"Love is a song that never ends."
Hello everyone!
It's got a DISTRESSING part within it that we can probably all agree made us sob.
But either way, this Sunday was when I curled up in bed and pulled up Disney Plus, just because.
In every other way, this movie is a reminder of how good the old, classic Disney animation used to be, without all this "progressive" nonsense stuffed in.
10/10, actually, when they make a CGI adaptation of this - and apparently they're working on it - there's going to be at least one of the three amigos who doesn't actually pair up with his mate because 'we're born for more than procreation' or some ridiculous thing like that.
I'm paraphrasing but, you get the idea.
Without further ado, let's look at Bambi.
Bambi basically became a milestone for pretty much anyone and everyone growing up until very recently, I feel like, and the name a lot of young generations give to the fawns they see out in the wild. It's not a fawn, it's a Bambi!
Our story begins deep in the forest with the birth of a prince, and then follows Bambi as he slowly learns how to walk and talk and explores his home with an inquisitive hare called Thumper, and a skunk he names Flower, and because it looks like Flower really likes the idea, he never changes the name either.
I'm not entirely sure if that was Disney's subtle messaging there or if I'm reading too much into a cartoon because my brain's been programmed to do so recently.
Anyway, from thunderstorms to eating leafy greens, and finally to exploring the beautiful forest meadow where he meets another fawn, Faline, Bambi slowly becomes more and more aware of the world around him.
The meadow is also where he sees the older bucks, other deer, and of course, the Great Prince.
This dude is a stag, rather than a buck, and as Bambi's mother explains he's been alive for longer than most anyone on the meadow, and is wise enough to keep outsmarting just about any instance that might want him dead.
He's also the one who notices the warning crows flying, and races back to the meadow to spur everyone into action when Man comes a-hunting. In the confusion, Bambi loses his mother, and the Great Prince sacrifices his own safety to get the little fawn back to her.
When winter comes, things change once more, and in a much more dramatic fashion. Winter itself, while problematic and hunger-inducing, doesn't do much, but when the snow thaws, hunters come back, forcing Bambi and his mother to flee.
Every child knows this story: he makes it, she doesn't.
Disney pulled a smart move in the sequence of these events where the animators show Bambi and his mother right behind him through different scenes, up until the point the gunshot rings out and she doesn't appear in the shot anymore. It's simple, to the point, and skips the more brutal part of actually showing her drop, while allowing children to understand (somewhat) what had happened.
Devastated when he can't find her, Bambi has another run-in with the Great Prince, who gently explains that his mother isn't coming back, and then takes the little fawn with him, revealing to him that he's actually his father (the mid-quel, Bambi II, actually deals with the time they spend together, and I'll be watching that in the near future).
I mean, viewers all know he's the dad already from the opening shot when he's shown looking down at the doe and her fawn, but this is Bambi's first official confirmation of it, so, ya know.
Time passes and spring finally arrives, and Bambi is now a young buck, antlers and everything. He meets up with Thumper and Flower again, and one by one they fall off into the path of love, basically walking right into it.
Bambi meets Faline again, although he has to fight off another buck to ensure both her affection and her safety, but afterwards they meander about together ...
... until Man returns to the forest AGAIN.
The Great Prince explains that there's more of them this time, and while intent on leading Bambi to safety - he IS his son, after all - Bambi veers off to warn Faline, who's rushed away from their sleeping spot to find him. He eventually tracks her down where she's cornered by vicious hunting dogs, freeing her, but he himself gets shot and injured while clearing a large chasm via leap.
This is where his father finds him yet again, urging him to get back on his feet, and the old one knows why: fire's spreading, sparked by an unattended cooking accident Man had, and they need to hustle.
The two make a run through the burning forest down to a waterfall, and eventually rejoin the rest of the animals who've fled to an island in the river/lake. This is where Bambi reunites with Faline, and the scene changes to another spring, with the forest finally regrowing.
And the circle begins again when everyone comes to see Faline after she's safely delivered not one, but two fawns, while above the thicket Bambi and the Great Prince look on; the older stag eventually turns and slowly walks away, indicating that he's passing on the mantle to Bambi, who stands tall as the next Prince of the Forest.
FIN!
Short, poignant and emotional in a way newer Disney movies just can't reach, Bambi inspired an entire generation and remains one of the favourites probably especially because it doesn't play any political games and doesn't try to be anything it's not: it's simply a coming-of-age story told within the heart of the animal kingdom, and told beautifully.
I'm in tears and shambles five minutes in right after opening credits so, ya know.
10/10 recommend!
xx
*images and video not mine
No comments:
Post a Comment