"Bambi" is a classic Disney-produced animated feature. It was released two years after "Pinocchio" and one year after "Dumbo", both of which are vastly better films.
"Bambi" tells the story of a male deer, from birth to maturity. As a baby, he learns how to walk and talk. He is helped in these activities by his soft-spoken mother, and by a host of friendly animals, especially Thumper the rabbit. As Bambi grows up, he courts an obliging doe and learns about man, a sinister, unseen force that kills animals and eventually burns down half the forest.
"Bambi" has lots of problems, and has to be
considered a disappointment. The songs completely
lack charm, and are performed by a lifeless
ensemble chorus. The first half of the picture is
slow, almost tedious. The second half is somber.
Bambi's character is uneven. He is shown to be
gentle and confused in the first half. However,
whenever a crisis arises, he suddenly becomes
brave and heroic, such as defending his mate
against a competitor buck or a pack of menacing
dogs. Bambi's father is sort of the king of the
forest. He shows his fatherly ways by ignoring
Bambi until he is in trouble, then magically
appearing to tell Bambi what to do. The strong
and silent type, Bambi's dad can be distinguished
a mile off from the other deer since his body is
twice as wide.
The forest animals have reversed courtships. The
male of the species plays hard to get, while the
female does all she can to wear down his
resistance. The character I enjoyed most is
Thumper. Perhaps the film should have been called
"Thumper" instead, and starred the fun-loving
rabbit, with the deer as supporting cast. (52/100)
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