Bambi (1942)

The film follows the story of a newborn "prince," Bambi (a deer) and his best friends Thumper (a rabbit) and Flower (a skunk) as he grows up, learns how to walk and talk, learns how to face danger and fear, and emerges as an adult. The 70-minute film can get a bit maudlin and cheerless as it goes, and one senses that the goal of the film isn't the accomplished, adult Bambi, but rather the silly, funny childlike Bambi. Nevertheless, Bambi does a great job of keeping things riveting throughout, especially during the amazing climactic forest fire sequence.

Disney's 2005 two-disc DVD set is easily their finest effort since Beauty and the Beast, boasting a gorgeously restored picture and sound.

The many extras include "Inside Walt's Story Meetings," a reenactment of one of Disney's behind-the-scenes meetings, using stenographer's notes voiced by actors, storyboards for two deleted scenes, games and activities, "The Making of Bambi," "Restoring Bambi," and various other featurettes including "Disney Time Capsule: 1942 - The Year of Bambi," "The Art of Bambi," "Tricks of the Trade" (from a 1957 episode of the "Disneyland" TV show), "Inside the Disney Archives" and the original theatrical trailer. We also get a preview for the upcoming "Bambi" sequel ("Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest"), and, happily, the ground-breaking short cartoon "The Old Mill" (1937), which by itself is almost worth the asking price.

Disney issued their Blu-Ray release in 2011, including a couple of new extras. The Old Mill is still here, but has not been upgraded to high-def. The feature film, though, looks astonishing.