BAMBI

Originally released in 1942, BAMBI, the beloved animated children’s movie, now streams on Disney+. This classic features beautiful animation, with hand-drawn landscapes and forest animals that reflect the beauty of God’s creation. The music enchants, with instruments perfectly matching the animation on screen.

The movie begins as the forest animals meet Bambi for the first time. Thumper shows Bambi around the forest and introduces him to all the plants and animals of Spring. Along the way, they meet Flower, a skunk, and Faline, another fawn. Bambi and his mother explore the meadow and encounter Bambi’s father.

When winter arrives, Thumper and Bambi play in the snow and help Bambi ice-skate. While in the meadow, Bambi and his mother face an ambush from a hunter. Bambi escapes, but hunters shoot and kill his mother. Bambi’s father comes and rescues him.

When spring returns, Bambi, Thumper, and Flower discover what it means to be in love or “twitterpated.” They stubbornly vow never to fall in love, but one by one, they fall for a girl of their species. Then, Bambi fights a buck who tries to take Faline away. Finally, the hunters return and invade the forest. Bambi fights off the hunters’ dogs to save Faline, then is shot by one of the hunters. His father then rescues Bambi from a wildfire that the hunters start. Bambi and Faline marry and have twins.

BAMBI presents a Biblically centered worldview, showcasing values such as friendship, teamwork, respect for elders, selflessness, and sacrifice. Bambi and Thumper’s friendship grows throughout the film as Thumper teaches Bambi the rules of the forest. The two always find ways to work together even as they grow up and have families.

Additionally, Bambi receives encouragement to try again whenever he fails, demonstrating perseverance throughout the movie. However, this film contains a slight romantic view of nature. The animals fear man, and the narrative implies that the forest would thrive without them. This theme becomes especially evident toward the end of the film, when hunters kill animals and ignite a fire that destroys the forest.

Lastly, as the characters mature, they fall in love, featuring some minor cartoon romance, including characters kissing, the girl skunk flirting with Flower, and the girl rabbit flirting with Thumper and playing with his ears. MOVIEGUIDE® advises discernment for young children.