Buy It Now!

Read my review of BAMBI

One of Walt Disney’s masterpieces has arrived on Blu-ray in a gorgeous MPEG-4 AVC 1080p transfer. The restoration has removed all damage that may have plagued the nearly 70 year old film. The picture literally looks like you are watching the planes moving past you in the multiplane camera. The various planes have never had such delineation in a home entertainment release. These restorations elicit a lot of debate on whether they look too good, because when the cels were filmed originally, the artists knew how they would look when put to film and compensated for that and made cheats knowing it. This particular presentation finds a nice balance between its film origins and high-def digital presentations of the source artwork. The only complaint I have is that black level seemed off at times. Otherwise, the picture is nearly flawless. The beautiful forest paintings pop with vibrant greens and browns. There isn’t a hint of any digital distortion or compression anywhere.

The audio is presented in both DTS-HD HR 7.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. As with any film of the era, the transfer is only as good as the source. The distribution of the original sound effects and score across the soundscape in admirable. The rear speakers provide a nice dose of ambience in the forest. During the epic fire, the track shines its best, using the bass effectively. Highs and lows are boxy, but the dialogue is crisp.

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