Bambi (character)

Bambi as a fawn in Bambi II

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Young adult Bambi surprised by Faline in Bambi

Bambi, a young white-tailed deer, is the main character in Felix Salten's Bambi, A Life in the Woods and in the Walt Disney movies based on the book. He is in probably one of Disney's most famous characters. He has starred in two movies, Bambi and Bambi II, has had cameos in several Disney cartoons, and has been parodied on occasion by other animation companies. His image is a Disney icon comparable in recognition factors to Mickey Mouse, and he is even shown on Disney stock certificates. He also appears as a summon in Kingdom Hearts.

Bambi

At the beginning of Bambi, Bambi is a newborn fawn sleeping next to his mother in a thicket. The forest animals gather around to see the newborn prince and congratulate his mother. Bambi wakes up and tries to stand, but is unable to on his wobbly legs, causing him to stumble backwards and Thumper to comment on his disability. At this Bambi yawns and goes back to sleep, at which Friend Owl asks the other animals to leave. Thumper remains behind and asks Bambi's mother what she is going to call the newborn fawn. The camera then zooms out, showing a large stag watching over the proceedings from an elevated rock.

The next morning after walking through the forest with his mother, Bambi meets Thumper and his sisters. They romp with him through the forest until Bambi sees some birds. Bambi looks at Thumper with a "What are those?" look and Thumper explains that they are birds. Bambi, with help from Thumper, learns how to say "bird" as his first word. Bambi learns some other new words from Thumper until he comes across a skunk that he mistakenly calls a flower. The skunk says that he doesn't mind being called a flower, despite Thumper finding the situation hilarious. Flower becomes the skunk's official name throughout the film.

A long while later Bambi's mother takes him out onto the meadow, explaining as Bambi rushes out that the meadow is without cover and therefore dangerous. Mother and son both prance happily in the open space until Bambi meets Thumper and his family eating clover. A frog jumps out of the clover and Bambi chases it until he reaches the water where Bambi see the reflection of the female fawn Faline. Bambi is unsure and shy at first as he has never seen another fawn before.

Bambi eventually manages to gather his courage and say hello to Faline, which sends her into a fit of giggles. Bambi is irritated at her teasing and chases Faline playfully until a group of young stags runs out onto the meadow for the rut. Bambi watches in fascination until the stag that watched over him at the beginning of the film appears, causing the other stags to stand to attention. Afterwards Bambi's mother explains the stag is the Great Prince of the Forest and that no deer has ever lived half as long as he has, causing the other deer to have great respect for him. The Great Prince wanders back through the forest until hearing some crows caw in alarm overhead. He runs back to the meadow and signals that danger is nearby, causing all of the other deer to leave the meadow in a hurry. Bambi becomes separated from his mother in the confusion but is saved by the Great Prince and reunited with her, just as a gunshot is heard. Bambi's mother later tells him that Man was in the forest.

Autumn turns to winter and Bambi wakes up one morning to find snow on the ground. He is unsure of it at first but he meets Thumper and the two try to ice skate. Despite Thumper rearranging his legs, when Bambi attempts to ice skate he ends up stumbling multiple times and causing both himself and Thumper to crash into a snowbank. The two then try to rouse a hibernating Flower with little success.

After a bout of harsh weather, his mother takes a hungry Bambi out onto the meadow to find grass. As they graze, Bambi's mother senses danger and tells Bambi to run for cover. They both flee as gunshots echo across the meadow. Bambi's mother lags behind and urges her son to keep running. Once back to safety Bambi calls for his mother, but she is nowhere to be found. Bambi wanders through the forest desperately calling for her until the Great Prince arrives and takes the now orphaned Bambi to safety.

