When Felix Salten's novel “Bambi. A life story from the forest” was published in 1923, nobody had any idea that the material would once become a film classic. The Disney-Sign-Rick master plant “Bambi”, published in 1942, has already moved countless people deeply. And not just children. If the mother of the title -giving veal dies, which is a fawn in the template, hardly an eye remains dry.
As early as the 1930s, there were considerations to bring the Austrian author's novel to the cinema as a real film. But with the means at that time, the project seemed too difficult to implement. In the end, a cartoon was decided. The Frenchman Michel Fessler now shows that Bambi's story can also be told with real animals. According to his own statements, he has in “Bambi – a life story from the forest“Only very digitally tricked. The result with its many enchanting forest impressions can be seen in addition to the Disney classic. It is still another question whether it can cause the same level of emotions.
After birth, the deer calf Bambi explores its forest world with curious googly eyes, always protected by his mother. A crow, a rabbit and a raccoon gradually become his friends. Bambi also likes to play Faline with his fellow species. When his mother kills through the hand of a hunter, the boy has to go through life largely alone. After all, it can count on his friends – and the stately Mr. Papa will soon be wearing his being to Bambi's…
Filming only with real animals
Most recently, Disney has known to re-film his own cartoon classic as this year, such as “Snow White” and “Lilo & Stitch” as more or less CGI-based real works. In “Bambi-a life story from the forest”, the Micky Mouse Group did not have its hands in the game. The film is a French production. The main film was shot in Animal Contact Park, a natural area near Orléans, which is specially designed with wild animals. Because there is no naturally occurring Skunke there, Disneys became a raccoon, friends with Bambi with Bambi.
Because of the skillful camera work by Daniel Meyer, we explore the forest environment with Bambi's eyes. In magical nature shots we get to know a wide variety of forest dwellers – even those that can be dangerous to the deer calf, such as cross -singles, eagles and wolves. As with other, similarly stored films, astonishment here, as from many individual recordings thanks to animal training (mainly responsible: Muriel Bec) and well -considered cutting work (Laurence Buchmann), grows a somewhat stringent story that is roughly based on the change of the seasons. Only the image composition was sometimes helped.
Bambi still has his mother around. But a large part of the audience will of course already know that this will soon change in a tragic way.
The story is an allegory of growing up, which should also be understandable for children. As a “fairytale aunt”, the German version Senta Berger, who tries to hit the right tone. In contrast to the Disney film, the animals don't speak. At most, Senta Berger occasionally put words in your mouth or in your snout or beak. Of course, it can be argued whether the human -made narrative style of the forest fauna is also appropriate in view of the real recordings. Director Michel Fessler has already proven to be squeamish as a co-author of “The Journey of the Penguins” (2005).
On the other hand, “Bambi” does not want to be a pure natural documentary, but more a film that wants to sensitize its young target group to forest and animal welfare by addressing emotions. That could quite succeed. The protagonist is sufficiently cute as a young animal, and it is also his sidekicks. Because of the larger range of visual presentation options, the cute factor in the cartoon version is higher than in the real version. But she also invites you to reinforce. Especially after the “murder” of Bambi's mother, who is a little gentle on the child. No, people don't cut off well in this film.
Conclusion: The occasionally somewhat exaggerated narrative tone, which is often reinforced by whispering background music, should not like everyone. Nevertheless, the film is recommended with its vivid and reasonably educational coming-of-age history of a deer veal. Especially for a young audience.