(c) Disney

The film manages to effectively balance its bigger themes of patriarchal love and mortality with a good dose of humor, mostly supplied by wise-hare Thumper and bashful Flower, who, along with Faline and Ronno, benefits from further character development. It is not all happy bunnies though (although there are sure plenty of those); a climactic pursuit through the meadow, with Bambi dodging the vicious dogs through a cascading sea of grass, is particularly frightening.

With animation courtesy of the talented Australian unit (under the supervision of “Animation Consultant�? Andreas Deja), the film captures the mood and spirit of the original Bambi through its effective use of bold color and dramatic light and shadow, most impressively in a dream sequence wherein Bambi is reunited with his mother. While certainly not on par with the breathtaking, precedent-setting artistry of the first film, the lush, often dense backgrounds evocatively place the viewer into the thick of Felix Salten’s world. The character animation, always a strong suit from the artists down under, is infused with the hallmarks of the best Disney animation: personality.

Most direct to video fare offer disposable music, but here is the exception. While the background score echoes such classic motifs as “The Forest Theme�? and “Love Is a Song�? from the original score, the opening number (sung by Alison Krauss), “There is Life�?, perfectly sets up the story to follow, in a “Circle of Life�? kind of way. There is even a playful reprise of “Let’s Sing a Gay Little Spring Song�?.

Bonus Features on the disc are typical of direct to video features, with games (Thumper’s Hurry & Scurry, playable by one or two players, where you help Thumper’s sisters find their big brother - in the two-player version, you can even hide Thumper yourself), activities (Andreas Deja teaches you how to draw Thumper in Disney Sketch Pad; DVD-ROM capabilities allow you to print your own pages to draw or color using your PC) and a brief “making of�? featurette titled The Legacy Continues (which touches on how the filmmakers humbly yet reverently followed in the “hoof prints�? of the original). Also available is the optional Bambi’s Trivia Tracks, providing onscreen movie trivia and nature facts, such as the significance of the color gold in the picture, the survival tactics of deer, and the dietary habits of porcupines. Most interesting here is how the sequel paralleled certain scenes in the original, most notably in the final fight between Bambi and Ronno.