Spring arrives and Bambi is now a young adult. He meets a now grown Thumper and Flower and Friend Owl tells them about being "twitterpated" - his term for falling in love. The trio decide that this should never happen to them, but one by one they fall to the charm of beautiful ladies. Bambi happens to stumble across Faline and the two prance together in a dreamy state of newfound love until a rival stag - Ronno (nameless in the movie, but identified in the sequel and in related literature) - appears and tries to take Faline as his own. Bambi is angered by this and challenges to stag to a sparring match, which Bambi wins. Bambi and Faline go off together, their love now uninterrupted.

Later Bambi comes across a camp belonging to Man. The Great Prince tells Bambi to follow him into the deeper forest where it is safer, but Bambi runs back to find Faline. The two are separated until a pack of Man's hunting dogs chase Faline and corner her. Bambi fights the dogs and wins, but as he leaps over a chasm he is shot in the hindquarters. Back at Man's camp, a neglected campfire sets light to nearby grass and sets the forest ablaze. The Great Prince rouses the injured Bambi and the two manage to escape the raging forest fire. Bambi is reunited with Faline.

Much later, the animals gather once again at the thicket to witness the birth of a new prince - this time, Bambi and Faline's fawn. It soon becomes apparent that Faline has given birth to twins. Overlooking the thicket, standing on the same elevated rock, are Bambi and the Great Prince. The Great Prince turns and leaves, leaving Bambi standing proudly by himself.

Bambi II

Bambi II is a midquel, taking place after the Great Prince of the Forest takes in an orphaned Bambi up until the next spring when Bambi begins to grow his antlers (although not the spring shown in the first film where Bambi is a young adult.) The Great Prince, believing himself unable to take on the responsibilities of caring for a fawn as well as guarding the forest, asks Friend Owl to find a suitable doe to raise Bambi. Friend Owl explains that there is little food and the does can't feed themselves, so the Great Prince decides to wait until spring.

After the traumatic night of Bambi's mother's death, Bambi awakens to find that the Great Prince is not sleeping beside him. Startled he runs blindly out of the den and crashes into the Great Prince's legs. The Great Prince is bemused at Bambi's antics. After Bambi has eaten, the two go on patrol in the forest. Bambi is overexcited about seeing the other deer, but the Great Prince explains that a prince does not run around yelling and hollering and maintains dignity instead. The two eventually reach a cliff overlooking a herd of deer. Bambi remarks that the distance makes it hard to play with them, and when given a curious look on this comment by the Great Prince, Bambi launches into a ramble about his mother. The Great Prince interrupts Bambi, making it clear that despite Bambi's putting on a brave face, the Great Prince himself is still hurting over his mate's death. The two then leave to continue the patrol.

As they go they come across Thumper hiding from his sisters. Thumper tries to hide behind Bambi to little success. Thumper is supposed to take his sisters to see the Groundhog as it is Groundhog Day. The Great Prince, annoyed at Bambi lagging behind, tells him that they are leaving. They come to a steep slope that Bambi cannot climb. The Great Prince sighs and allows his son to go and see the Groundhog with Thumper.

Bambi goes to see the Groundhog with his friends, waking up Flower along the way. At the gathering, Bambi bumps noses with Faline by accident and stumbles backwards over a log. The Groundhog doesn't see his shadow, indicating that spring is on its way. The gathered animals sing until Ronno appears and scares the Groundhog back into his hole. Disappointed, Bambi, Faline, Thumper and Flower leave. Ronno, desperate for attention, catches up with them and begins telling an untrue tale about his encounter with Man. When the animals don't believe his story he becomes angry and challenges Bambi to a sparring match. Before they can begin, the animals' various mothers call them home. Everyone leaves except Bambi, who is motherless.

Bambi falls asleep while waiting for his father and has a dream about his mother. His mother comforts him and explains that "she's here." As the dream fades his mother's voice does not, and Bambi - still clinging to the desperate hope that his mother might still be alive - runs out onto the meadow. A flock of crows alert him to Man's presence and Bambi freezes in terror as a pack of hunting dogs races towards him. The Great Prince, alerted by the crows, comes to Bambi's aid and the two escape safely. The Great Prince scolds his son on freezing. The voice Bambi heard was one of Man's tricks to lure him out.

