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The Movie:
Certainly one of the most heartbreaking animated movies ever, "Bambi" is also one of Disney's classics - although maybe not among the best, it's a beloved picture, nevertheless. The picture, which looks half its age on this new, restored edition, opens in a lush forest, with the animals preparing for the birth of a new prince - a deer named Bambi.
After the loss of his mother, Bambi tries his best to grow up in the forest, with the aid of his pals Flower and, the one who says what everyone's thinking, Thumper. The animation continues to dazzle, even in this age of CG animation. There's a real beauty and grace within every frame of this wonderful film.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Bambi" is presented by Disney in its original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio for this release. The presentation is THX-Certified. The film has been lovingly restored for this new DVD edition, and it certainly shows. The picture looks fresh, bright and new this time around, with richer colors and more detail to the animation. Sharpness and detail looked perfectly fine throughout the presentation, as the gorgeous hand-drawn animation looked crisp and well-defined. The picture appeared to be free of any edge enhancement or pixelation, and print flaws were not seen throughout this edition. The picture seemed almost entirely free of dirt, dust and other debris. Only a little bit of dirt was spotted, but it's hardly an issue.
SOUND: "Bambi" is given a new "Enhanced for Home Theater" 5.1 mix for this release. Of course, despite being presented in 5.1, the film really doesn't offer much of a sound mix - the new presentation simply serves to open the audio out a bit across the front speakers - and it does that pretty well. The surrounds aren't really used, aside from some reinforcement of the music. Audio quality seemed very satisfactory, considering the film's age. Dialogue remained clear and well-recorded, and music sounded crisp and nicely detailed.
EXTRAS: The first disc offers one main supplement: "Walt: Inside 'Bambi' Story Meetings". This is a 70-minute piece that details the story meetings that went on with Disney and his animation staff. The meetings were transcribed so that the animators could look back to them for guidance later. They are read here while scenes from the movie play and some images of Walt and the animators (as well as storyboards and concept art) occasionally are presented. These discussions are terribly fascinating, as we get a really wonderful listen as to how ideas were thrown about and decided upon.
The first feature on the second disc are two deleted scenes (presented in very rough form). They're interesting, and nice to have, but provide no great information. "Bambi: A Prince is Born" is a 53-minute documentary that provides a look at the history of "Bambi, the development of "Bambi" and the continuing legacy of the film. Some of the animators involved with the film give their thoughts on working on the picture (and some of the changes that took place) and some of the more recent animators, such as John Lassetter ("Toy Story") offer their thoughts.
"Restoring Bambi" is a 5-1/2 minute piece that details the work that was done to take "Bambi" back to its original glory. It's a pretty interesting piece that shows how technology helped preserve and restore the film. "The Legacy Continues" is a look at, you guessed it, an animated sequel to "Bambi" that's coming soon. Next is a time capsule that looks at what happened the year "Bambi" was released.
"Inside the Disney Archives" and "Tricks of the Trade" are two older, short featurettes that take a closer look at the animation process. Finally, we get an gallery of artwork for the film and the film's original trailer.
Rounding out the second disc is the "Games and Activities" area, where we get "The Forest Adventure", "DisneyPedia: Bambi's Forest Friends", "What's Your Season?" personality profile, "Disney's Storytime: Thumper Goes Exploring" and "Virtual Forest".
Final Thoughts: "Bambi" finally arrives on DVD, and the film looks better than ever with restored image and sound quality. The DVD also boasts a wealth of interesting and enjoyable supplements. Highly recommended.
Film Grade
The Film *** 1/2
DVD Grades
Video 96/A
Audio: 87/B
Extras: 85/B
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