BAMBI(1942)
Hard to believe, but I just watched this for the first
time(5/29/2014)!!!!! I can see why everyone raves about
this movie! It truly is wonderful! The death of one of the
leads is handled very tastefully! A must watch for all fans
of Disney/animation/or just plain good movies!! A
A review from Amazon:
It always comes up when people are comparing their most
traumatic movie experiences: "the death of Bambi's mother,"
a recollection that can bring a shudder to even the most jaded
filmgoer. That primal separation (which is no less stunning for
happening off-screen) is the centerpiece of Bambi, Walt Disney's
1942 animated classic, but it is by no means the only bold stroke
in the film. In its swift but somehow leisurely 69 minutes, Bambi
covers a year in the life of a young deer. But in a bigger way, it
measures the life cycle itself, from birth to adulthood, from
childhood's freedom to grown-up responsibility. All of this is
rendered in cheeky, fleet-footed style--the movie doesn't
lecture, or make you feel you're being fed something that's
good for you. The animation is miraculous, a lush forest in which
nature is a constantly unfolding miracle (even in a spectacular
fire, or those dark moments when "man was in the forest").
There are probably easier animals to draw than a young deer,
and the Disney animators set themselves a challenge with Bambi's
wobbly glide across an ice-covered lake, his spindly legs akimbo;
but the sequence is effortless and charming. If Bambi himself
is just a bit dull--such is the fate of an Everydeer--his rabbit
sidekick Thumper and a skunk named Flower more than make
up for it. Many of the early Disney features have their share of
lyrical moments and universal truths, but Bambi is so simple,
so pure, it's almost transparent. You might borrow a phrase
from Thumper and say it's downright twitterpated. --Robert Horton