The next morning the Great Prince leaves Bambi in the den where it is safe. Bambi is upset as he wants to go with his father. Thumper and Flower arrive and Thumper teaches Bambi how to be brave. which results in Bambi suffering porcupine quills in his hindquarters and being unable to prove his newfound skills to his father. Ronno arrives and begins to insult Bambi and his friends as well as bossing Faline around. After Ronno insults Thumper, Thumper pushes Bambi into Ronno causing Ronno to be knocked backwards. Infuriated, Bambi flees with Thumper until they reach a wide ravine. Bambi manages to jump it, much to both his and his father's surprise. The Great Prince praises his son for the first time.

Delighted at finding something that impresses his father, Bambi practices his jumping with Thumper. The Great Prince passes by and goes and stands by himself. After some encouragement from Thumper, Bambi goes and asks his father about what he is doing. The Great Prince explains the art of observation to Bambi and the two leave, eventually joining the rut. The Great Prince begins to have fun with his son and their bond deepens.

After this Friend Owl arrives with Mena, the doe intended to be Bambi's new mother. Bambi and the Great Prince argue in one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the movie. Bambi's anger at what he sees as his father dumping him evaporates when he runs back to nuzzle the Great Prince one last time before leaving. As Mena and Bambi walk through the forest, Ronno appears and begins fighting with Bambi. Mena comes to help but is caught in a hunter's trap attached to a jingling bell which alerts Man's hunting dogs. Bambi and Ronno flee, but Bambi - not wanting to lose another mother - returns and distracts the dogs. They chase Bambi towards a cliff.

The Great Prince hears the crows cawing an alert. He frees Mena from the trap and goes after Bambi. Bambi, cornered on a narrow cliff ledge, manages to fight off the remaining dogs. The Great Prince, who arrives slightly earlier, is pleased with his son. As Bambi goes to join him, the ledge crumbles beneath him and Bambi tumbles onto the rock below. The Great Prince begs his son to get up, believing him to be dead. When Bambi awakens the two nuzzle lovingly. Mena, who was watching the scene unfold, leaves as she realizes she is no longer needed.

Much later Thumper is telling an exaggerated story of Bambi's escape from the dogs. Bambi, now with antlers and no spots, arrives, and the porcupine's quills cause him to bump noses with Faline again. Bambi's father calls him and the two leave to a forest glade. The Great Prince says that this was where he met Bambi's mother. When asked on what he was like when he was younger, the Great Prince says with a smile that he was a lot like Bambi.

Personality

Bambi

In the first movie, Bambi is not very strongly characterized. This was one of the film’s key strengths as an environmental movie, the point being that Bambi, as with most of his friends, could be any deer in any forest. In his early youth Bambi has the full measure of charm that young mammals display, with his wide eyes, spindly legs, curious nature and childishly cute voice. As he grows he gradually becomes more mature, but even in adulthood he always seems a very young buck, with a light build and a fairly naïve nature.

Bambi II

In Bambi II, Bambi is much more distinctly personalized. In this film which fills in the gap between the death of his mother and when he was next shown as an adult, Bambi finds himself faced with a number of challenges. First and foremost there is the death of his mother and his consequential move to live with his father, the Great Prince of the Forest. Connecting with that there is the fact that his father has no knowledge of raising children and is reluctant and slow to learn. Also Bambi begins to develop feelings for Faline, and comes into conflict with his present and future rival, Ronno. Throughout all of this he shows much more personality than he did in the first movie. Whereas before he essentially followed life where it led him, now he grabs life by the horns in one attempt after another to bond with and impress his father. In the first movie Bambi’s status as the young prince had little impact on the flow of the story. But now his rank becomes a key part of the situation as he sets out to prove to himself and others, most of all his dad, that he deserves to be prince and can live up to his father’s name.

See also

• Faline
• Ronno
• Thumper (Bambi)
• Flower (Bambi)

References

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