Bambi 2 - Der Herr der Wälder

Once upon a time...Walt Disney made timeless, beautifully animated classics for children, stressing the universal quality of the tale, and avoiding current references, cheap laughs (such as having animals fart) and in-jokes directed at adults. Well, folks, this wonderful films is a throwback to those days--its a grand, if often poignant, adventure in the woods, as Bambi learns to be courageous with the help of Thumper and Flower (back again, the former with four sweet, giggling sisters) and with his father.

This is, indeed, more a film for the present (since Mommy was taken away in the original) a Sonny-Daddy bonding movie, but the animation is gloriously anachronistic, carefully hearkening back to the classic Disney look, immersing the viewers, be they children or adults, in the luxurious changing seasons, all the while telling a solid story.

Some folks complain it isn't long enough, which I think is just another indication that we have become overstuffed and incredibly greedy--the original Bambi was a minute shorter than this, Dumbo just above an hour, and even Snow White only ten minutes longer. Do we need to SuperSize everything? Bravo Disney! If you had called this Prince Bambi instead of Bambi II, it would have cleaned up at the box office! Sensitive adults are advised to bring hankies.