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| BAMBI (1942) | |
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In a historical perspective Bambi is a powerful film, as it was released in the middle of World War II when the Germans and Japanese still were going strong on their invasion of the World.
Many lives were lost on both sides during the war, as families were shattered and children would never again hear their fathers read a bedtime story.
Death spread its darkness throughout Europe and Asia while in America death only came through a messenger.
People feared the sound of unexpected door knocks, which could be the messenger of sorrow and grief.
It was a time when mankind once again lost its innocence, as war, famine, disease, and other horrors haunted mankind. In this time Disney released its animated
coming of age tale of a deer named Bambi. Bambi seems to function as an allegorical example of the war that the world faced through the depiction of the wildlife, as the animalistic characters faced troubles and happiness. However, the film keeps an innocent perspective on the difficulties that Bambi confronts. The story opens with scenes of a mysterious forest where things seem to continue without any consideration of what is going on in the world. Consequently, the audience is brought to Bambi who recently was born, as he struggles to gain control of his legs while many animals are present to witness his first wobbly steps. Bambi is clean and so it the spot where he was born, nothing is there to remind the audience of the difficulty of birth. This is an example of the story’s illustrated innocence. Curious Bambi begins to observe and learn about the world through his buddy Thumper, a caring rabbit, which brings him on small adventure in the neighboring area. Nourishing friendship helps Bambi to say his first word, burd, which was supposed to be bird. Adorably the tale tells about Bambi’s development, as his talk and walk steadily is improving. Eventually, Bambi’s mother educates him about the dangers in the world, as she brings him to the meadow. This becomes Bambi’s first lesson in being careful since danger might be lurking around the next corner. The innocence even exists when Bambi loses his mother, as it only displays an escape followed by a gunshot sound. Innately the audience will know what happened, as the sound will cue the viewers’ consciousness in the direction of death. However, death is never truly dealt with by more than a couple of shed tears by Bambi, as big buck comes along and tells him it is time to go. The fragile moment of Bambi’s loss could have been elaborated, however, Disney decided to tell a happy tale full of hope. This was probably something that was necessary in the time of war, as death was plentiful in the reels shown before the feature films in the theater in the 1940s. Instead of telling a story of the troubles that Bambi faces the film illustrates a tale of optimism and perseverance, as life will go on. The continued existence of Bambi shows that he is coming of age, as he later appears as a young buck with good morals and strong values. These values are depicted when another young buck threatens his first love. In the shadow of the war children and adults could seek the sheltering darkness of the film where they could escape horrors for a few minutes by watching Bambi. The people could later leave the theater encouraged and motivated that good things will happen. This was essential in troubled times such as during 1942 when war was burning in Europe and Asia. Disney brought this cinematic experience to the audience with a delicate touch without alarming, or spreading more fear into the audience, but rather empowering them, and leaving them with a positive experience that could mean a world of difference. Today the film still has this empowerment over the audience, as Bambi learns how to stand on his own four legs. |
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DIRECTED BY |
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| David Hand | |
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USA |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 3/1/2005 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
