Of all the wonderful animated works to come out of the Disney Studios over the years, Bambi is perhaps the most artistically advanced and emotive of any of them. This film is ground-breaking in so many ways, and a thorough examination and appreciation of it would require much more space than is available here. Additionally, if there were ever a work of visual and audio art to make one grieve for the recent loss of Disney 2-D animation, this is most certainly it.
Brought forth in August of 1942 amidst the first golden age of Disney feature animation (think Snow White and Pinocchio), Bambi was initially advertised as a love story, most likely to appeal to the escapist desires of the public as the world was in the throes of World War II at the time. While that is an element of the overall plot, the film’s true power lies more in its impressionistic (thanks to Chinese immigrant Tyrus Wong’s artistic stylings) and orchestral representation of the cycles of nature and of man’s encroachment upon that peace and balance. I will not detail the plot itself here because it is so woven into the sights and sounds of the film that to do so would give away too much, particularly to those who have not yet viewed the film, but I will take a few words to make some artistic observations.
First of all, the film’s presentation and medium stand diametrically opposed to the computer animation that is so popular in the current culture - not to take anything away from those modern films which are indeed enthralling in their own right. However, in viewing any of the Pixar films, Finding Nemo for example, one is taken aback by the realistically detailed depiction of the environments and their inhabitants; one could make a case for actually looking through an aquarium’s glass at real fish for the level of detail present in the frames. The film appeals to our sense of the real. By contrast, when one takes a moment to truly examine the backgrounds in Bambi, the detailed depiction of visual reality is absent. In its place are impressionist visions of what a forest visually “feels” like with shapes, suggestions, and color use. You don’t see brush with every single leaf and twig drawn individually; you actually see shapes of leaves and branches interspersed with color and dynamic hue shifts, and you intuitively sense that you are indeed in the forest. The art touches our sense of emotion and draws us inward, precisely where the film’s creators wanted us to be. An audience’s emotional involvement in a motion picture is the hallmark of all successful films.
Thumper, Flower and Bambi (©Disney. All Rights Reserved)
Having said all that, let us examine the product itself. As with the previous platinum edition DVD sets (Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin), the set is a generously assembled mix of restored and digitally re-mastered classic animation with digital extras, vintage footage, and artistic commentary and insight from those present during the film’s creation as well as those involved in current Disney production. For those who have an appreciation for the talent and effort requisite to producing an animated feature of this caliber, particularly in the context of the time period in which it was produced, the background information presented in this set is breathtaking. I continue to be amazed by the depth and quality of information that Disney has consistently included in their platinum DVD sets, particularly the extent to which they assemble historical documents, photos, and art to compliment the feature being presented; Bambi is no different.<!--page-->DISC ONE
This disc primarily contains two items. The menus are modest, functional, and mildly animated, intended to compliment but not detract from the viewing of the film. As to the feature itself, words cannot adequately express the level of beauty, clarity, and richness of color to which the film has been restored. A quick comparison can be made if one views the restored film and then the theatrical trailer contained on disc two where no work has been done. Bambi was filmed originally in the fullscreen ratio of 1.33:1 and is presented as such on the disc. For those of you with widescreen televisions (myself included), there is little distraction from the image alteration into 16:9. Likewise, the original soundtrack was recorded in mono, and the film can be viewed with its original soundtrack restored or with Disney’s 5.1 Home Theater Mix which does a nice job of sound placement for those with the appropriate equipment though it’s certainly not necessary for enjoyment of this film.
Bambi from Bambi Special Edition - First Time Ever on DVD March 1, 2005.(©Disney. All Rights Reserved)
The second item on this disc is a cleverly innovative treat. Most of us are used to films being released today on DVD that contain audio tracks from directors, producers, or cast members providing their commentary on the film itself or the process of creating it or acting in it, and these have become desired features for many from film aficionados and historians to the lay viewer. Since many members of the creative team that produced Bambi have passed on, Disney has taken the intriguing step of taking the detailed transcripts from the original team’s story meetings and bringing those words to life with a group of talented voice actors. Hosted by Patrick Stewart, this piece allows viewers “to be a fly on the wall” during Walt Disney’s story meetings with his creative staff and provides an interesting direct insight into the creative thought processes that produced such a memorable film. The voice acting is set against the playing of the film and is interspersed with picture-in-picture vintage photos, live action cuts of the actual artists at work, still art, pencil sketches, and storyboards that really make the creative evolution of Bambi come to life.
