New movie reviews, DVD reviews, interviews, and all things film.

Follow Me

• The American ***
• Going the Distance ***
• Machete ***1/2
• The Last Exorcism ***
• Takers *
• Piranha 3D ***
• Lottery Ticket **1/2
• Vampires Suck 1/2*
• Soul Kitchen ***
• The Expendables **
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ***
• The Other Guys ***
• More

• Cinévardaphoto
• City Island
• The Evil Dead
• La Mission
• Loose Screws
• Monamour
• Red Riding Trilogy
• The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season
• The Square
• More

• Tribute: Harvey Pekar
• Interview: Lisa Cholodenko
• Interview: Annette Bening
• Interview: George A. Romero
• 2009: The Year's Ten Best Films
• The Decade's Ten Best Films: 2000-2009
• The 25 Best DVDs of 2009
• My 2003 Interview with Brittany Murphy
• San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2009
• Richard Linklater
• John Woo
• Jared and Jerusha Hess
• Essential Halloween Movies
• Michael Stuhlbarg
• Jane Campion
• Bobcat Goldthwait
• Hugh Dancy
• Kathryn Bigelow
• Willem Dafoe: The 2009 CineVegas Interview
• David Carradine
• A 2002 Interview with Edward Asner
• Vinessa Shaw
• Henry Selick
• 2008: The Year's Ten Best Films
• The San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2008
• The 25 Best DVDs of 2008
• Bruce Campbell
• Darren Aronofsky and Marisa Tomei
• Josh Brolin
• A Tribute to Paul Newman
• Steve Coogan on Hamlet 2
• Manny Farber (1917-2008)
• Bernie Mac (1957-2008)
• Emily Mortimer
• Brad Anderson
• Don Cheadle at CineVegas
• Abel Ferrara at CineVegas
• Tina Sinatra
• My Top 100 Films [Updated]
• My Top 60 Directors [Updated]
• The Top 50 Movies of the Past Ten Years (1997-2006)
• Terry Zwigoff on the new Bad Santa Director's Cut
• Alfonso Cuarón Interview
• Guillermo Del Toro Interview
• Christmas Movies
• Combustible Celluloid's Big Guide to Halloween & Horror Movies
• Cult Movies
• Actress Interview Gallery
• The Top 100
• More Features and Interviews

• Not Quite a Memoir: Of Films, Books, the World, by Judy Stone
• James Agee: The Library of America Collection, by James Agee
• Just Making Movies, by Ronald L. Davis
• Guide to Essential Movies, by Joe Leydon
• Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, by Robert S. Birchard
• Profoundly Disturbing, by Joe Bob Briggs
• A Third Face, by Samuel Fuller
• Dark Lover, by Emily Leider
• Agee on Film, by James Agee
• Lulu in Hollywood, by Louise Brooks
• Negative Space, by Manny Farber
• 5001 Nights at the Movies, by Pauline Kael
• More Books

• Home
• Reviews A-C
• Reviews D-F
• Reviews G-J
• Reviews K-M
• Reviews N-Q
• Reviews R-T
• Reviews U-Z

The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

SEARCH MOVIES / CELEB

Bambi (1942)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Deer Sweet Thing

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Bambi on DVD.

I saw Bambi in the theater in the summer of 1988, during one of its most recent theatrical re-releases and all I remembered was the sad bit about his mother getting shot by a ruthless hunter. I was understandably reluctant about popping the new DVD in for another look, but I'm glad I did. I had forgotten how utterly, astonishingly beautiful the film is, with its overwhelmingly cozy, insulated view of a pristine forest during all four seasons, and its lovable animal characters. 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 focus 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.

DVD Details: The new two-disc set is easily Disney's 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.

Starring: (voices) Hardie Albright, Stan Alexander, Peter Behn, Tim Davis
Written by: Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, based on a book by Felix Salten
Directed by: David Hand
MPAA Rating: G
Running Time: 70 minutes
Date: March 1, 2005