5 – Bambi
It's crazy to me just how important
character is. No matter how simple your story, if you have characters
that stay with you and make you want to root for them you have
something special. And wow did Disney have something special with
this one.
Bambi
is about as simple as you can get for a story. It simply tells the
story of a young deer growing up in his forest. The way they tell the
story really sets it apart from the other works I've reviewed so far.
Disney really took their time to set up the setting and characters.
It really feels like less time is wasted on “fluff” and that
every sequence has purpose. This is in huge contrast to Dumbo
that constantly just threw stupid sequences in to fill time.
The
best example of this is in the relatively few musical sequences. Most
don't even have lyrics and serve to simply establish Bambi's
character and his relationship with the other characters. The scenes
are still fun but they actually serve a purpose too. I think a really
big part of why those scenes work is because the pacing in this movie
is way better than Dumbo.
The creators really knew how to alternate between lighthearted
moments, serious dramatic moments and simply beautiful scenes. Every
time something fun happened I was able to enjoy it because we had
those serious moments. They were always a welcome short break from
the heavier action. On top of that, we really got to see how Bambi
interacted with his environment and made his friendship with Thumper
really well thought out.
My one
complaint with this movie would be it's lack of clear plot. The idea
is really just that we're watching Bambi grow up but it lacks a focus
that the other movies had. Pinocchio
had Pinocchio trying to become a real boy by behaving correctly and
even Dumbo had Dumbo
trying to overcome the ridicule he received. Bambi
reminds me more of Snow White that
also had lovable characters but didn't have much of a plot. Having
said that, I think Bambi gets
away with it much better. Since we get to see all the characters grow
up and change over the course of the movie, I feel like the plot is
less important. If we can root for Bambi, we don't mind that he
doesn't have to kill the evil witch or find the sorcerer's stone.
And
speaking of rooting for Bambi, there's no way I can go through this
review and not mention the famous death of his mother. All in all, I
think it was handled beautifully. The scene is tense and scary, even
knowing what will happen. When it happens you just feel so bad for
Bambi. It's absolutely heartbreaking hearing him call out for his
mother. You really just hope that Bambi can overcome this. I didn't
really like that they didn't deal with the aftermath of it more. The
scene jumps forward in time to after Bambi has recovered and grown up
a bit. I do understand though why they had to do it that way.
Animation is not cheap and I think we got the idea of what happened.
This does bring up the question of whether or not she really needed
to die. I personally think that while her death wasn't as big a plot
point as it could have been it did stick in your mind. Later, Bambi
goes from being protected by his mother to protecting his mate and
you really feel like everything has come full circle.
This
movie does coming full circle really well. The ending is just
fantastic as we see all the animals from the opening, now with kids
of their own. Thumper goes and once again wakes the owl up to see the
new “prince” just as he did in the beginning of the movie.
Finally, we see Bambi standing next to his father the “great prince
of the forest” until his father steps away and Bambi steps forward
to become the new great prince.
All of
this is helped by the fantastic animation. I really think this is a
step up from the works they did before. The forest is beautiful and
the changes in the seasons really look incredible. On top of that the
animators really knew how to use light, shadow and color to emphasize
the mood of what they were trying to do. The snow storm when Bambi's
mother dies is especially great as it hides everything and makes it
difficult to see. This really helps you feel like Bambi is lost and
hopeless. Another scene near the end when Bambi fights another deer
for his mate Faline. The colors are stark and bright while Bambi and
the other deer are dark in silhouette adding to the confusion of the
fight. When he finally wins, everything brightens up and looks great.
And I’ve mentioned the ending before but I can't overemphasize how
beautiful it all looks.
After
Pinocchio my bar was
set pretty high. I expect these movies to be more than just fluff and
I'm glad that Bambi
takes risks and tells a great story. Next, we take a bit of a
departure from the norm and start heading into some of the more
obscure Disney titles.
5
down. 48 to go.
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