Images courtesy of Dazzler Media
Preview by Jon Donnis
A forest floor dappled with light. The flicker of an ear in tall grass. A childlike voice asking what it means to be brave. Bambi: A Tale of Life in the Woods, from director Michel Fessler, promises a faithful yet fresh take on Felix Salten's enduring novel, capturing the innocence and awe of the wild through the eyes of a young fawn finding his place in a world that's as beautiful as it is unforgiving.
Bambi ©Eric Travers
Unlike earlier adaptations, this version leans closer to Salten's original text than to the 1942 animated classic. Bambi here is not a cartoon animal with song breaks and comic sidekicks. He's a creature of the woods, curious and vulnerable, whose story unfolds with a realism that feels both grounded and moving. The film tracks his growth from newborn to adult, offering glimpses of the quiet moments that shape a life: first snowfall, first friendship, first encounter with loss. Through each experience, the rhythm of nature pulses beneath it all.
Visually, the film does what few others dare to attempt. Shot on location and featuring wildlife in their natural environments, it uses immersive cinematography to blur the line between documentary and fiction. That choice, a hallmark of Fessler's work on March of the Penguins, gives the film a texture that feels at once intimate and epic. These aren't sets. They're lived-in landscapes.
Bambi ©Florian Alzay
Narration by Mylène Farmer provides a gentle thread through Bambi's story. It's used sparingly, letting the imagery carry the weight where it can. There's a stillness to the way the film moves, a patience that gives space to the more emotional turns. It never rushes Bambi's journey, and the emotional impact of key scenes, particularly those familiar to anyone who grew up with the earlier film, lands with quiet force rather than spectacle.
This is a film that doesn't talk down to its audience. While suitable for families, it doesn't shy away from the hard truths of the forest. Danger is real. So is grief. But what it offers, especially to younger viewers, is a way of seeing nature that feels honest, respectful, and sometimes deeply moving.
Bambi: A Tale of Life in the Woods opens in UK and Irish cinemas on 15 August, courtesy of Dazzler Media. Whether you're discovering it for the first time or returning after many years, this new telling invites you to see the forest, and the creatures who live in it, with fresh eyes.
