Bambi the Reckoning is the latest of all horror movies exploiting Disney characters in one way or another. Or wait, I’m not even sure it’s the latest one, but it is one of the most recent ones. I basically think it’s a cool idea to take characters out of their conventional context and do something unexpected with them. Well, unexpected in the sense that it’s not a sweet tooth fairy tale. If you’re watching this, it probably won’t come as a surprise that Bambi is on a killing rampage.
So, Bambi is on a killing spree. That seems pretty far away from the Disney Story, doesn’t it? I really can’t remember the details, but if we take the major events in Bambi (1942) and Bambi 2 (2006), with the mom’s death as the most significant, it isn’t hard to conclude that he feels hatred toward humans. They, after all, killed his mom. Now, this isn’t explicitly shown in Bambi the Reckoning, but I think that most of us really know that part of the original story anyway.
Now, there is more to it in Bambi The Reckoning. There are more aspects to take into consideration. Of course, the most obvious one is the fact that we humans consider ourselves to be superior to all other species. That, in itself, would become a motive for resistance if there were some kind of thinking process involved. There’s also an element of environmental issues. Again, we humans consider it’s our right to f*ck with Mother Nature.
The structure of Bambi the Reckoning is pretty good, I think. There are some major problems with the storytelling, though. There are people we don’t even get to know or are given the chance to care about before they fall victim to a might deer. Other things are just explained half the way through, and details, which I think are important, are left out.
The CGI is pretty bad most of the time. I like the way they portrayed Bambi, though. He looks really mean, and I sure would want to meet that creature in a rampage. It’s questionable if it really looks like a deer, though. Maybe, but I’m not sure. Of course, I understand that deer don’t have that kind of teeth and such a huge gap. Maybe it’s not even realistic given the size of Bambi that he’d be able to run passed a car och tear people in half, but that might be beside the point.
Acting-wise, I’m not impressed. There are some of the cast that do a pretty good job, but there are also others that really don’t convince me. There may also be a problem with the directing here, of course. If the actor doesn’t realize what the scene takes of the director’s vision, it’s not easy to deliver a good job. I also felt that most of the killing was pretty boring. There’s no excitement to be entertaining, and not enough goes to me, humorous.
What I do like, though, is the subtle nods to the original movie. There is a relationship there. And it’s not really limited to Bambi killing people either. We also have Thumper! So overall, I was a bit disappointed. There were some saving graces, but not enough of them for me.
