I know the time for Bambi discussion has passed to make room for Incredibles frenzy, but I've just finished going through everthing on the DVD (ok, so I didn't play
all the Forest Adventure games and I didn't listen to the mono track, but c'mon!), making it one of a small handful of Disney 2-Discers that I've exhaustively watched, and one of the fastest turn-around times too! So stick with me here.
I've made quite a few posts over the last 1.5 years sort of poo-pooing Bambi here and there. I'll spare you the history of me and Bambi since I've typed it like a million times, but suffice it to say that this was basically the first time I've really seen it from beginning to end. I can admit when I'm wrong. I liked it. No, I loved it. In fact, I was totally blown away and captivated from start to finish.
The artwork was amazing. Walt really was a genius for the multiplane camera. This ranks with Sleeping Beauty for the most beautiful animation in history. Pretty much the only scene I remembered was "Little April Showers" so I never knew it was artistically impressionistic until I read Luke's review. It was really the right way to go. The backgrounds and season shifts are really majestic.
The score also ranks with Sleeping Beauty for one of the most beautiful scores as well. Bambi's is even further-ranging. Apt doesn't begin to describe it, though it was certainly appropriate for every scene. The songs are great too... especially "Little April Showers."
Of course the heart lies in the characters, especially Bambi (but Thumper is my favorite!). The movie really plucks those emotional strings.
My
only complaint is that it's a bit too abrupt at times, especially when we move into the spring after Bambi's mother dies. And even that was only an occasional problem. I definitely noticed similarities with TLK, but I think they are distinct enough from one another that we can avoid having to say one is better than the other. I have to say that Bambi left me with that "they don't make 'em like they used to" feeling, but I suppose part of that is that it has the feeling of its era embedded in it.
The DVD itself is great too, albeit a little lighter than other Platinums, TLK notwithstanding. The transfer and sound are great!
I love traditional cast/crew commentaries and even the Walt thing we saw on Snow White & Fantasia. I think these story meeting reenactments might be my favorite of all, though. What a cool concept... and a real treat! I suspect even Walt & Co. would want to see these, to reflect on their plans being so closely realized. I hope we see more of this in the future.
Boy, they really want you to understand how the multiplane camera works. It was explained again and again. That's ok with me, though. I never tire of hearing Walt's explanation (reminds me of hanging out in One Man's Dream at WDW where they play that clip beside the multiplane model). Still, there were surprisingly parts of that I hadn't seen before.
Patrick Stewart is great... not as great as Angela Lansbury... but still great, so I was happy to see him here. To those saying a ton of time would had to have passed for Bambi to grow up, I'm not sure that's true. I'm no deer expert, but I would guess they mature quite a bit faster than humans. In the reenactments, I think Walt says "the next season," which is what I took it to be. I'm not so sure that's an unrealistic time frame.
The seasons personality test was cool. I answered honestly and got Fall. Not only is that hands-down my favorite season, but I thought the personality description was remarkably accurate for me. (I gave false answers and got spring or summer and they weren't accurate at all, so it wasn't one of those one-size-fits-all deals). Pretty cool. Also pretty cool was the virtual forest thing!
The making of and trailer (unfortunately only one), time capsule and even Disneypedia were very welcome additions too. The deleted scenes were kind of "meh," but overall, I definitely gained even more appreciation for the film from the enjoyable bonus features.
A big bravo from me to Disney- both Walt and the present company for a wonderful film and a pretty darn good DVD!
-Aaron
I asked my sister to buy it for me since my birthday's coming up but she just said "What if I told your friends you wanted Bambi for your birthday?" and she just walked away... That was a stupid think to say, I don't really care, I just want my DVD damn it. 
Since Incredibles is having a 3 dollar coupon for it I guess I'll just get it in the next month... *sigh*
What funny is I am very shy, but I still will let people know that I love this movie and that I really love Flower the Skunk 
It's a Wonderful Life!