DISC TWO
The second disc as you would expect contains a bevy of bonus and historical information grouped into three headings: Deleted Scenes, Games & Activities, and Backstage Disney. The menus are slightly more animated than those on the first disc and contain beautiful full-screen artwork in the Bambi tradition.
Deleted Scenes: This heading contains two pencil sketch sequences (“Winter Grass” and “Bambi’s First Snow”) that were dropped from the actual released version of the film. The pieces are not directly animated, but the drawings are provided a brief musical background and voice-over talent to help bring the artists’ ideas to life.
Games & Activities: This section contains the usual DVD set games, activities, and read-alongs that have become staple features of Disney’s 2-disc DVD releases. My older daughter (age 9) found them interesting initially but lost interest after repeated play. An interesting inclusion here is the “Virtual Forest”, similar in concept to the virtual aquariums on the Finding Nemo DVD set. A digital still of a small forested area in typical “Bambi” style was created. As the shot remains on the screen, the surroundings progress through all four seasons, the entire cycle taking roughly 3-4 minutes. It’s an interesting variation on a unique theme.
Backstage Disney: For the film and animation lovers out there, this is the “real” bonus material. In the interests of brevity, I’ll highlight the more compelling offerings in this section, but truly everything here is exceedingly interesting and well worth the price of admission.
The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born: This piece contains about an hour’s worth of material, and it’s great stuff. The six sections can be viewed individually or as one continuous documentary and include some of the actual team members on the Bambi project as well as current Disney animation players discussing the development of artistic and musical themes, voice actors, and character animation. All in all, it’s wonderfully insightful information.
Restoring Bambi: A detailed look at the restoration process, this provides an appreciation for the voluminous effort invested in restoring these aging film icons to their former glory.
The Art of Bambi: This section contains an immense (not an overstatement in the least) quantity of production and character study stills, color keys, and backgrounds. They can be viewed individually by heading or by slide show with or without audio. The artwork here is astounding.
Tricks of the Trade: An interesting live-action excerpt from 1957 where Disney demonstrates the functioning and use of the multi-plane camera in animated production to provide the illusion of depth to animated backgrounds – yet another of his ground-breaking innovations.
Inside the Disney Archives: An interesting tour of the Walt Disney Studio’s animation history vaults as current supervising animator Andreas Deja highlights some of the original Bambi artwork in various media.
The Old Mill: The Silly Symphony animated short that was the testing ground for many of the techniques that were employed in making Bambi such as realistic animation of animals and atmospheric phenomenon. The multi-plane camera was also put to use here, and the piece won the 1937 Oscar for Best Short Subject (Cartoon).<!--page-->
SUMMARY
As with all of Disney’s platinum releases, this DVD set is truly a must-have for parents of small children, art and film collectors, movie buffs and Disney fans in general. This work was truly a landmark production in its day, and though as with many of Disney’s earlier works it took time for the film’s financial success to catch up with its artistic achievements, the film’s significance is in no way diminished. Its legacy lives on as a guidepost for aspiring artists and as an emotional point of definition for millions. Nearly any child who has seen this film remembers its emotional high-points, particularly the death of Bambi’s mother; it’s a testament to the skill and storytelling genius of its creators. Again, while I commend the current generation of computer animators for their stunning work in their evolving medium, there is a “purist” part of me that hearkens to works produced by artisans who labored by putting pencil to paper to really breathe life with their hands into their characters and worlds. I liken my view perhaps to that of producer Don Hahn when on the second disc he says that Bambi “has all the romance of a beautiful, hand-written letter.” I can think of few comparisons that are more appropriate.
Bambi (Disney Special Platinum Edition) is available from March 1 in stores and can be pre-ordered via Amazon .
Further details on the special features and stills from the DVD can be found in our database .
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