What was Walt Disney's most beloved film that he has made? Some of you might think that it's either "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" or "Fantasia", but according to many reports, "Bambi" remains as Disney's favourite. Although I loved this film growing up, is it a film that has aged like a fine liquor or proves to be outdated from modern hits? Well, let's start with the story, or the lack thereof. The story essentially chronicles the life of the titular character as it follows him from childhood to adulthood, repeating the cycle of life that nature has become accustomed to. The coming-of-age formula is extremely uncommon in animated films, especially those targeted towards children. However, this film makes the formula so engaging not only by the loveable characters, but by some great visual storytelling such as the reduced amount of dialogue and the use of seasons to show time passing and the aging of Bambi. I made an entire university project about it, but the point is that the film mostly borrows the structure of a German expressionist production, with the story and characters being in the background and simplified, while the backgrounds and animation are in the forefront and artistically complex. Tonally, it crosses from child-like innocence in the first half to the dangerous reality in the second half. The second half is intense and brings in tons of mixed emotions, but it still allows some lighthearted fun during the time where Bambi and his friends search for love.
Although the characters are beloved, it must be admitted that they aren't full of depth whatsoever and have somewhat shallow personalities. However, this is done in order for the characters to symbolize an archetype or role someone would recognize in their own life. Bambi for instance is the everyman and one that doesn't have a concrete personality as he is meant to be the embodiment of the viewer on the journey of life. Thumper is supposed to be the energetic best friend we all knew of during our childhood that wanted to spend the most time with you. Flower, who barely appears in the film, is more like the secondary friend who tends to be shy and bashful in public. Bambi's mother might have the most character in the film, but we all know that she fits the role for the caring mother figure. Feline, who although has dated poorly as just the love interest who loves Bambi just because, is meant to be the first crush/eventual soul mate in the film as Bambi's reactions are very much how boys and young men would relate to. As for the weak personality, that can be attributed to her being a doe and the lack of on-screen chemistry being justified for the animal in nature. Friend Owl is sort of meant to be the kind, wise elder who would get some fun out of teasing or scaring you, kind of like a grandparent. The Great Prince of the Forest or Bambi's estranged father is not only fitting for a deer's life cycle with the father not taking care of the fawn and being in charge of the herd, but more representative to one's overall bloodline and destiny as it is Bambi's eventual position in life to take over this position. Lastly, there is the unseen, antagonistic Man. The off-screen enemy is more or less a depiction of death and misery and can be viewed as illness, a natural disaster or even a hostile man in some cases. Man is regarded as one of the most greatest villains for a reason as his role is more of an act of nature rather than a character, but yet the audience knows that this hunter is an illegal game hunter due to disobeying the rules of the hunt and killing a doe. Overall, the characters are brilliant in a way that's not defined by engaging personality, but rather relating to the viewer's own life and how a film about animals is really a mirrored version of a very human story and circumstance.
The animation is simply beautiful and might be one of the real key factors to why this might be Disney's favourite film. The forest environment have plenty of layers with plants or trees in the foreground to waterfalls or fog in the background. The backgrounds alone without the characters added in would make for fantastic paintings by themselves. The character animation and designs however are outstanding. The animators took a lot of research into the anatomy of the animals and their behaviour, which is why they all move so realistically and barely act like cartoons. Sure, there are very brief moments of comedic expressions or actions, but the animation mostly makes it its mission to make the animals move as realistic as possible. The colours are also very pretty as there's a lot of warm, soft visuals to the film, but the stag fight and forest fire changes up the animation by incorporating a lots of reds, blacks, and oranges to have a distinct look that replicates the intensity of the scene. The music is also beautiful in its own right as it hits the beats of the tone with the soft, themes of childhood innocence and the admiration of the forest to the intense, almost horrific beats of Man's attacks on nature. The songs though are another story of their own. Personally, I'm not a fan of them as it does take me out of the film a bit with the vocals not being from the characters themselves. However, I can't say that these songs are bad or even unnecessary as they do serve some purpose whether it's to make the audience admire the animation and the beauty of the forest, or to signify a change of season. The artistry of the animation and music though is simply brilliant to say the least.
"Bambi" is clearly my favourite Disney film, even more so as I grow up. Although it's not the easiest film to get into due to the uneven tone by design and it being very much an animated film that's anti-typical of the modern animated formula, you can't deny that everything in the film was carefully constructed to carry more depth that it leads on to. From the coming-of-age story that hits viewers close to home, a tone that cleverly shifts from innocent fun to deathly serious by story and thematic reasoning, surface-level characters that are designed to represent a role in a person's life, breathtaking animation that makes the forest and the animal inhabitants come to life with pleasant colours to boot, and soothing music and songs that puts you at ease or at the edge of your seat during the film's runtime. There are plenty of contenders of my favourite Disney film and they are serious competition, but when it comes to a practically flawless vision and goal, "Bambi" deserves the right to not only be Disney's own favourite film, but my favourite as well.
Verdict: 10/10. A timeless masterpiece that will remain the best Disney has to offer as time goes on. Please give it a watch whenever you can!
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