I remember the first time I ever saw Bambi, I was about eight and it was just about the saddest film I'd ever seen. Even now I'm all grown-up and have children of my own I must admit that certain scenes still bring a tear or three to my eye. I think out of all the Disney films it's my absolute favourite, and for a long time is was the only film that wasn't available on DVD. I was really disappointed with this, as I wanted my children to enjoy the film with me, but eventually it was released on a special edition DVD, which promised that it had been digitally restored with 5.1 sound. Not only this but the nice people at Disney included an extra disc packed to the brim with special features.
---About the film---
Bambi was Disney's 5th animated classic and was first released in 1942, when it was nominated for three Academy Awards including best song. Right that's all the history I'm going to tell you, because quite frankly that's all I either know or care about.
And onto the film itself, and what a wonderful animation it is, in fact it's an animation against which all others should be compared. While the backdrops are rendered with somewhat subdued tones, the animals seem far brighter and stand out well. And the level of detail is amazing, so much so that you can see the drops of rain dripping, and while a little humanised the animals move in a very realistic manner.
The accompanying music, is extremely well chosen and fits very well with the scenes. The tone and tempo changes to suit each of the different set of circumstances, and really does give you a feel to what the different characters might have been feeling. In fact there are quite long periods in the film, where the music is the only background noise, and it's in these scenes that the score really excels.
The hero of the film is, of course, Bambi, a fawn prince, who we follow from his birth to his coming
of age when he takes over from his father. Throughout this journey, we meet his many friends, including Thumper the baby rabbit (who tends to say exactly what's on his mind and is very exuberant), and Flower the skunk. As the film progresses we join Bambi, as he experiences all kinds of new sensations and emotions including the joy of love and the pain of grief.
I'm not going to say any more about the film because if you've watched it you'll already know what happens and if you haven't then it would spoil the innocent pleasure you will get when you do. I'll just warn you to have a box of tissues handy, for the first viewing at the very least.
---About the Presentation---
The two discs that make up the special edition are contained in a standard DVD case, which is beautifully decorated with a montage of characters from the film with Bambi taking the prominent position. This is then enclosed in a cardboard slipcase, which is identical in design to the actual case and helps keep it looking pristine. The actual DVDs are beautifully printed with scenes from the film, but the lack of gloss finish does give a little bit of the impression that I could create just as good printing using my Epson DVD printer.
All in all though I would say that the presentation looks very nice and is up to the quality I would expect from a Disney DVD.
---About the Discs---
The film and special features are split over two discs, so I'll now I'll tell you about the two discs.
--Disc 1--
The first disc is where you will find the actual film, along with:
-Scene selection- This ones obvious, and takes you easily to your favourite scene. It's quite well designed, and with a total of 25 different options, it's easy to get to virtually the exact moment that you're looking for.
-Set-up- This option is worth mentioning as it not only allows you to choose the language and subtitles, but also allows you to optimise your video and audio equipment using the THX Optimiser, so that you get the absolute best from the film.
-Bambi : Inside Walt's story Meeting - A re-enactment of the meetings between Walt Disney and his creative team, introduced by Patrick Stewart (of Captain Picard fame) which takes us all the way through the film. Although the actual re-enactment was very interesting, I found Patrick Stewart seemed a little unenthusiastic and dull, almost as though he was just reading off an auto-cue.
-Disc 2 preview- A look at the goodies on offer on disc 2, this one is short and perhaps a little pointless, so I won't dwell on it any further.
--Disc 2--
There's tonnes more goodies on the second disc, some with a lot more value than others.
-Deleted Scenes-
A look at two scenes that only made it as far as the storyboard. Both are very rough pencil drawings with very little colour but very sweet to watch.
-Games and Activities-
There's absolutely loads to do in this section, including :
*Forest Adventure* A sweet game for younger children with various simple (and educational games) including colour and number matching, and a cool memory game. You can change the level of difficulty here as your child gets better at the games.
*DisneyPedia - Bambi's Forest Friends* A look at some real life counterparts of our animal hero's. This is aimed at younger children, with simple language that is easily understood. My younger two loved this and took great delight at telling everyone that rabbits and deer are herbivores, and that skunks smell.
*What's Your Season - Personality Profile* A chance to see which season your personality is best suited for by answering a few questions. Apparently, I'm best suited to spring. (The questions seem quite random).
*Disney's Story time - Thumper Goes Exploring* A lovely story, that your child can either read on their own or with Owl. This quickly became a favourite as we followed Thumper's adventures and highlighted different characters to make things happen.
*Virtual Forest* Watch a clearing in the forest change through the seasons. Although I thought this was a beautiful bit of animation, my children soon got bored with it.
-Backstage Diary-
This section is aimed more at the adults among us than the children, I found it quite fascinating and it consisted of :
*The Making Of Bambi - A Prince Is Born* A series of featurette that cover everything to do with the making of the film, including the story, characters, music and more. As I've already said I found this fascinating, especially as I didn't actually realise there was a book before the film.
*Restoring Bambi* An insightful piece looking at how the film was restored, to the glory that we see on the DVD. Again this was introduced by Patrick Stewart, that seemed to get again be unenthusiastic.
*The Legacy Continues - A Sneak Peek At The All-New Bambi Movie* A look at the ideas behind the new film, that will be out soon, which seems to focus on the time he spent with his father in the middle of the film.
*Disney time Capsule - 1942: the year Of Bambi* A look at what life was like in 1942, when the world was at war and Bambi was first released. Again interesting for adults and older children, but the little ones will find this boring.
*The Art Of Bambi* A series of pictures either in a still picture format, or slideshow with or without commentary. Some nice pictures, but even I got bored with this one.
---About the re-mastering---
The picture and sound quality in this are fantastic, in fact they're even better than I remember from watching this on the TV and a "cinema" my school held. The picture is crystal clear and the colours vibrant, while the audio has been expertly mastered into 5.1 surround sound. I could almost imagine myself in the forest as I watched it.
---About the technical bits---
Rating : U (contains mildly distressing scenes) Feature Running Time : 68 minutes Region : 2 (PAL) Picture : Full screen (4:3) Audio : Dolby digital 5.1/Mono Languages : English Subtitles : English/English for the hearing impaired.
I've always loved Bambi, right from a child, it has everything a child could want, talking animals, happy scenes, scary scenes and even sad scenes. Nothing the Disney studio has brought out since can compare. And yet I was always disappointed that it wasn't available on DVD, but boy was it worth the wait. Not only has the picture quality of the film been improved substantially, but Disney has added so many extras that it really takes an age to get through them all. Not only that but the vast majority of the extras are actually worth having.
My younger children also adore this film, have watched it many, many times and never seem to tire of it. They also enjoy the games and stories on the second disc, so they're getting value from the extras as well as me.
All in all I would say that this is a brilliant set, and if I could give it six stars out of five I would. So if you've got children (or are a child at heart that wants to regain some of the magic) then go and buy this now.
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May 1st, 2005
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