Bambi Wiki
Advertisement
Bambi Wiki
Bambi Wiki
247
pages
in: Disney, Films, Animated Films,
and 13 more

Bambi (Film)

Sign in to edit
Bambis
Friend Owl to the Left


You might be looking for another page with a similar name. If so, visit Bambi (Disambiguation).

This page was the featured page for the month of August 2020.
Bambi is a 1942 Disney film based on the book Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten. It is the fifth film released by Walt Disney Animation Studios and was released on August 13, 1942. In 2006, it received a midquel in the form of Bambi II.

Synopsis[]

In the great forest, a fawn named Bambi is born. He learns about the joys and the heartaches of life all while growing into a strong young adult deer. He finds love, but his romance and his life is threatened by Man's visit to the forest and the forest fire.

Plot[]

All the animals of the forest are waking up, except Friend Owl, who is just returning to the tree he lives in, presumably after a long night of hunting, and plans to get some sleep. Suddenly, the birds begin singing loudly, spreading some important news. A young rabbit named Thumper and his sisters excitedly awaken Friend Owl and explain to him that "the new prince is born." All the animals of the forest convene at a den, where they see a doe with her newborn fawn lying by her side. Friend Owl is the first to congratulate her, along with the other forest animals, and she thanks them. She wakes up her newborn fawn, telling him they have company, and he awakens. He is at first frightened by Friend Owl, but quickly warms up to him. He then attempts to get up, but struggles to maintain his balance. Thumper says he doesn't walk too well, and he is scolded by his mother for it. Afterward, the newborn fawn lies down and yawns, and Friend Owl interprets it as a sign for him and everyone else to leave. They all leave, but Thumper stays, who asks the newborn fawn's mother what she's going to call him. She answers that she will call him "Bambi." Thumper likes the name and runs and joins his family. The doe snuggles with her newborn fawn as her husband, the Great Prince of the Forest, watches everything while standing on top of a hill.

Not long after, Bambi and his mother walk through the forest, where Bambi falls after trying to catch up with his mother. Thumper and his family arrive and check on Bambi, who recovers quickly from his fall. Bambi, Thumper, and Thumper's sisters then run through the forest playfully. They eventually come across several birds eating some berries. Thumper then teaches Bambi how to say the word "bird." Though he struggles at first, Bambi eventually learns the word. Happy with his success, Thumper and his sisters run off to tell Bambi's mother and their mother what the young prince's first word was. Meanwhile, Bambi chases a butterfly, believing it to be a bird. Thumper returns to Bambi and explains to him that the "bird" he was chasing was a butterfly. Bambi then childishly assumes that a large yellow flower is also a butterfly, prompting Thumper to teach him the word "flower." While Bambi is sniffing the flowers, a skunk pops out of the flower patch. Bambi automatically assumes that he is a flower as well, which leaves Thumper belly laughing. The skunk tells Thumper that it's all right, and that he can call him a flower if he wants to, and he doesn't mind. Bambi then calls the skunk a pretty flower, which makes the skunk overjoyed, and the nickname "Flower" sticks.

As the day of playing and learning comes to an end, thunder is heard. Thumper leaves Bambi to return home, while Bambi heads to his den as well. Just as he is falling asleep, Bambi is awakened by the noise of raindrops falling on and around him. The rain initially falls slowly, but it slowly starts raining faster. Soon, the whole forest is alive as the rain falls everywhere and the creatures run for shelter. Suddenly, the the storm becomes violent as bright flashes of lightning are seen and the roar of thunder is heard, frightening Bambi. Eventually, the storm departs, and the sun rises as Bambi, now asleep by his mother's side, snuggles with his mother and the last bits of rain fall off the leaves and into a puddle.

