Bambi & Bambi II

[ashkiryn]

Through a twist of fate, Lys and I watched both of these movies recently with our friend Meghan---months apart, mind.

Bambi.....well hell, what do I say about this movie? Hmm. If I had to rank the top three Disney movies that I think held the most meaning for my sister, I'd say that this movie would come in at #3, after 101 Dalmatians and The Lion King. Lots of people apparently find this movie boring, but it was definitely watched and beloved a heck of a lot in our household. It was among the few Disney movies that my sister had to have when it came out on DVD (seriously, we don't even have The Lion King on DVD, we still rely on our VHS version), she had a figurine of Bambi with a butterfly on his tail for years and years, etc.

You've probably noticed that I'm talking mostly about my sister here. Well, like with 101 Dalmatians, this movie is beloved by me today because it is beloved by my sister. And there's a large amount of nostalgia at work here as well.


Honestly, like with most of the old Disney movies, I think Bambi stands above the newer movies stylistically. Because much of the animation, if you appreciate it as such, is quite brilliant. The "April Showers" scene, in particular stands out, but there are also bold moves and risks being taken in scenes like the "Meadow" with all the prancing stags, and then when they all clear out, the "Fire", "Twitterpated", etc.

Storywise, well....a few things become clear when you're older:
-Thumper is really quite obnoxious
-as is Faline when she's a fawn
-those prancing stags come off as really, really gay/homoerotic
-Bambi should have broken those spindly legs several times over during the course of the movie
-it's rather insulting that Bambi's mom doesn't ever get a name
-Flower is gay and partially in love with Bambi. For fuck's sake, he names his son after him!

It's weird, but for me, though I love watching this movie....the characters themselves don't really matter that much to me. Does that make any sense? Like...none of the characters in this movie personally matter. This movie could be about any cute little deer and I'd still love it; it doesn't have to be Bambi.

This view changes quite a bit in the sequel, Bambi II. And it's really the top Disney sequel/interquel ever, in my opinion, because it actually contributes to the canon, and it has a reason for existing. This movie does two things that we never got to see in the original movie:

1) establish the relationship between Bambi and his father, the Great Prince
2) it actually goes in-depth and explores Bambi's trauma in regards to his mother's death, and how he overcomes his fear of hunting dogs

Oddly enough, this is the moment where Bambi as a character becomes irreplaceable to me; this isn't just a movie about a cute deer going through his life anymore. There is an actual character arc and growth going on here. The narrative is treating Bambi as a true, identifiable character, and considering that this is a Disney sequel, that's really amazing.

Also, as always, I'm just a huge sucker for good daddies in fiction. Hugest sucker.

Bambi II is a movie that superficially seems geared towards children: a lot of it is really goofy and silly and light-hearted. But it's surprisingly balanced with this dark, serious undertone as Bambi deals with his trauma that is extremely appealing to me as an adult and as a writer.

So, in a way, I love Bambi for my sister, but my love for Bambi II is all on me.

Also, I just love the way that all of the characters are fleshed out in Bambi II. So many of them in the first movie basically served as placeholders, but weren't truly characters: the Great Prince, Thumper's sisters, Faline, Flower, Ronno, Friend Owl. I love watching the animation of the original, but it's nice to actually have characters of substance to feel for, too. Bambi and Bambi II between them deliver both for me.





"Actually, I was a lot like you." -The Great Prince

Comments

[raberbagirl.livejournal.com]

It's short. So I should/could comment. But commenting out of order will mess me up ._.

I read it, though! 8'D

[scorpiofire.livejournal.com]

I agree with you. I did like Bambi myself as a kid (there really was no Disney movie I disliked at the time), but I think it was because of the visual aspects to it. I mean, I seriously forgot Flower the skunk's name until I read your review today! I totally get why it's hard to connect with the characters, especially Bambi's sidekicks.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie has to be the fight between Bambi and the stag competing with him for Faline. It's just epic. Who knew nature could look so amazingly epic in a movie?

As for the sequel, I found myself enjoying it more than I thought I would. As I said once, Patrick Stewart voicing the dad is all sorts of epic. And I like how there are the goofy moments along with the sentimental, more mature ones. Probably one of the few Disney sequels I really like.

I've never been as into Bambi, but if nothing else works for me with it now, the animation definitely does. It's just a beautiful movie to look at.