When i first heard that Disney making a sequel to "Bambi", i react as many other fans of the awesome original: "NOOO! This can't be true! Tar and feather this morons for this sacrilege!" ;-) I think, this reaction is normal after all the countless bad, cheap and dump Disney DTV-sequels of the last years. So the hope that this one will be done right was nil for me too. But in this one case they are really find a acceptable way, and surprisingly especially with a sequel to one of the most beloved classic movies of the 20th century!
To come up after 64 years with a sequel and trying to find a connection to the original isn't easy. This seems to be the main problem: Let's start with the background paintings: They are too clean, too softened, too muddy, too artificial for me. I missed the brush strokes, the little differences in color tones that let the originals vibrating with life and energy. The new ones look likes CGI-copies (and in fact, this is what they are) of the gorgeous original Bambi-backgrounds from 1942. The not so important parts of the background pictures was only simply smoothed and blurred with a computer-software to simulate (in vain) the ethereal feeling of the originals. They looking not bad at all, but Tyrus Wong and his fellows did a incredible job in 1942, that never can be copied with CGI. The characters are good animated and close to the originals, but the actions and gestures are often too exaggerated for me. It is more cartoon like than the more realistic original (i.e. the porcupine-scene, looks more like a Tex Avery cartoon :-) Maybe today's kids are common with non-stop-action and can't follow a movie that was not forced toward with nonstop action and a common storyline and works more with a lot of subtle and "slow" elements? Another flaw is the dialogue: Too much!! The original movie only contains approx. 900 words, and the story was told with pictures, music and colors rather than words. In the new film they talk, and talk, and talk... and some dialogues and gestures are just stupid: "A prince does not whoo, whoo!" and depicting the Great Prince as a conceited show off. The songs: They are quite good with wonderful lyrics but unfortunately they're failed to build up a connection to the original. They missed the ethereal feeling of the original songs, sung by a choir. The fitting of the new "midquel" in the original movie: I think, all of us remember the most famous scene in "Bambi", and Bambi's last look back for his poor mother when he follow his father, and both are slowly vanished in the upcoming snowstorm. It is the last take of one of the most iconic scenes in film history! It is the pivot-point of the whole story. It symbolized the end of Bambis childhood and innocence too. So it was a wise decision for Walt Disney, to cut here and let start the next chapter with adult Bambi (and Felix Salten, author of the book "Bambi" did it so in his book too). Every awkward scene between this two shots will only disturbing the integrity of the story. Modern Disney (Patrick Steward in the "Bambi II"-Trailer on the 2005 Bambi-DVD) said, "Bambi 2" based on old original ideas for "Bambi" from Walt Disney itself (this is believable) and that something was planned and later "left out" after this scene and the following spring-scene when Bambi has grown up. But no other source, like books, documentations etc., that i found mentioned that something was planned in this "gap", so this claim seems to be only a try to legitimate this sequel in the name of Walt Disney himself.
But, after all the harsh critic, take a look on other side: There a some scenes in it during i thought: This IS Bambi! Here they really got a glimpse of the spirit of the original movie! For example: The sequence of Bambi's Dream or when Bambi and his father visit the secret place... the light, the mood, very close to the spirit of the original and really a great work! "Man" was never shown again, and that's the only right way to depict this deadly menace of the forest, and when Mena shout "Run, Bambi, run, don't look back!" it is a homage to the most remembered scene of the original and it will surely send cold shivers down your spine! Bruce Broughton's orchestral score was one of the highlights of the movie too: The score was not so sophisticated and perfectly connected to the animations like they did it in 1942, but i can imagine, that Churchill & Plumb would really like it too. The growing of relationship between Bambi and his dad was overall well made too. The Great Prince in "Bambi" remembered me to Clint Eastwood: Deeds, not words! He is not the typical Disney-father, so some people don't see the subtle nuances in the connection between Bambi and his father in the 1942 original and thought "He did not much for his son". But he was always on Bambi's side, when the odds turned to harsh against him. And so he have serious problems to cope with the young fawn in the new film, but slowly both changed there minds about each other, and the Great Prince developed his fatherly side.
