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{sb_id=C:type=std ,subtype=left1,icon=cole.jpg,name=Bambi Cole}
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Over the past few days, NBA center Robin Lopez of Milwaukee Bucks has been creating quite a stir in the Disney Fan Community. First, he posted his rankings of every Disney Park around the world, to which actor and comedian Ben Schwartz was amazed to learn that Tokyo DisneySea was a place. Then, yesterday he made the bold claim that Bambi is better than The Lion King.
Now this got our staff debating and wondering “Could Robin be right?” At that point, I challenged anyone on staff to debate with me in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle to keep things magical. Unfortunately, no one showed up, so I decided to take a cue from Geri and challenge myself to a battle of the wills to find out which one truly comes out on top.
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Now most people would agree that The Lion King is one of greatest animated movies of all-time, but what is important to remember is that The Lion King and frankly Disney Animation might not be here today without the success of Bambi. The film established new techniques for animation, particularly when it came to animals, that were vital to Disney’s continued success over the years. They spent months just observing deer, both in the wild and the studio, to painstakingly get their movement exactly right. Watching the film today, it is unbelievable how lifelike the deer feel, especially considering that computers didn’t even exist at the time, so all of the research and animation took a lot more effort than The Lion King.
That effort in mind, one of the most effective parts of the film actually required little effort. By that, I’m of course referring to Man, the villain who is ranked as AFI’s 20th best villain of all-time. Man is never seen on screen, but his effect completely alters the film, as Bambi’s mother does still stands as one of the most gut-wrenching film deaths of all-time. It is nearly impossible to not shed a tear as the film goes through a complete about face as we quickly see Bambi transform into a young adult, ready to tackle anything that comes his way. [/speech_bubble_id]
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Ok, Cole, that was well said, but I’ve got to say that pretty much everything that Bambi does well, The Lion King does better.
Yes, Bambi‘s animation is impressive, but its realism separates the audience from the characters at points. Personally, I feel a lot more connected with Simba than I do with Bambi, and I think a lot of that lies with the fact that Simba just feels less real. If I wanted realism, I would go to an watch a documentary of deer, but I’m here looking for an entertaining time with talking animals.
On the topic on entertainment, The Lion King may be the greatest soundtrack for an animated film ever. “Circle of Life,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” “Hakuna Matata.” Even though there are only five songs, every single one of them is a jam, providing a little something for everyone.
Now Man may stick out for not being on screen, but Jeremy Irons absolutely kills it as Scar. He has the perfect voice, oozing evil with everything that he does, while also putting on that good face when he has to. Plus, he has one of the most devious Disney Villain songs out there with “Be Prepared.” And yes, Bambi’s mother’s death is tragic, but you are forgetting how there isn’t a dry eye in the house when Scar kills Mufasa. Just thinking about it, I’m getting choked up, and I’m not ready to see it again in the live-action version of the film. [/speech_bubble_id]
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I’m glad that you brought up the live-action reimagining because The Lion King is actually a bit behind on the times when it comes to that. If you remember back in 2015, Saturday Night Live announced that there was going to be a live-action version of Bambi starring The Rock, so The Lion King is just following Bambi‘s footsteps yet again.
I will grant you the fact The Lion King has a pretty incredible soundtrack, but Bambi is no slouch either, garnering Oscar nominations for Best Original Song and Best Original Score, plus a Best Sound nomination. Clearly, it had fantastic audio in addition to the visuals, which is pretty much exactly what you are looking for when crafting a film if I’m not mistaken. [/speech_bubble_id]
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Hmmm, well at least The Lion King reimagining is actually going to be hitting theaters, something that the new Bambi never managed to do.
And that are some cute nominations, but what really matters is wins. The Lion King won Best Original Score and Best Original Song, so it wasn’t just good to listen to, it was the best thing to listen to movie-wise that year. It also had three of its songs nominated for Best Original Song, one of only four movies to ever do that. I’m not saying that means it has one of the four best movie soundtrack of all-time, but at the same time, I totally am.
The movie killed it at the Oscars and it killed it with the critics. The Lion King has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 8.41/10, which ekes out Bambi, with its 90% and 8.22/10. Plus, The Lion King‘s audience score of 93% completely dwarfs Bambi‘s stellar, but ultimately inferior 73%. [/speech_bubble_id]
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Sure, the Rotten Tomatoes score was a little lower, but that doesn’t mean that 20% less people around the world don’t like Bambi. The film has almost half as many ratings, so if people would just go out and give it a chance, I’m sure we’d see that number spike up.
As for the critics and those within the industry, Bambi certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, on the American Film Institute’s Top 10 animated films list, Bambi was number 3, behind only Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio. I’ll give you three guesses for who was number 4. On the industry side, Disney certainly know the worth of Bambi because for the Signature Collection release of films from the Disney Vault, Bambi was the fourth film released, coming out an entire summer before The Lion King. Clearly, the Walt Disney Company knew what film deserved to come out first.
To close out my argument, I think it’s important to remember the film’s timeless environmental message. Today, more than ever, Bambi stands the test of time because if we don’t change our habits, the environment is only going to continue to grow worse. Introducing a film with this vital of a theme to young audiences is necessary in today’s world and has the power to create true and lasting change. [/speech_bubble_id]
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Yeah, The Lion King is one behind Bambi in a couple of things. That’s not a big deal when you when you are the fourth highest-grossing animated movie of all-time, both domestically and worldwide. When you adjust for inflation, only Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and 101 Dalmatians stand above it, and both of those had three rereleases, whereas The Lion King was only widely rereleased in theaters once. Simply put, audiences absolutely love The Lion King.
Bambi‘s message is paramount in today’s day and age, but The Lion King also teaches children about the effect’s of loss and how to deal with it in a more effective manner than Bambi. You get to witness Simba’s journey from young cub to a true king, inspiring this generation that love and hope can conquer evil through friendship and hard work, two things that are taken advantage of more often than not in our world today. [/speech_bubble_id]
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