Bambi II (2006) Reviews

• A midquel which tells the story of how Bambi meets and gets to know his father

  UnicornMaiden2006-02-12

  I grew up watching the old Disney movies, and Bambi has always been one of my favorites. When I first saw that they were making a new Bambi movie, I was really torn. I hoped that it would be a good follow-up, but was afraid that it would ruin the whole Bambi experience. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie, though not as good as the original is far surpassing many Disney sequels. The animation quality is good. Not only is it much better than most of Disney's recent sequels, it is is actually up to, and at some points even surpassing, the animation in the original. The songs were beautiful, and to my immense relief, they are all sung in the background in the style of the original. There is only one point at which any of the animals sing. It was extremely cheesy, but mercifully short. The only real failing of this movie is that it lacks the fresh, genuine feeling of the original. While Bambi I felt unique and novel, Bambi II often feels cliché and it seems like they are recycling some material from The Lion King. The addition of Ronno as an antagonist adds nothing to the story but goofiness and low-quality humor. The Great Prince's character seems to be the caricature "single dad" struggling to understand his kid. And while Bambi's character has always been humanized (as are all animals in Disney movies) he seems far more "human" and much less "animal" than he did in the original. Overall, I liked this movie, and was able to get a few nostalgic moments. Although it does not quite live up to the original, it is nevertheless a sweet and enjoyable movie.

• Blown Away

  RideIn2006-02-13

  I did not expect to like this movie. I am currently studying animation in college, and perhaps more than other people I've been expecting less and less from Disney since they started putting out sequels to their classics. I've been terrified ever since I heard that a "midquel" to Bambi was in the works, since I was positive it would be another campy, over-the-top rehash of the original. Imagine my surprise, then, at the quality of Bambi 2. Perhaps it's because there's a legitimate gap in the original story for this to fill (Between the death of Bambi's Mother and his return as an adult), or maybe because of the creative details that were added (Several ideas and sequences were taken straight from the book, which was a nice surprise), but I found myself genuinely enjoying this movie. Disney really seems to have put some thought into the kind of legacy they're picking up here. The themes and art style of the original are carefully preserved, the characters are expressive and lively. There is no sarcastic or self-aware humour; the writing is thoughtful and the storyboarding is beautiful. My one qualm are the two songs used in the film. They seem too...modern. I missed the choir. Luckily, those are two brief moments in an entire film. If it had been left up to me this film would never have been made, but I can't imagine it being done with more care and respect for Walt's vision. The characters are treated with respect, the story has real meat to it, and the result is a great movie.

• Very sweet

  Smells_Like_Cheese2008-08-04

  I'm sure everyone can remember the first time they saw Bambi, I'm also sure that most of you have cried while watching Bambi, it's one of Disney's most touching films. So I got to see Bambi 2, while normally we have a million Disney sequels that are major disappointments, but Bambi 2 surprised me, it was very well done and was nicely put together. I really enjoyed the animation, the voices, the story, they were really lovely. The one flaw that comes into sequels is how different the voices are from the previous film, despite that you can still notice a difference, Bambi 2 fits the voices very well for the characters. I also enjoyed this new chapter into Bambi's life as he is learning how to become a prince, but still holding onto his childhood and his favorite friends. Bambi is having a hard time, his father has to take care of him but his father also has no respect for him since Bambi isn't as brave as he is. Bambi will do anything to just get his father's respect, with the help of some old friends like Thumper and Flower, he'll try his best to over come his fear and be a brave prince. But he's got a new enemy, a mean fawn, Ronno, who constantly teases him about his flaws. Bambi is also having to learn how to grieve the death of his mother and make sure that he doesn't meet the same fate as she did. Bambi 2 is a definite recommendation, it's a different Disney sequel than I've ever seen because it seems like this one could have been in the theaters. It's very well done and just a total pleasure to watch, wither it's by yourself or with the family. I loved the return of Thumper, it's always a pleasure to see him on screen, I loved when he was trying to show Bambi's father that Bambi could be brave, but Bambi needed more time, so Thumper does his best to distract Bambi's dad, it was so cute and funny. This was a good movie to watch, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. 7/10

• Bambi 2 - One of the fewest good sequels from Disney

  Alfred_wong2006-01-27

  I had to admitted that the sequels of most the original Disney Picture movie were often disappointing. However, after I had seen Bambi 2, I found that it was an enchanting, funny and warm movie, it is definitely one of the fewest best sequels came from the original one. The story happened to be in between the scene that Bambi's mother was gone and the prince, his father, took him; and the scene he grew up. It is talking about how Bambi lives with his father. At the beginning, his father took care of Bambi temporarily until he find the suitable one to take care of him. As a prince, his father appeared to be quite tough to him at the beginning. However, when they lives longer and longer, the father and son relationship grew. Bambi started to enjoy living with his father. Though they were living so happy, his father found the suitable one and Bambi was sent away. Through an accident, finally, the great prince changed his mind and determined to raise Bambi by his own. The film is well organized. The characters are well-designed and redrew and the story unfold naturally. The background music was so pleasant to be listened to and match the scene very well. Some scenes were quite memorable, Bambi plays with his father and his father slowly unfold his mind. I can see that he really care about Bambi. it is so warm. Although the original one was more than 60 years ago, the sequel gave me the feeling of the movies of 19th. The original movie gave me a little bit sorrow and made me sad; But this one gave me warmth and hope. All above are just my personal opinions, other may not agree perfectly, but, for me, it is worth watching and it is one of the fewest best sequels from the original one. I scored it 9.

• Bambi 2, a GREAT Disney sequel.. FINALLY! :)

  aekid172006-02-20

  I'm an 18 year old guy, and I watched Bambi for the first time when I was 3 years old and I still remember how sad I felt when his mom died. I was thinking Bambi 2 was going to be another dumb Disney sequel.. but it was actually VERY nice to see how Disney kept to the "feeling" of the original movie.. very innocent. I loved that about the original. I bought the 2nd movie the day after it came out for my two brothers who are 7 and 10.. and they loved it! So.. I have to say, GOOD JOB Disney! :) We're proud to have Bambi 2 on our shelf with the rest of our Disney classics. sincerely, "A guy raised on Disney" lol!