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Bambi

(1942 c 70')

En: 7 Ed: 8

In this animated feature adapted from the novel by Felix Salten a fawn is born and grows up with other animals, as seasons change and hunters invade the forest.

In the forest various animals wake up and follow birds to the birth of a prince, a deer his mother names Bambi. The young rabbit Thumper says he is wobbly. Thumper and other rabbits get Bambi to run and talk. Bambi follows a butterfly and meets a skunk he takes for a flower. Rain is accompanied by the song "Little April Shower." Bambi's mother takes him to the meadow and warns him of danger. Thumper tells Bambi to eat flowers instead of greens, but Thumper's mother reprimands him. Bambi meets another fawn, Faline, and is bashful. Bambi follows deer running to a big buck, who is the oldest. Deer run away, and a shot is heard. Bambi learns it is man.

Autumn leaves fall. Bambi discovers snow. Thumper and Bambi play on the ice and find the skunk sleeping. Bambi and his mother find spring grass and run from shooting; but Bambi finds himself alone. The buck takes care of his son Bambi. Birds sing a spring song. Bambi has antlers and speaks to the owl, who says two birds are "Twitterpated." Bambi, Thumper, and the skunk say it won't happen to them; but the skunk is attracted to a female. Thumper is mesmerized by a pretty bunny. Then Bambi finds that Faline has grown up, and she licks him. Bambi butts heads with a rival and knocks him into a lake. Bambi and Faline go off together.

Bambi's father says that many men have come, and the animals retreat deeper into the forest. Bambi and Faline look for each other as a bird is shot. Bambi fights off the dogs as Faline escapes, followed by Bambi, who is wounded by a shot. Fire spreads in the forest as animals flee. Bambi's father urges him to get up, and they run in the stream through the burning forest to a lake and Faline. In the charred forest Thumper leads others to the birth of two fawns as the father and grandfather proudly look on from a precipice.

The premiere of this film was planned for Maine, but political concerns about hunters canceled that. This popular children's story is a powerful indictment of the "sport" of hunting deer and other innocent creatures.

Copyright © 2004 by Sanderson Beck

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