Bambi (1942)

Directed by: David Hand | 70 minutes | drama, animation, family | Original voice cast: Hardie Albright, Stan Alexander, Tim Davis, Donnie Dunagan, Sam Edwards, Ann Gillis, Sterling Holloway, Cammie King, Fred Shields, Bobby Stewart, John Sutherland, Paula Winslowe, Elouise Wohlwend

Disney’s ‘Bambi’, based on a story by Felix Salten, is more than a fun children’s film. The film – from 1942 already – is a classic and the deer Bambi has become a household name, an icon. Children call ‘Bambi’ to young deer and their parents confirm: ‘Yes, a Bambi’. You may find it a worrying development that Disney language is defining our world. That you can’t think of two round black ears without also thinking of ‘Mickey Mouse’. That Disney brightens up fairy tales and classic stories and treats them as consumer goods. And that somewhere we expect that the good will prevail anyway. But you can – and you can do this simultaneously – also appreciate films like ‘Bambi’ for what they are: beautiful animations with striking music and a hopeful story.

‘Bambi’ has been around for several generations. The music still shows that this is an older Disney. In the newer films, pop stars are recruited to sing the songs, in the older films mixed (both male and female) choirs do the work. Not only are the choirs singing high and unintelligible, the (classical) music also closely follows every small event in the film. Every step of Bambi and every raindrop corresponds to a certain note and with every lightning bolt the cymbals are struck. That kind of old-fashioned craftsmanship can also be seen in the drawings. The forest is just a bit more beautiful than in reality, ‘picturesque’. To show what can be done with animation, the different seasons are of course shown, as well as the different inhabitants of the forest.

Among those residents are Bambi’s friends: the rabbit Thumper and the skunk named ‘Flower’ by Bambi. Great love Faline (Feline) should of course not be missing, after all, this is about Bambi’s development from baby deer to adult ‘prince of the forest’. This development is often touching to watch. Bambi speaking his first word, Bambi staggering on his long legs, Bambi shyly hiding from girl deer Faline. The ‘àààh level’ is high, but growing up is also accompanied by the necessary setbacks. The film remains most famous for “that scene with the mother.” How many tears must have been shed for the scene where little Bambi calls out in the snow for his mama who won’t come back?

But whose fault is it that she doesn’t come back? ‘Man’ is repeatedly mentioned in the film as the major culprit. The forest is one great ordered bunch of loveliness that is only disturbed by man. ‘Bambi’ is not all cuteness and sentiment, the film is also fiercely anti-hunting. That moral is understandable. It is strange that in ‘Bambi’ the traditional family pattern is broken. Bambi’s mother is alone when she gives birth to Bambi, the possible father always watches from a distance. And when Bambi is himself ‘prince of the forest’, he also leaves his beloved Faline alone. We should probably just take that as ‘father is at work and mother is taking care of the kids’. It is, after all, a 1942 Disney film.