Bambi Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Bambi Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 1, 2017

Disney has re-released 'Bambi' to Blu-ray, joining the 'Signature Collection' which includes Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Beauty and the Beast. This new release contains the same video and audio presentations but adds several new supplements and removes a couple from the previous version. Packaging, menu presentation, and other little touches are new this time around as well.

For a full film review, please see the page for the original release here.

Bambi Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For a full video review, please see the page for the original release here.

Bambi Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For a full audio review, please see the page for the original release here.

Bambi Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disney's new "Signature Collection" Blu-ray release of Bambi contains several new extras, most on disc and one on digital, while carrying over most of the extras from the previous release. The new menu presentation here is superior, and the supplements are better organized and easier to explore. The carryover supplements are reviewed here but listed below for convenience, with notes as necessary. A DVD copy of the film and a Disney digital copy is also included with purchase. Finally, a collectible Tryus Wong Art card is included.

Included are several ways to watch the film, all, of course, in 1080p: the Original Theatrical Edition (1:09:50), the Disney View presentation (1:09:50) which features the art of Lisa Keene on the sidebars, and the Inside Walt's Story Meetings: Extended Edition (1:35:55) which was reviewed in the previous release.

Supplements New To This Release:

• Studio Stories: Bambi (1080p, 4:56): Archival sound clips and footage are interspersed with scenes from the film to showcase how different sequences were animated and how the filmmakers sought to make more realistic animal characters as compared to those featured in previous films. It also shows some footage from the "Old Mill" short film that was made to test camera angles for Bambi.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 7:25 total runtime): Included are Bambi's Ice and Snow and The Grasshopper. Both scenes are presented in early stages of development with introductions by Animator Floyd Norman. Note that Bambi's Ice and Snow was previously released as Bambi's First Snow on the previous Blu-ray. Its presentation has been alerted slightly here, including a boost in resolution.
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: "Africa Before Dark" (1080p, 5:50): A vintage black and white short animated film featuring Oswald.
• The Bambi Effect (1080p, 3:00): A brief informational piece covering how the realistic character animations and more whimsical background art impacted future films. The supplement also briefly touches on trailblazing female animators and effects animation; Disney created an entire department to focus on effects for Bambi.
• Bambi Fawn Facts (1080p, 3:34): A spunky narrator shares various trivia facts about the real animals on which Bambi's characters are based, including deer, skunks, and rabbits.

Classic Bonus Features: Please refer to the review of the previous release for more information, with an exception as noted. Also note that three supplements -- Interactive Galleries, Disney Second Screen, and Disney's Big Book of Knowledge -- do not appear on this release.

• Deleted Scenes: "Two Leaves" (1080p, 3:07), "Bambi Stuck on a Reed" (1080p, 1:56) and "Winter Grass" (480i, 0:36).
• Deleted Song (1080p, 1:52): "Twitterpated."
• The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born (480i, 53:15).
• Tricks of the Trade (Excerpt) (480i, 7:18): This supplement is the same as before, just with the addition of the word "excerpt" to the title.
• Inside the Disney Archives (480i, 8:39).
• The Old Mill (480i, 8:58).
• The Golden Age (1080p, 6:24): Though this supplement is listed under "Classic," it's actually new to Blu-ray. It offers a look back at the history of Disney films, Bambi's place in the collection, and how the animation styles evolved from previous films to Bambi.
• Original Theatrical Trailer (480i, 2:12).

New Digital-Only Supplement:

• Celebrating Tyrus Wong (8:56): A look at the life and artwork or Tyrus Wong and how his impressionistic style influenced Bambi. The piece showcases images of Tyrus working, his art, and video and still images of his kites and the exhibit dedicated to his art at the Disney Family Museum. This is one of the finest supplements across the various releases of Bambi; it's a shame it wasn't included physically on the disc.

Bambi Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bambi rightly remains a pillar in the Disney canon considering both its artistic and storytelling merits. It's a classic that's destined to live on for generations to come. This "Signature Collection" re-release is very much like the others. It adds some supplements and drops a few others. The additions are fine, though beyond the superior menu screen and much more efficient (and very much welcome) supplemental layout, there's no reason for previous owners who aren't completionists to upgrade. For first-time Blu-ray buyers, it's obviously a must-own.