Bambi Movie Review (1942)

I’m a bit excited for this next film. For starters, it was the last fully animated, non-compilation film until Cinderella in 1950. It also contains the song ‘Little April Showers’ which became the inspiration for many a childhood bedtime story. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.

Update: In February 2022, I started a video version of the DFP on Tiktok. You can find the video below. Thoughts expressed in the video may be different than what are expressed in the blog post, due to the time difference in posting.

A Brief Summary 

Bambi is a young fawn, discovering life in the forest with his friends Thumper, the rabbit, and Flower, the skunk. He spends much of his time with his mother, learning about the world around him, both the delights and the dangers. After tragedy strikes, Bambi returns to his childhood home, becoming reacquainted with his childhood friends and facing dangers greater than he’d ever faced before. But as with any winter, spring returns bringing hope and new life.

What works

• Unlike any of the previous movies, the credits and the opening scene has this graceful elegance to it. Moving through the forest, before seeing any animals (though a few birds can be heard), it renders this calming, peaceful feeling on the viewer (in this case, myself).
• Bambi (the movie) doesn’t try to be more than it is. There’s this level of realism about the characters and their interactions with each other and their surroundings that is absolutely endearing.
• Thumper. The comic relief to Bambi’s more reserved character. He says what he thinks, cares about his friends and never loses that optimistic attitude.
• Having winter as the scene for the end of ‘Act 1’ in this movie. And it wasn’t even just that Bambi’s mother died. Winter itself was divided into two scenes: first, as this carefree time when Bambi is exploring the snowy wonderland and then joins Thumper on the ice for an attempt at ice skating (note: Bambi’s still better than me on the ice); and second, as this harsh reality where food is scarce and Bambi and his mother even go hungry because the bark has all been eaten. Finally when the new spring grass arrives, so does Man, and Bambi’s mother doesn’t make it out of the meadow.
  • Having the snow begin to fall as soon as Bambi realizes his mother isn’t right behind him was a bittersweet touch. It made the scene colder, more desperate as Bambi’s cries can be heard over the soft musical score and vocals.
• Having each of the 3 friends kind of reintroduce themselves really helps. While the audience most likely did not forget them, it helps reinforce the idea that a significant amount of time has passed.
• There’s not much I can see that’s bad about this movie because it all works. It’s charming, it’s adorable, it’s this coming-of-age story and a love story. The first act is all about Bambi’s innocence, his childhood, where there may be brief scares (when Man approaches the meadow), but it’s this happy time in his life. The second act is Bambi as an adult, rediscovering the friends of his childhood and finding love. It also brings nature’s worst enemy, Man, back for a final showdown, which is one of my favorite parts of the entire movie.
• The music score for this film was such a crucial addition to the overall effects of the story. From announcing the presence of the Great Prince of the Forest, the arrival of Man, to lighter, happier moments throughout the film, the music really helps keep the story flowing and with

Honorable Mentions

• Thumper’s recitation of what his dad says, especially when it comes to eating greens. It was like an extra bit of magic for the overall picture.
• Bambi and Feline’s first meeting. Cute with an extra side of “awww”.
• The three friends becoming ‘twitterpated’. Friend Owl’s description was priceless but seeing each of the three go through the process was quite satisfying.
• ‘Little April Showers’, the rain song. Also, high up on my favorite Disney songs list.

Side Questions

• How much time passes between the winter of Bambi’s mom passing and the spring when Bambi returns?
• I really want to know more about Bambi’s dad, the Great Prince of the Forest. Who is this deer? What’s his story? What’s the story between him and Bambi’s mother? What was his reaction to the mother’s death (other than stepping in to raise Bambi)?
• Why wasn’t Thumper’s love interest present at the end of the film? Or Flower’s for that matter?

What I learned from watching this film

• It’s hard to find the words to describe what I learned because there was so much, yet not much at all. The basis of the story is this simple tale about a deer in the forest. Yet this film has beautifully layered that story with so many different emotions without overwhelming and losing the story in the process.
  • There’s a gentle, subtle touch, with moments of foreshadowing. There’s this moment during the winter scenes, when Bambi looks at his mother, telling her he’s hungry. She responds in her loving way that she knows, that ‘winter won’t last forever’. Whether that moment was intended to hint at what was coming, I don’t know. But having watched it for this project, it kept sticking out to me.
• Character balance
  • I mentioned above that Thumper’s character was the comic relief to Bambi’s more reserved personality. It made scenes with both involved, more so as children than adults, that much more entertaining. Bambi was still getting used to the world and so went along with whatever Thumper was doing or saying. Having that contrast in personalities, rather than two of Thumper or two of Bambi, made each character stand better on his own rather than getting lost in a tug-of-war for screen time.

@jocelynnielson

DFP Review No. 6: Bambi! I was listening/dancing to Little April Shower while editing this. #disney #disneyfilms #filmreview #disneyfilmproject #disneybambi #bambi #disneymovies #moviereview #mondaymoviereviews

♬ original sound – Jocelyn Nielson

If you’ve seen Bambi, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

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