91
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumThe adroit mixture of pantheism and sentimentality continues to be sufficiently timeless to allow Disney's heirs to recycle this picture endlessly.
- 100LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenLarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenIt’s beautiful, powerful stuff. The Disney animators evoke a naturalism of such depth and detail that you feel shrouded by the forest. Then, just when it seems as if you’re watching a nature documentary, bursts of artistry arrive in the form of choreographed raindrops or a wildly impressionistic forest fire.
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThis honest, non-sugar-coated approach to the hard truths of life, however, is what gives Bambi its lasting emotional power, and makes it stand apart, not only from Disney's cartoons, but from virtually all others as well.
- 100The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasMore than any self-declared masterpiece in the Disney catalog, Bambi has earned the right to be called timeless, because its concerns are transcendent and universal.
- 90IGNIGNDespite its age, Bambi continues to dazzle and amaze.
- 90Time OutTime OutFrom Disney's richest period, interleaving splendid animation with vulgar Americana.
- 90Bambi is gem-like in its reflection of the color and movement of sylvan plant and animal life. The transcription of nature in its moments of turbulence and peace heightens the brilliance of the canvas. The story [by Felix Salten] is full of tenderness and the characters tickle the heart.
- In his search for perfection Mr. Disney has come perilously close to tossing away his whole world of cartoon fantasy. Meanwhile, of course, Bambi is going to please a great many people, for all our churlish exceptions.
- 70Edward Plumb's background music is expertly keyed into the production, but none of Bambi's four songs is notable. Some innovations are. For the first time, Disney has done his backgrounds in oils instead of watercolors. The result is striking. The russet reds, browns, bright yellows, make autumn look like autumn. Each season has a special color impact.
- 60Film ThreatFilm ThreatBambi is not a great film. The film has a few memorably winning sequences which have become part of Disney pantheon. But in between these sequences are fairly dullish stretches of Disney kitsch, with too-cuddly animals in extreme states of too-cute behavior; there’s also a song score which is among Disney’s least interesting.