This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 203.120.68.72 (talk) at 10:59, 3 January 2008. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 10:59, 3 January 2008 by 203.120.68.72 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bambi" character – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2006) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Misplaced Pages. See Misplaced Pages's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (December 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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. The character's name has become a nickname for a naively innocent individual. He appears as a summon in Kingdom Hearts, and as one of the guests in House of Mouse. Bambi appears at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a meetable character.
Bambi
See Bambi for the entire plot summary
The film chronicles the life of Bambi, from his birth to Bambi becoming the next Great Prince of the forest, as his father was. Along the way, Bambi meets new friends, Thumper, a rabbit and Flower, a skunk, deals with the painful experience of losing his mother, and makes a friend with Faline, who he knew from fawn hood.
The film ends with the animals of the forest gathering, as they did in the beginning of the film, to witness the birth of a new prince - this time, Bambi and Faline's twin fawns. Overlooking the thicket, standing on the same elevated rock, is 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 cannot 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 does not 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 do not 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, "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 alerts 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, 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 because 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. Some have asserted that it was only after having defeated Ronno in a fight that he could truly be said to have really reached adulthood.
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, 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. In addition, 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. Close to the end of Bambi, Bambi kisses Faline.
See also
References
- Animaniac's episode "Bumbie's Mom"
- http://www.disney-stock.com/