All in all: "Bambi" was surely Disney's pinnacle and cannot be reached again! It is a work of awesome poetry and art. The sistine chapel of feature films, and i am happy, that the makers of "Bambi II" did not tried to create a awkward copy of the gorgeous original... they followed their own way and created a far smaller and simpler, but acceptable successor of Walt Disney's own favorite movie.
To come up after 64 years with a sequel and trying to find a connection to the original isn't easy. This seems to be the main problem: Let's start with the background paintings: They are too clean, too softened, too muddy, too artificial for me. I missed the brush strokes, the little differences in color tones that let the originals vibrating with life and energy. The new ones look likes CGI-copies (and in fact, this is what they are) of the gorgeous original Bambi-backgrounds from 1942. The not so important parts of the background pictures was only simply smoothed and blurred with a computer-software to simulate (in vain) the ethereal feeling of the originals. They looking not bad at all, but Tyrus Wong and his fellows did a incredible job in 1942, that never can be copied with CGI. The characters are good animated and close to the originals, but the actions and gestures are often too exaggerated for me. It is more cartoon like than the more realistic original (i.e. the porcupine-scene, looks more like a Tex Avery cartoon :-) Maybe today's kids are common with non-stop-action and can't follow a movie that was not forced toward with nonstop action and a common storyline and works more with a lot of subtle and "slow" elements? Another flaw is the dialogue: Too much!! The original movie only contains approx. 900 words, and the story was told with pictures, music and colors rather than words. In the new film they talk, and talk, and talk... and some dialogues and gestures are just stupid: "A prince does not whoo, whoo!" and depicting the Great Prince as a conceited show off. The songs: They are quite good with wonderful lyrics but unfortunately they're failed to build up a connection to the original. They missed the ethereal feeling of the original songs, sung by a choir. The fitting of the new "midquel" in the original movie: I think, all of us remember the most famous scene in "Bambi", and Bambi's last look back for his poor mother when he follow his father, and both are slowly vanished in the upcoming snowstorm. It is the last take of one of the most iconic scenes in film history! It is the pivot-point of the whole story. It symbolized the end of Bambis childhood and innocence too. So it was a wise decision for Walt Disney, to cut here and let start the next chapter with adult Bambi (and Felix Salten, author of the book "Bambi" did it so in his book too). Every awkward scene between this two shots will only disturbing the integrity of the story. Modern Disney (Patrick Steward in the "Bambi II"-Trailer on the 2005 Bambi-DVD) said, "Bambi 2" based on old original ideas for "Bambi" from Walt Disney itself (this is believable) and that something was planned and later "left out" after this scene and the following spring-scene when Bambi has grown up. But no other source, like books, documentations etc., that i found mentioned that something was planned in this "gap", so this claim seems to be only a try to legitimate this sequel in the name of Walt Disney himself.
But, after all the harsh critic, take a look on other side: There a some scenes in it during i thought: This IS Bambi! Here they really got a glimpse of the spirit of the original movie! For example: The sequence of Bambi's Dream or when Bambi and his father visit the secret place... the light, the mood, very close to the spirit of the original and really a great work! "Man" was never shown again, and that's the only right way to depict this deadly menace of the forest, and when Mena shout "Run, Bambi, run, don't look back!" it is a homage to the most remembered scene of the original and it will surely send cold shivers down your spine! Bruce Broughton's orchestral score was one of the highlights of the movie too: The score was not so sophisticated and perfectly connected to the animations like they did it in 1942, but i can imagine, that Churchill & Plumb would really like it too. The growing of relationship between Bambi and his dad was overall well made too. The Great Prince in "Bambi" remembered me to Clint Eastwood: Deeds, not words! He is not the typical Disney-father, so some people don't see the subtle nuances in the connection between Bambi and his father in the 1942 original and thought "He did not much for his son". But he was always on Bambi's side, when the odds turned to harsh against him. And so he have serious problems to cope with the young fawn in the new film, but slowly both changed there minds about each other, and the Great Prince developed his fatherly side.
All in all: "Bambi" was surely Disney's pinnacle and cannot be reached again! It is a work of awesome poetry and art. The sistine chapel of feature films, and i am happy, that the makers of "Bambi II" did not tried to create a awkward copy of the gorgeous original... they followed their own way and created a far smaller and simpler, but acceptable successor of Walt Disney's own favorite movie.
