Bambi II – Disneycember

What’s stranger, making a sequel to Bambi, or that sequel almost working? Doug takes a look at Bambi II.

About Doug Walker

Creator of 5 Second Movies, Nostalgia Critic, Bum Reviews and more.

15 comments

  1. This was beautiful indeed, It’s watching movies like both the original Bambi and it’s sequel, and even Brother Bear and it’s own sequel that make me want to see a new 2D animated film in the forest setting with that level of quality; somebody please make it happen soon!

  2. Oh, and btw, where can I find the music playing here? I want to listen to it myself.

  3. I actually never saw either of the Bambi movies. Yep, the whole Bambi death scene was never part of my childhood. I was already a downer as a kid so I really didn’t need that. LOL.

  4. Bambi’s Mom?? WHAAAAA! WHAAAAAAAA! WHAAAAAAA!

    We all know how well Cap. Picard gets along with children. Then again, he also ran a school for mutant children…

  5. Did you not feel this film borrowed heavily from Land Before Time? Like… to an uncomfortable level? Not so much story, but a lot of the visuals? And that scene with the deer call was almost beat for beat that scene after Little Foot’s mother dies and he thinks he hears her calling to him. I also didn’t much care for Bambi’s new arsenal of Dreamworks-style facial expressions, but I do agree the animation department just went all out for this one.

    • Snorgatch Pandalume

      I suspect that The Land Before Time probably borrowed pretty heavily from the visual style of the original Bambi, so it would make sense that there would be similarities to this film.

  6. Though I would never call any DTV Disney sequel “necessary”, I would say that Bambi II is the “least unnecessary” of the lot. I never really thought much about the dynamic between Bambi and his dad during the period between Bambi’s mom’s death and his adulthood, but it was nice to see the Great Prince of the Forest fleshed out and developed here. Again, I wouldn’t say that it was needed, as I liked the Great Prince’s mysterious stoicism from the first film very much, but the way he was characterized here certainly didn’t do anything to taint my original conception of him. Not in the way that TLM II turned Ariel into a passive and boring mother, or the way TLK II (as much as I secretly enjoy that film…as much as one can enjoy a Disney DTV sequel) turned Simba into a paranoid and overbearing father. I always have trouble articulating how I feel about Bambi. I don’t see the characters as characters so much as I see them as symbolic of different feelings and ideas and stages of life. I see Bambi’s mother as a metaphor for unconditional love and security, and his father as the willingness to face the challenges of adulthood with courage and determination. I guess I view them as incredibly broad archetypes rather than as collections of particular characteristics. But I don’t mean that in a bad way by any means. I think it works well for the film. A lot of people compare The Lion King to Bambi, but TLK is more of an epic hero’s journey film to me, whereas Bambi is a much quieter film about growing up, not so much about the protagonist overcoming an enemy. I think that Bambi’s a lot more abstract than people tend to think it is.

  7. Aside from his opinion on Mulan II (and Lady and Tramp, and Little Mermaid II), I’m noticing a pattern that he likes all the movies with the Roman numeral “II”.

  8. This was the longest gap between sequels! I’m serious! This was like sixty years! I remember the TV Funhouse sketch that made fun of this. Well, they made another one when it really came true actually. I guess it looks fine.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.