Review of Bambi II (2006) by David K — 17 Jul 2009

Bambi II is a worthy successor to the original Bambi film and on it's own is fine enough to be a genuinely great, memorable film-something you rarely see now.

Despite the impressions the title would give, this is actually a MIDQUEL to the original Bambi, which takes place immediately after the infamous death scene of Bambi's mother in the original movie, but it covers the events of Bambi's before before we saw him as a grown up deer in the second half of the original Bambi. So essentially this film bridges the gap between the first and second half of the original film, and it solves my only problem with the original Bambi in that they immediately jumped ahead in time after the tragic death scene.

So the basic premise of Bambi II is that it shows Bambi's father, the Great Prince of the forest, taking him under his wing once the fawn is orphaned, and the story focuses on Bambi learning to grow up and live a life without his mother, and at the same time earn the respect of his father, who appears to be more concerned with being a prince than being a father.

While on paper the plot sounds unremarkable, but the key to remember here when judging whether to see a movie or not is to never mistake the message for the messenger. In movie, the plot is a tad cliche, but the film compensates with good writing, likable characters (even if the characters are more humanized here than they are in the original film) a decent sense of humor, and some genuinely heartwarming scenes. They even threw in a couple of surprisingly good and appropriate songs (not sung by the characters themselves, like the original, with the exception of one minor song which barely lasts 15 seconds in the film) This film is perfect for children, and it's also ideal for fans of the original film who are craving to see a little more story squeeze from the original.

But the film still maintains some of the originals serious nature (no pun intended) in a few key scenes, even if in general the film feels more tame than the original's darker tone and mood.

Animation wise the drawings are very well done, with some breathtaking backgrounds and lovable animal designs with the touch of realism the original movie gave to them. In the entire movie I could only spot one minor animation error on Bambi's head near the end-Disney was clearly not slacking off when they were making this midquel. And that means even more when compared to Disney's *ahem* not so great other direct to video sequels.

The musical score is also well done, complete with a few musical reprises from the original movie, and those original vocal songs which are in as well. The voice acting is superb, with the stars of the show being Alexander Gould (who voiced the titular fish of Finding Nemo) as Bambi and Patrick Stewart (of Star Trek "Captain Jean-Luc Picard" fame") as the Great Prince. The voices are completely appropriate, and the acting is pretty good.

So overall, despite the impressions other people have given, this film is a fine "new classic" that shouldn't be overlooked and I recommend any fan of the original Bambi give a look-you won't regret it.