There is a funny scene in an episode of Family Guy where Stewie Griffin says that he wants to ban all direct-to-DVD Disney sequels. Hey, I was with him, some of those straight-to-DVD movies Disney made in the 2000s were rough, but Bambi II is not one of them. This is actually way better than it has any right to be and it is a fun watch for kids and the whole family.
How to Download Bambi II
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like Disney animated films, check out also our reviews of Winnie the Pooh and The Princess and the Frog.
The Movie Review
The plot of the movie takes place after Bambi’s mother was killed…. Sorry for the spoiler there, but that movie is the better part of a century old at this point. With no one to raise him, Bambi’s father, The Great Prince takes him and is going to look after him until the Spring. Bambi is thrilled about this and is desperate to gain his father’s love and approval.
Bambi is such a likable character and we do get to see his buddies in Thumper and Flower which is a lot of fun. I like the whole comradery that this group of friends has, but Bambi II does also introduce some pretty interesting new characters that add a great deal to the movie.
Bambi has a kind of love interest in the movie called Faline who is a young doe. Bambi also has a rival called Ronno who is another deer and he is just a jerk and the real antagonist of the movie as he and Bambi quite often butt heads. He is really your typical jerk bully and seeing Bambi have to deal with him is pretty well done.
The other antagonist in the movie comes in the form of “man” Bambi knows firsthand just how dangerous man can be and the movie has a few intense run-ins for Bambi and his friends with humans. I was quite impressed with how much “excitement” Bambi II had, I thought for sure it was just going to be all cutesy and for super young kids, but it has way more substance and depth than you would think.
I thought that the whole Bambi trying to gain his father’s respect was done very well and seeing him get his father’s respect and love was a major highlight of the movie and a real feel-good moment. I will say that the story is pretty predictable, but to be fair it is a straight-to-DVD Disney movie so what you can really expect?
One thing I have to say that impressed me was the overall look of the movie. This was released in 2006 and it is one of the better-looking direct-to-DVD movies that Disney did at the time. Some movies look really rough compared to their theatrical counterparts, but that is not the case here at all. Granted it is clearly a downgrade from a Disney theatrical movie, but it still looks decent.
Would I class Bambi II as one of the all-time great Disney Classics? I would have to say no, but I will say it is one of the better straight-to-DVD movies that they did at the time and it holds up pretty well today. You can catch this on Disney Plus these days and it is well worth watching if you are looking for something fun to watch with the kids.
