Bambi (1942) Review:

The story of Bambi is one of Disney's movies that families praise to this day for its cute characters and sentimental story. This is true but it's hard to say whether the story of Bambi is one only intended for children. It involves childlike characters and experiences yet the story arc as time continues tends to become more adult related and a slight bit one sided. It's not to say children shouldn't watch it; it's Disney. There just happens to be more to the life of the main character than just living in the forest. By the end of the movie, a message far deeper than its premise will leave a stain of a memory.

Bambi & his mother

The movie is basically a cycle of how the animals live in the forest and how they deal with the seasons and man itself. It's a satisfying cycle although cliche none the less. For this specific time line, no age bracket is skipped. The stages of becoming a toddler, young adolescent and adult are all covered which gives each age group that views this, something to relate to. The segment of becoming an adult and finding romance is where it gets a bit one sided. This particular segment makes the female animals look like they manipulate and end up making the male animal putty in their hands. This doesn't happen in real life for animals or humans as easily as it’s made out to be.

There are two other things that might turn off viewers. Next is the music; Frank Churchill did an excellent job at the score but the choir in the background in most of the music may come off as obnoxious. It's good the way they were used to represent the weather, but it still may get on viewers’ nerves. And then there are the dark elements to this film such as "man", Bambi's mother's death and the final chase scene. These can be quite intense and almost leaps over the line of the family friendly to adult animated feature genre. Especially the hunters, these faceless dangers are the ones who speak the message of how dangerous humans can be. If Disney didn't own the rights, one could assume an animal rights activists group produced this. That's how strong the writers to this movie wanted us to feel for these forest animals.

Thumper, Bambi & Flower

But credit should be given where is needed. The animation is great for its time. It still has the classic Disney feature feel and still holds up great today. Also the characters are very amiable. The voices to every character are very soft, mellow and calm. There are only a few times when a voice is elevated to excitement or terror. The child voice-actors that portray young Bambi, Thumper and Flower have the most adorable voices. The best voice of the rest of the cast is Bambi's mother's voice. That voice has the most gentle sound one could ever hear. Overall it's a decent Disney film; it just needs to be shown to a mature audience.

The story of Bambi is cute along with his friends Thumper and Flower, and the music is done well too. Sadly, the audience that this movie is directed to can be a little heavy at some points, especially for Disney.

Points Earned --> 7:10