Bambi
Signature Collection 2017 / Anniversary Edition
Blu-ray
Director: David Hand
Writers: Vernon Stallings, Melvin Shaw, Carl Fallberg, Chuck Couch, Ralph Wright
Cast: Hardy Albright, Peter Behn, Tim Davis, Donnie Dugan, Ann Gillis
Distributor: Disney Studios
Rated G | 70 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 6th, 2017

75 years ago, a young white tailed deer named Bambi frolicked into the hearts of America. Disney’s Bambi celebrates his diamond anniversary with a brand new anniversary edition Blu-ray from the Walt Disney Signature Collection that arrived in stores last week. The film introduced viewers to Bambi, his friends Thumper the rabbit and Flower the skunk, and shows the trials and tribulations of these woodland animals as they navigate childhood, love, and loss. The film features one of the most heart wrenching scenes in film history as Bambi’s mother is shot dead by a hunter. This scene was so impactful that the American Film Institute listed “man” as their #20 greatest villain in their 100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains list. Bambi overcomes, and soon the animals grow up, fall in love, and live happily ever after.

Check out the special features below.

The animation looks stunning in 1080p high definition, but one expects nothing less from a Disney production. Collectors, especially of Disney home video productions, will love the extensive list of special features including here. Amongst there are:

Studio Stories: Bambi: Using archival recordings of Walt Disney interviews from 1956, this nearly 10-minute featurette has the master himself discuss the making of Bambi from pre-production photography of animals in the wild, to post-production conversations with his sad daughter Diane who grilled him on “why Bambi’s mom had to die?” This goes into the Disney method, photographing everything to create the most realistic effects and drawing animals more realistic than those in prior films since here, they were the main characters.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: Africa Before Dark: One of the short-films starring Disney creation Oswald, this mis-adventure takes the titular rabbit from the 20s – 30s through Africa, and showcases his bumbling interactions with other animals like his friend the elephant, as well as a jungle cub and lions. Oswald was like if you took Bugs Bunny’s suaveness and Daffy Duck’s bad luck, and combined that into one character. You also get the culture shock of early silent-era Disney characters pulling out guns (!) on each other and playing with them for gags.

The Bambi Effect: Short but lively account of how a little movie about the little deer laid the groundwork for Disney animation to come. They discuss how Walt Disney’s entire approach changed, from the realism of the animals, to the “dreamy impressionistic” style of Tyrus Wong’s backgrounds. They also include Disney’s creation of an Effects Department and the use of Retta Scott, the first female animator for the company who specialized in the wild dogs during the film’s climax. Fun Fact: Tyrus Wong just passed away last year… at 106(!!!) years old.

Bambi Fawn Facts: A cute little lesson about the lives of the animals in Bambi including deers, skunks and rabbits. This is particularly educational and entertaining to young kids.

The newly released set also includes classic bonus features from the 2011 Blu-Ray edition which include a Making Of documentary, Walt’s Story Meetings, a deleted song, deleted scenes, and another featurette on Disney’s Golden Age. All things together, this is the definitive version of Disney’s Golden Age classic that has ever been produced. Fans of Bambi, and film historians in general will want to add this to their collection. Bambi: The Anniversary Edition is available on Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack now wherever videos are sold.

Video

Bambi (1942) – Trailer

Bambi, Walt Disney’s beloved coming-of-age story, will thrill audiences with its breathtaking animation and characters who will touch your heart: Bambi, the wide-eyed fawn, his playful pal Thumper, the loveable skunk Flower and wise Friend Owl.

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