Soon, when Bambi is able to speak in conversation, his mother takes him to the meadow and warns him of its danger after he tries to recklessly run out onto it. She tells him to stay behind a thicket while she looks around to see if it is safe. After a few seconds of silently scouting the meadow, Bambi's mother determines that it is safe and calls Bambi to join her. The two run and play together in the meadow. After a while, Bambi spots Thumper and his family and leaves his mother to join them. Thumper teaches Bambi about clovers. When Bambi tries to eat some of the clover, he is greeted by a bullfrog. Curious, Bambi follows the frog over to a small pool of water, which the frog jumps in. Bambi stares into the water and at his never before seen reflection. Suddenly, the reflection of another fawn appears in the water beside him. He looks up at the source of the reflection, which is a female fawn, and is frightened by it. He runs back to his mother for protection. His mother introduces him to the female fawn, whose name is Faline, and encourages him to say hello to her. He reluctantly does so, and Faline breaks out in giggles and becomes hyperactive. The two engage in a game of tag.

As their game concludes, Bambi and Faline see a herd of young deer running and fighting. Faline runs away in fear, but Bambi remains, and he's filled with excitement as he watches the other deer bound across the field. He even tries to run alongside them, but he is too slow and is almost trampled. They all suddenly stop running and stand still in reverence when his father, The Great Prince of the Forest, comes onto the meadow. He stops and looks at Bambi, and his ears move forward in curiosity, and he continues walking on the meadow. Bambi asks his mother why all of the deer stood still when he came on the meadow, and she explains that everyone respects him, because he's the oldest surviving deer in the forest, and he's very brave and very wise.

The Great Prince leaves the meadow and walks up a hill. He suddenly looks up, as the silence of the woods is broken when a flock of crows fly past and loudly scream of impending danger. He runs back to the meadow to warn all of the other deer and forest animals on the meadow, and signals them to run and hide. During the chaos, Bambi is separated from his mother and begins calling for her, while his mother does the same. The Great Prince finds Bambi, and helps him and his mother get to safety. As they flee into the woods, a loud gunshot is heard, and The Great Prince vanishes into the forest, while Bambi and his mother are alone. Bambi asks his mother why they ran, and she tells him that Man was in the forest.

During the Winter, Bambi discovers snow. While exploring the wintry wonderland that the forest has become, he sees Thumper sliding on ice. Thumper tries to teach Bambi how to slide on the ice, but Bambi is clumsy, and he and Thumper fall and crash into the snow, where they hear the snores of their friend Flower, who is hibernating for the winter. For the rest of winter, Bambi and his mother struggle to find food. They strip bark off of trees just to survive, but Bambi is still left hungry. Bambi's mother later finds a patch of Spring grass. She and Bambi start to eat it, and his mother then senses that Man is near and yells at Bambi to run. As Bambi runs away, he hears a gunshot. He safely returns to his mother's den, but he then realizes that his mother is not with him. He wanders off in the forest calling for her. His father finds him and he tells him: "Your mother can't be with you anymore. Come, my son." Devastated, Bambi goes with him.

A few years later, in the Spring, Bambi is now a young adult deer. He reunites with Friend Owl, Thumper, and Flower. They see two birds acting funny, and ask Friend Owl about it, and he tells them they're "twitterpated," meaning they're in love. Friend Owl tries to discourage them from letting the same thing happen to them. However, Flower falls in love with a female skunk named Petunia and Thumper falls in love with a female rabbit named Miss Bunny. Bambi reunites with his childhood girlfriend, now an adult Faline. After she kisses Bambi, they start frolicing together on "Cloud 9," but an adult Ronno, the bully deer, appears from the bushes, and he tries to force Faline to be his mate against her will. Bambi angrily fights back, and he eventually knocks Ronno off the cliff and into the water.

That night, Bambi is awakened by his deer senses, and he goes to the top of the hill to investigate. The Great Prince arrives, and he explains to him that Man has returned to the forest, and there are many of them. The Great Prince then explains that they must go deeper into the forest, and to hurry and follow him, but Bambi tries to find Faline, and she's being chased by Man's hunting dogs. As soon as he finds her, he fights the hunting dogs, allowing Faline to escape. Bambi causes a rockslide, and many of them are injured or killed. He then runs away as fast as he can, but is shot in the leg as he leaps over a ravine. As he lies there, Man's carelessness causes a forest fire that begins to spread. The Great Prince finds him and orders him to get up, despite his injury, and they escape the forest fire and jump over the waterfall, and they swim to a small island where all the other animals, including Faline have taken refuge. Bambi and Faline kiss and watch the forest fire.

