I have always had a fondness for Disney films. I always have and I always will.
When I watch older Disney films I am immediately taken back to my childhood. I can recall the first time I saw the film. Many Disney films I saw for the first time at a local movie theater that used to play a different Disney film each week for the entire summer. My mom used to take me every week to see the movies. It became a tradition. My mom and I did that for several years until sadly, the movie theater shut down.
Over the years I have tried to add every Disney film I possibly can to our home movie collection. Currently we have A LOT of movies on VHS tapes. We don’t even own a VCR anymore. Sigh…
Its taking a long time but slowly we’re building up our Disney DVD and Blu-ray collection.
The newest addition to our collection is Bambi – the Diamond Edition which will be availableon Blu-ray and DVD where ever movies are sold on March 1, 2011.
I didn’t realize it until I was watching the movie with my family that my children have never seen the movie before. We do have the VHS tape, but some how the movie was overlooked and they never saw it. When we watched Bambi on Blu-ray the other night it was the first time they saw it.
My son made a comment about how there are hardly any words in the movie. I never really gave it much thought until he pointed that out. Bambi has a lot of instrumental music. There is dialogue but not as much as other films.
I find it hard to believe that anyone has not seen Bambi, but just in case you haven’t here is a synopsis of the film.
Bambi is the story of a young deer, name Bambi (of course). He is the son of the Prince of the Forest, making Bambi a Prince himself.
All of the forst creatures were very excited about Bambi’s birth. Most especially a curious little rabbit name Thumper.
Thumper and Bambi quickly become friends. They love to play together and enjoy the forest. One of the best scenes in the movie is when Bambi experiences snow for the first time and Thumper tries to teach him how to ice skate on the pond.
One day Bambi’s mom introduces him to the meadow. The meadow is a wonderful place to be but it’s also a very dangerous place. Men come to the meadow and when they do they cause a lot of death and destruction. Sadly Bambi’s mother is killed by a man as she tried to save Bambi’s life.
After Bambi’s mother is killed Bambi goes off into the forest with his father, the Prince of the Forest. Bambi doesn’t return to the thicket where he lived with his mom and where his friends live until he is older. Upon his return he meets up with his old friends like Thumper and Flower the skunk. He also reunites with his friend Faline, a female deer he met as a child. Faline and Bambi soon fall in love with one another.
Just when things seem to be going great for Bambi a tragic event happens causing mass destruction to the forest.
I won’t go into more detail because I’d like for you to see the movie if you haven’t already. All I can say is that the “tragic event” actually scared me when I was a young girl. I remember closing my eyes when I saw that part of the movie for the first time. It was pretty scary. Especially for a cartoon.
Over all Bambi is a sweet movie about the wonderful creatures the live in the forest. Most of the movie features only music and no dialogue. One of the most classic parts in the movie is when the song April Showers is played.
Bambi – The Diamond Edition features a DVD and Blu-ray combo pack. As with any Blu-ray you know there will be a lot of bonus features.
One of the bonus features found on the Blu-ray disc is the interactive gallery. My daughter especially liked this feature. It shows how a lot of the characters were drawn out in the original storyboard. My daughter used the images to try and draw her own characters. They turned out pretty good if you ask me. They didn’t look identical to the characters but she was able to learn how to draw a deer and a cute rabbit.
There is a game on the Blu-ray disc called Disney Big Book of Knowledge Game. It’s a really cute game but certainly geared towards younger children. The Book of Knowledge teaches people about the creatures of the forest, then asks you to play some games to earn stickers for your virtual sticker book. The games were really easy and geared more towards very young children. Although I have to admit that I had a hard time with the snowflake catching game. I don’t think my hands are quick enough. Ha Ha.
Also included as part of the bonus features are two deleted scenes and a deleted song.
There was a part of the film that never made it into the final version about two leaves who try desperately to hold on to their tree and not get blown away by the Autumn winds. I actually found that to be really sad. I’m glad it never made it into the movie. The movie is sad enough without adding to it (referring to Bambi’s mother getting killed by the hunters).
I found the bonus feature about the story board meetings to be interesting too. I am intrigued by how people can brain storm to create the perfect film.
Bambi is available where ever movies are sold on March 1, 2011.
If you would like to save $10.00 off the purchase of Bambi – the Diamond Edition click on the image below to print out a $10.00 off coupon.
If you would like to download some fun printables (crafts and activities) click on the button below. I will also try and post instructional videos on how to draw both Bambi and Thumper. Please keep an eye out for that post too.
Kimberly
*I received a free media sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
