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In a historical perspective Bambi is a powerful film, as it was released in the middle of World War II when the Germans and Japanese still were going strong on their invasion of the World. Many lives were lost on both sides during the war, as families were shattered and children would never again hear their fathers read a bedtime story. Death spread its darkness throughout Europe and Asia while in America death only came through a messenger. People feared the sound of unexpected door knocks, which could be the messenger of sorrow and grief. It was a time when mankind once again lost its innocence, as war, famine, disease, and other horrors haunted mankind. In this time Disney released its animated tale of a deer named Bambi’s coming of age.***

Bambi seems to function as an allegorical example of the war that the world faced through the depiction of the wildlife, as the animalistic characters faced troubles and happiness. However, the film keeps an innocent perspective on the difficulties that Bambi confronts. The story opens with scenes of a mysterious forest where things seem to continue without any consideration of what is going on in the world. Consequently, the audience is brought to Bambi who recently was born, as he struggles to gain control of his legs while many animals are present to witness his first wobbly steps. Bambi is clean and so it the spot where he was born, nothing is there to remind the audience of the difficulty of birth. This is an example of the story’s illustrated innocence.***

Curious Bambi begins to observe and learn about the world through his buddy Thumper, a caring rabbit, which brings him on small adventure in the neighboring area. Nourishing friendship helps Bambi to say his first word, burd, which was supposed to be bird. Adorably the tale tells about Bambi’s development, as his talk and walk steadily is improving. Eventually, Bambi’s mother educates him about the dangers in the world, as she brings him to the meadow. This becomes Bambi’s first lesson in being careful since danger might be lurking around the next corner.***

The innocence even exists when Bambi loses his mother, as it only displays an escape followed by a gunshot sound. Innately the audience will know what happened, as the sound will cue the viewers’ consciousness in the direction of death. However, death is never truly dealt with by more than a couple of shed tears by Bambi, as big buck comes along and tells him it is time to go. The fragile moment of Bambi’s loss could have been elaborated, however, Disney decided to tell a happy tale full of hope. This was probably something that was necessary in the time of war, as death was plentiful in the reels shown before the feature films in the theater in the 1940s.***

Instead of telling a story of the troubles that Bambi faces the film illustrates a tale of optimism and perseverance, as life will go on. The continued existence of Bambi shows that he is coming of age, as he later appears as a young buck with good morals and strong values. These values are depicted when another young buck threatens his first love.***

In the shadow of the war children and adults could seek the sheltering darkness of the film where they could escape horrors for a few minutes by watching Bambi. The people could later leave the theater encouraged and motivated that good things will happen. This was essential in troubled times such as during 1942 when war was burning in Europe and Asia. Disney brought this cinematic experience to the audience with a delicate touch without alarming, or spreading more fear into the audience, but rather empowering them, and leaving them with a positive experience that could mean a world of difference. Today the film still has this empowerment over the audience, as Bambi learns how to stand on his own four legs.*** ---

The image on the DVD has been restored into immaculate quality, which is presented in its original aspect ratio 1.33:1. The extras contain a short feature in regards to the restoration of the film, which illustrates the long and hard work that was put in to create an unrivaled image. The restoration leaves no technical flaws on the film while it maintains its old traditional look, which is provided through tedious hand painting on glass. The background might seem hazy, which was a part of Disney’s decision. The haziness of the background was generated to keep the mystery of the forest alive in the story. Nonetheless, the colors are rich and vivid, as the animations move smoothly across the screen. ***

In the sound department Disney offers the original mono sound track through which they created the Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix. The Enhanced Home Theater Mix is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, which comes in three languages. However, the sound restoration falls light-years behind the restoration of the image. The mono sound is stronger and gives the voices in the film a better sound, but there are some sound distortions present on this version. The enhanced 5.1 sound track handles music very well while the voices seems to be slightly over shadowed by the music. Even so, Bambi offers very good sound considering the film was made in 1942. *** ---

If there was a mold for how to make extras for a DVD Bambi is very close to that mold. There is a wide range of extras that will keep young and old interested for at least as long as the feature, if not much longer. This DVD comes in a two-disc edition, which has the feature film and a couple of extras on the first disc with an overwhelming number of extras on the second disc. ***

On the first disc the audience can find fun stuff such as Sneak Peaks, Register Your DVD, THX Optimizer, Disc 2 Preview, and the documentary Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings. The Sneak Peaks gives a couple of trailers of upcoming releases such as Cinderella, Chicken Little, and Porco Rosso among others. If the audience is interested in registering their DVD Disney gives the instructions on how to do that on the disc. Those who have THX certified receivers might enjoy the THX Optimizer, which offers software to fine-tune the home theater equipment. Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings offers an intriguing documentary on how Bambi was created, and how some of the scenes were created. This is set to old drawings and other material found in the Disney archives, which is introduced by Patrick Stewart. ***

Disc number two offers all the goodies and treats that will make most extras on other DVDs fade in comparison. The content is organized in Deleted Scenes, Games & Activities, and Back Stage Disney. In the Deleted Scenes the audience can find two deleted scenes, Winter Grass and Bambi’s First Snow. Both scenes are taken from the archives that depict images from the storyboarding stage and have been set to sound. ***

Games & Activities offers a wide range of fun through Forest Adventure, DisneyPedia, What’s Your Season, Disney Storytime, Thumper Goes Exploring, and Virtual Forrest. These are games and other interactive journeys that offer some educational value to mostly children. Yet, if an adult feels like trying, they might even like one or two of them. ***

In Backstage Disney there is a two-paged section where the audience can find first-class stuff, which begins with a feature on the making of Bambi called A Prince is Born. This feature is about 53 minutes and brings the viewer on the journey of the making of Bambi through film historians, current employees of Disney, and some members from the crew that made the film. A short clip follows this on the restoration of Bambi, which was mentioned before. ***

The Legacy Begins is the third feature on the second disc, which illustrates the steps of making the sequel to Bambi that is due in 2006. This brings the viewer to see how they have to study the anatomy of a deer to create the appearance of Bambi. ***

Disney Time Capsule and The Art of Bambi sums up the first page of Backstage Disney. The time capsule brings the audience on a journey to 1942, which enlightens the viewers about the political atmosphere. It is a rather interesting film, as it offers some insights into how the film could have been perceived by the people living in 1942. The artwork of the film illustrates how the script was made through images that can be played with and without docent sound. ***

On the second page of Backstage Disney the audience finds even more goodies such as Trick of the Trade, Inside the Disney Archives, a short animated film named Old Mill, and finally the original theatrical trailer. These extras offer something to give the audience a better understanding of how Bambi was made and a reflection on the time when the film was made. Overall, the extras are exhaustive in regards to Bambi, which is brilliantly put together as it offers something for everyone. *** ---