Bambi

Voices of: Hardie Albright, Stan Alexander, Bobette Audrey, Peter Behn, Janet Chapman, Sam Edwards, Ann Gillis, Otis Harlan, Fred Shields, Will Wright
Directed by: David Hand
Rating: G
Genre: Animation, Drama
1942

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: A young deer grows up in the forest.

Review:

Tim: It's interesting to me that Bambi received mixed reviews upon its release, but decades and decades later, it's considered one of the great animated movies ever made. I don't think I can go that far. I think this is a good movie, but I don't see why it's considered so great.

My own memories of seeing Bambi for the first time are fuzzy, as you might expect a memory 30+ years old to be. I remember going to see the movie in a theater, I remember (SPOILER, I guess, even though the movie is nearly 80 years old) when Bambi's mom died. I remember being somewhat confused, somewhat sad. I couldn't say I really liked the movie when I was five years old. I vaguely remember seeing it one other time, and then this time, when I was 38 years old, with my five year-old son and two year-old daughter.

For me, I suppose my thoughts remained relatively unchanged. Bambi's mother dying is certainly sad, but it didn't feel like the traumatic experience I remembered. The story was fine, it's a fairly straightforward story about life in the forest. There's cute, humorous scenes sprinkled throughout the film. The movie is only 1 hour and 10 minutes, so it feels short and somewhat incomplete. We needed more time to develop the characters and for things to actually happen. The "realistic" look at animals and forest life was good- this movie certainly adheres more to reality than most animated movies, which go full fantasy. That was a plus, but it doesn't result in the most compelling viewing experience. Real life in the forest might be beautiful, but it's probably kind of boring, too (you could instead go with "peaceful" if you wanted). I would say this third viewing wasn't very engrossing. It was good, but I was never really pulled into the stories or the characters. Bambi and Thumper were cute depictions of forest animals, but not the most interesting characters.

I really do believe the now classic status of this film is driven by people's memories. If you watch this movie early in your life, especially without having seen a ton of other movies, it probably does feel definitive. For me and many others, this was the first time you'd witnessed a character's death. That is probably the most enduring legacy. I love that this movie included that scene and it certainly generates conversations in families about life and death. I really appreciated that aspect. However, outside of that, the movie doesn't have nearly enough to be considered a classic. The forest fire scene is memorable, but doesn't make for the greatest climax. It's exciting, but our characters don't really undergo enough of a transformation. They survive and that's it. It felt surface-level to me. There's no character complexity here.

Another big plus of this film is the animation. It was stunning at the time, as animals like deer had never really been depicted in this way. There's a lot of attention to realism and detail here. You believe these animals you see on screen. The colors and backdrops are strong for the time period in which it was released. It's a beautiful film in many ways.

Now, I did say I watched this movie with my kids. It was fascinating. My daughter is too young to get it, but she enjoyed watching the animals. I prefaced the movie with my son by telling him it was sad. He wasn't overly enthusiastic about watching it, but we sat down. I wouldn't say he loved the movie. He enjoys the funny animal pratfalls and laughed a few times. He was definitely somewhat disturbed by the hunters. He asked a number of questions about them killing hunters. I took a video on my phone of when Bambi's mom dies. It was interesting, I think he had more questions than felt the emotional impact of her death. His response was "Wait what happened?" verses bursting into tears. I think he really enjoyed the climax, he was engaged and thrilled by the animals trying to escape the fire. At the end of the movie, he said he really liked it. I just asked him now (maybe two weeks after watching the movie) and his response to the movie was more ambivalent. He did mention that he "doesn't like hunters", which seems like was his big takeaway.

I like Bambi and I consider it a good movie. However, I think people's memories play an outsize role in their thoughts on this film. The consensus seems to be, "Bambi is great! I remember being so traumatized as a child!" The movie's reputation is better than the film itself. I know many consider this a classic and I wouldn't argue with that mentality. For me, though, it's not to that level.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Fantasia, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs