Faline is the wife of Bambi, and the mother of Geno, Gurri, and Ferto.
Background[]
Appearance[]
Faline is a doe of some sort, with many sources specifically referring to her as a roe deer.[1][2] Her eye color varies greatly. As a fawn, her eyes are blue,[4][5] though they sometimes appear red.[4] As an adult, her eyes would alternatively appear blue[4] or yellow,[4] but, strangely enough, would be referred to as red.[2]
Biography[]
According to one account, she first met Bambi at a water hole in the meadow. She looks at him and remarks to her mother, saying: "He's kinda bashful isn't he, Momma?" Her mother calmly tells her: "Well, maybe he wouldn't be if you'd say hello." She goes over and says in a friendly, but quite outspokenly voice: "Hello Bambi." Bambi reluctantly says hello after his mother encourages him and they engage in a playful first acquaintance. He wouldn't see Faline again until the following winter.
Their friendship is more developed and defined after Bambi's mother was shot and killed by hunters. Faline is very sympathetic towards him, and she shows nothing but support and kindness to Bambi. Unfortunately, she and Bambi also meet Ronno the Bully, and he develops a crush on Faline, but she dislikes him, because he's a bully. When Ronno tries to force Faline to go with him, Bambi yells at him to leave her alone, and he also fights Ronno after he taunts him after learning his father was sending him away with Mena, and he defeated Ronno.
Towards the end, the two share their first "accidental kiss" as young teenagers. It is revealed that she is younger than Bambi, and his antlers started growing in and he lost his spots first while Faline kept her spots during the entire film.
Her later appearance was when the next Spring came, and Bambi, Thumper, and Flower watched two birds acting in a way that Friend Owl called "twitterpated." At first, they think it's terrible and try to avoid it happening to them, but Flower fell in love with Petunia, and Thumper fell in love with Miss Bunny. While Bambi was by himself having a drink at the lake, he notices an attractive doe, who replies in a mature feminine voice: "Hello Bambi. Don't you remember me? I'm Faline." Bambi is stunned to see her again, and he starts to back up and he stumbles into the water. After he gets caught in the tree branches, she licks his cheek, and Bambi stops resisting and falls in love with her.
While they're happily frolicking together on Cloud 9, an adult Ronno the Bully appears from the bushes as a dark monster. He doesn't talk at all, but he has the meanest facial expression. He again tries to force Faline to be his mate - whether she liked him or not - like he tried to do when they were kids. Bambi fights back against Ronno, like he did when they were kids, and Bambi eventually knocks Ronno off the cliff and into the river.
That night, while they're asleep, Bambi is awakened by sounds, and his father informs him that Man has returned to the forest in larger numbers, and they have to go deep into the forest. Bambi goes back for Faline, but she is already out searching for him. After saving her from Man's hunting dogs, they eventually escape from the fire, and make it to safety. The following Spring, they have newborn twin fawns. Bambi and the Great Prince are watching, while standing on top of the hill, and his father is happy that he lived long enough to become a grandfather. He retires and walks away, and Bambi becomes the new Great Prince of the Forest.
Relationships[]
Bambi[]
Bambi is Faline's childhood friend and later husband. Bambi's mother was the younger sister of Faline's mother, Ena, making them maternal cousins. The two first met on the meadow when they were just fawns. At first, Bambi was very shy around her, not wanting to be around her. They became friends after Faline licked his face several times, leading to him chasing her through the meadow.
Their friendship would continue to remain strong throughout their childhood, though Bambi would still occasionally become nervous and bashful around her. Even though he may have been somewhat intimidated by her, Bambi would defend her - especially from Ronno the Bully. Faline never liked Ronno, because he was a bully, and even Thumper helped Bambi become more brave, while his father trained him to defend himself.
The two began to grow closer to each other as they progressed into adults, even sharing a kiss at one point. However, it would seem that shortly after, they fell out of contact with each other. They met again in the Spring as full-grown adults. Again, Bambi was initially somewhat intimidated by her, but became comfortable around her after she licked his face in a romantic way, and he fell in love with her. When an adult Ronno returned to make Faline his mate - whether she liked him or not - Bambi fought back, and eventually knocked Ronno over the cliff and into the river.
When Man returned to the forest, the Great Prince told Bambi to follow him to safety, but he was worried about Faline, and when she was cornered by Man's hunting dogs, Bambi fought them in order to let Faline escape. He was shot in the leg when he jumped into the air. Afterward, a forest fire breaks out, and Bambi's father helps him escape to safety. The eventually jump over a waterfall, and swim to a nearby island where all the other forest animals are, and Bambi and Faline are reunited.
The following Spring, Faline gave birth to twins, Geno and Gurri. Bambi and his father watched them while standing together on top of a hill. The Great Prince was happy that he lived long enough to become a grandfather, and they share a glance, and his father retires and leaves, and Bambi becomes the new Great Prince of the Forest.
After Faline had twins, Geno and Gurri, Bambi was not a constant figure in their lives, since he now had new responsibilities that kept him away from his family. He would sometimes visit while the children were asleep, and as they got older, he began to visit more often. Despite his job protecting the forest, he always made time to visit and show affection towards his family.
Faline and Bambi later had a third child, Ferto.
Other relationships[]
- Ena - Mother
- Gobo - Twin brother
- Bambi - Cousin/Husband
- Thumper - Friend
- Flower - Friend
- Friend Owl - Friend
- Ronno - Childhood Bully
- Bambi's mother - Aunt/Mother-in-Law
- The Great Prince of the Forest - Father-in-Law
- Geno - Son
- Gurri - Daughter
- Ferto - Son
Gallery[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Faline first appeared in 1923 in the Felix Salten novel Bambi: A Life in the Woods. She was depicted as the daughter of Bambi's Aunt Ena and, after reaching adulthood, Bambi's wife. Her twin brother, Gobo was also a major supporting character in the novel, and her father may have made a brief appearance, though the writing is vague as to whether the stag in question is actually Faline's father or not. Faline went on to be a major character in the 2006 midquel to Bambi, the 1939 novel Bambi's Children, which chronicled her life as the mother of Bambi's twin fawns, Geno and Gurri.
When Walt Disney produced an animated adaptation of Salten's original novel, Faline was slated to appear, though Gobo was cut from the story. In Salten's novels, she was explicitly referred to as a "roe deer." Disney originally planned to instead depict Faline and the other deer of the forest as mule deer, a species of deer native to California, where Disney's studio was located. Artist Maurice "Jake" Day convinced Disney to make the deer white-tailed deer instead, arranging for two white-tailed fawns to be transported from their home in Maine to the studio's home in California. The animators of Bambi studied these fawns from their youth to their early adulthood, and the female fawn observed would serve as the template for Faline.[6]
Faline became a crucial part of the Bambi film and would also appear in related works such as the Bambi comic strip and the Bambi manga by Osamu Tezuka. Notably, she appeared in the 2006 midquel to Disney's Bambi, Bambi II.
Voices[]
- Fawn (Bambi) - Cammie King.
- Young Adult (Bambi) - Ann Gillis.
- Fawn (Bambi II)- Andrea Bowen.
International Voices[]
- Japan - Mei Oshitani (Young Faline, Bambi II).
- France - Marie Claire Marty (Young Faline, Bambi).
- Japan - Yume Miyamoto (Faline, Bambi II).
- Arapaho - Elma Brown (Faline)
Notes and References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bambi: A Life in the Woods
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bambi's Children
- ↑ Disneystrology features Faline on April 4, though it is unknown if this means that April 4 is her birthday or not.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:2 - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:3 - ↑ The Trail of Bambi by Richard Hallett for Collier's magazine, 1942.