The following Spring, the forest has recovered from the fire. Thumper and Flower are now fathers, and Friend Owl and all the other animals visit a den as word spreads through the forest that new twin fawns are born. In the den is Faline, who has given birth to twin fawns, Geno and Gurri. As all the animals congratulate Faline on her new arrivals, Bambi and the Great Prince are standing on top of the hill watching. The Great Prince is happy that he lived long enough to become a grandfather. He and Bambi look at each other, and he retires and leaves, and Bambi becomes the new Great Prince of the Forest.

Cast[]

Additional Voices[]

  • Bobette Audrey
  • Janet Chapman
  • Jeanne Christy
  • Dolyn Bramston Cook
  • Jack Horner
  • Babs Nelson
  • Sandra Lee Richards
  • Francesca Santoro
  • Elouise Wohlwend

Continuity[]

  • Bambi shares many similarities and differences with the novel on which it is based, Bambi: A Life in the Woods. Among some of the similarities and differences are the following:
    • In the novel, Bambi's birth and the following moments are a quiet scene, with only one loud magpie intruding on Bambi's mother's privacy. In the film, a large gathering of animals, including Thumper and Friend Owl, visits Bambi moments after his birth. The two may not contradict each other in-universe, as the scene in the film may simply a little bit after the scene in the novel.
    • Many of the film's supporting characters such as Thumper, Flower, Friend Owl, Thumper's sisters, and Mama Bunny were created for the film and did not appear in the novel, which had similar characters such as Friend Hare and Screech Owl.
    • In the novel, Bambi first learns of the existence of other deer in the forest from his mother. In the film, he tells his mother that Thumper already informed him about the existence of other deer. In both the film and the novel, this conversation about deer happens as Bambi is being taken to the meadow for the first time.
    • Bambi's first meeting with Faline is slightly different between the two versions, though there are basic similarities. In the novel, Bambi meets both Faline and her twin brother Gobo one night at the meadow. In the film, he only meets Faline with Gobo nowhere in sight, and the meeting occurs during the day. Also, the novel portrays Faline and Gobo as being shy around Bambi at first, whereas Faline in the film is very exuberant about meeting Bambi and doesn't show a sign of shyness.
    • The portrayal of the "Old Stag" is noticeably different in the film than in the film. Most notably, the Old Stag of the novel is portrayed as a very mysterious figure who appears sporadically to the other animals, sometimes disappearing for years before being seen again. The Old Stag of the film, who is never referred to as "the Old Stag" during the film and instead goes by "the Great Prince of the Forest", is much less mysterious, with one scene showing him marching proudly in front of the young bucks.
    • The antagonist of the novel is referred to as "He", while the film's antagonist is known as "Man."
    • The circumstances surrounding Bambi's mother's death vary greatly between the novel and the film. In the novel, she is one of many animals to die during a hunting trip by He. That hunting trip creates pandemonium throughout the forest, and Bambi's mother dies in the chaos. Afterwards, Nettla helps care for Bambi. In the film, Bambi's mother dies when she and Bambi are eating grass and are spotted by Man. Bambi is then taken in by his father, the Great Prince of the Forest.

Appearances[]

Songs[]

Gallery[]

Bambi Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Bambi (Film).

