will bemoan the lack of a lossless mono presentation for Bambi. A Dolby Digital 2.0 English track is included. Bambi‘s mix is nevertheless wonderful and fairly well balanced. We don’t get much surround activity, but the 7.1 mix here provides a solid soundscape. Dialogue, music and effects all sound fine.
Also included are French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Enhanced Home Theater mixes, and English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
We get a solid slate of special features:
Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings (HD): This unique Picture-in-Picture track presents a recreation of the story and sweatbox sessions held between Walt Disney and his production team from 1937 to 1940. Carefully created using transcripts of the filmmakers’ original meetings, it’s as close to an in-depth commentary as Bambi will ever get. As it all unfolds, archive footage, production photographs, concept art, sketches, color tests and etc., appear on screen. Viewers who press “enter” when prompted will gain access to seamlessly transitioning Maximum Movie Mode-esque content including classic animated shorts, extended filmmaker conversations, Disney anecdotes, exclusive featurettes not available elsewhere on the disc, and a things already found on the main menu.
The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born (SD, 52 minutes): An extensive six-part documentary that delves into the film’s “Story,” “Characters,” “Actors,” “Art Design,” “Music” and “History.”
Interactive Galleries (HD): Hundreds of character design sketches, background paintings, production pictures, storyboards and visual development images.
Deleted Scenes (HD/SD, 8 minutes): Four unfinished deleted sequences are available: two exclusive scenes presented in high definition (“Two Leaves” and “Bambi Stuck on a Reed”) and two standard definition cuts from the previously released DVD (“Winter Grass” and “Bambi’s First Snow”).
Deleted Song (320kbps Dolby Digital Stereo, 2 minutes): An audio recording of a long-lost song, “Twitterpated.”
Inside the Disney Archives (SD, 9 minutes): Follow one of the studio’s animators down to the Disney Vault as he examines original artwork from the film’s production.
Disney Second Screen (HD): Bambi marks the debut of a new Disney exclusive, “Second Screen.” With it users can synch their laptops or iPads with the studio’s latest Blu-ray release to unearth even more content. Visit this website for more information.
Disney’s Big Book of Knowledge (HD): This interactive activity allows children to wander around Bambi’s forest, meet his friends and play a few games as they explore.
Tricks of the Trade (SD, 7 minutes): Walt Disney introduces his audience to the multi-plane camera and his studio’s animation techniques in this vintage featurette.
The Old Mill (SD, 9 minutes): A 1937 Academy Award-winning “Silly Symphony” animated short.
Original Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2 minutes): Bambi‘s original 1942 theatrical trailer.
Disney View (HD): Fill the black bars on either side of the film with artwork by Disney artist Lisa Keene.
Sneak Peeks (HD, 12 minutes): Rounding out the package are trailers for the 2011 theatrical release of Winnie the Pooh and the upcoming Blu-ray editions of Tangled, The Lion King, Spooky Buddies, Bambi 2, Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure and Tinker Bell and the Mysterious Winter Woods.
BD-Live
DVD Copy
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