Behind the scenes[]

Bambi was first released in August 1942. It was the first official animated adaptation of Felix Salten's 1922 novel, Bambi: A Life in the Woods. It was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer producer Sidney Franklin who first purchased the rights to make a film out of Bambi: A Life in the Woods in 1933. He intended to make a live-action film based on the novel but decided that his goal was too hard to achieve. He sold the rights to Walt Disney in 1935 and encouraged him to make an animated film based on the novel.[1]

Production on Bambi began about three years after the rights to it were purchased in 1938. Around this same time, Disney hired artist Maurice "Jake" Day from Maine, who had only recently moved to California, the home of Walt Disney Studios. At this early stage in production, Disney planned to instruct his animators to depict the character of Bambi as a mule deer, as that species of deer was common in California. Day disagreed and recommended that Bambi instead be a white-tailed deer residing in a forest of Maine.[2] To prove that his idea was better, he was tasked to go to back to his home state of Maine and make photographs and sketches of a Maine forest and the creatures in it to prove his point to Disney. He ultimately took five hundred black-and-white and five hundred color photos in Maine,[1] -- in the Katahdin region, to be specific[2][3] -- thus inspiring the backgrounds of Bambi and convincing Disney to make Bambi a white-tailed deer.

Day also arranged for two white-tailed fawns to be sent from Maine to California.[2] These fawns served as the real-life models for Bambi and his love interest, Faline, with the animators studying them intently over the course of nine months. During this time, the fawns grew into young adults.[3] Though the Bambi and Faline were explicitly modeled after white-tailed deer, it has been noted that Bambi still bears a resemblance to a mule deer in the film, perhaps reflecting the majority of animators' familiarity with mule deer as opposed to white-tailed deer.[4]

Crew[]

According to the film's own opening credits, its supervising director was David Hand. James Algar, Bill Roberts, Norman Wright, Sam Armstrong, Paul Satterfield, and Graham Heid served as sequence directors. The writing of the story for the film, based on Salten's original story, was handled by story director Perce Pearce, story adapter Larry Morey, and story developers George Stallings, Melvin Shaw, Carl Fallberg, Chuck Couch, and Ralph Wright. Among those involved in the actual animation and art direction of the film were Thomas H. Codrick, Robert C. Cormack, Al Zinnen, McLarsen Stewart, Lloyd Harting, David Hilberman, John Hubley, Dick Kelsey, Merle T. Cox, Tyrus Wong, W. Richard Anthony, Art Riley, Stan Spohn, Robert McIntosh, Ray Huffine, Travis Johnson, Ed Levitt, Joe Stahley, Franklin Thomas, Milt Kahl, Eric Larson, Ollie Johnston, Fraser Davis, Preston Blair, Bill Justice, John Bradbury, Don Lusk, Bernard Garbutt, Retta Scott, Joshua Meador, Ken Hultgren, Phil Duncan, Kenneth O'Brien, George Rowley, Louis Schmitt, Art Palmer, and Art Elliott.

The film's music was scored by Frank Churchill and Edward Plumb. Alexander Steinert was the conductor of the orchestra playing Churchill's and Plumb's pieces for the film. Charles Wolcott and Paul J. Smith are credited with directing the orchestration, while Charles Henderson created the score's choral arrangements.


Sequels and Spin-offs[]

In 2006, the Walt Disney Company released a midquel, Bambi II, the animated follow-up to the 1942 film. It did not follow the same plot as Felix Salten's Bambi's Children, the novel he wrote to serve as the midquel to the Bambi: A Life in the Woods book that 1942's Bambi was based on. Instead, it largely charted its own course, serving as a midquel to the original film and covering events transpiring after the death of Bambi's mother, but before Bambi reaches adulthood.

In 2020, it was announced that Disney would produce yet another animated Bambi film. The film is likely to draw heavy inspiration from the 1942 film as opposed to Salten's novel, though this cannot be known for certain as of yet.

Notes and References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 10 Facts From Walt Disney's Bambi on D23
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 About Maurice "Jake" Day on mauricejakeday.com
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Trail of Bambi by Richard Hallett for Collier's magazine, 1942.
  4. ↑ Bambi and That Other Guy
  1. ↑ All credits in infobox taken from the opening credits of Bambi unless noted otherwise.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement