- “I would like the Old Stag to say what he has to say in a direct way, and in such a voice that Bambi is unable to answer him. What he says will be sort of final.”
- ―Walt Disney[1]
The Great Prince of the Forest is Bambi's father. He was featured in the 1942 film, Bambi and had a larger role in its 2006 midquel, Bambi II. Fred Shields voiced the Great Prince in the first film and Patrick Stewart voiced him in the midquel.
Background[]
Personality[]
As a fawn, The Great Prince was said to have been a lot like his son, Bambi.[4] As an adult, he was highly dignified and sophisticated. In his own words, he "walked with pride". He sometimes seemed cold and aloof, but after the two bonded after the death of Bambi's mother, he began to express his emotions more openly and talk about the past more often, something he once would not do as he was taught: "It's best to leave the past in the past."
Appearance[]
The Great Prince was the biggest and oldest surviving deer in the forest. He had brown fur, brown eyes, and a large set of antlers.
Biography[]
The Great Prince might have been born on April 29[3] to an unknown doe. Very little is known about his fawnhood. At some point in his life, he gained the title and position of the Great Prince of the Forest, though it is unknown when or how this happened.
He eventually met a young doe who would become his wife, and they had a son, Bambi.[4] He watched Bambi's birth while standing on top of the hill, along with watching the other forest animals visiting and congratulating his mother.
He did not officially meet his son until he was old enough to walk and talk. They met as a result of the young deer running in the meadow on their way to meet the Great Prince. Bambi was shocked at his majestic and regal appearance, and the Great Prince stopped and observed him with his ears moving forward out of curiosity. That same day, Man was in the forest, and when Bambi got lost, and called for his mother, he found him and helped him and his mother escape to safety, and he disappeared back into the forest shortly after that.[5]
He did not see his son again until after the death of his mother at the hands of Man. He tells him: "Your mother can't be with you anymore. Come, my son." He took Bambi back to his den, and Friend Owl visited. The Great Prince asked him to find a suitable doe to raise Bambi, because he was taught that it's the doe's job to raise fawns. Friend Owl told him that food was scarce in the winter, and the does could barely feed themselves, so the Great Prince agrees to let Bambi stay with him until Spring. Unfortunately, the Great Prince wasn't prepared for the challenges of fatherhood, and he once yelled at Bambi for falling for one of Man's tricks, thinking it was his mother calling him. After apologizing, Bambi asked: "She's never coming back, is she?" The Great Prince sadly lowered his head, and quietly answered: "No." He then left to be alone to calm himself down.
While Bambi is staying with his father, he tries to learn everything he can about his father's job protecting the forest from Man and other dangerous threats. When Spring came, he and Bambi started to grow closer, and Friend Owl found an adoptive mother for Bambi named Mena who was childhood friends with Bambi's mother. Bambi is shocked and furious that his father decided to send him away, and he yelled at his father, telling him that he wished his mother was there instead of him, and he ran away to tell his friends. The Great Prince tells Friend Owl: "This is my fault. Bambi needs a mother. A prince should NOT be raising a child!"
Bambi eventually goes with Mena, and Ronno the Bully shows up and attacks Bambi, causing them to fight, and Mena accidentally gets caught in one of Man's snare traps. Man and his hunting dogs were in the forest, and Mena repeated his mother's last words before her death. Determined not to let history repeat itself, Bambi lures the dogs away, while Ronno the Bully runs away. The Great Prince arrived, and freed Mena from the snare trap. Bambi runs up a mountain, and one of the hunting dogs catches up to him, and Bambi uses his hooves to knock the hunting dog off the mountain. Bambi then jumps to another part of the mountain to be closer to his father, but a rock slide causes Bambi to fall off the mountain, and the Great Prince and everyone else thinks he's dead. Bambi regained consciousness, and for the first time, he asked: "Dad?" The Great Prince answered: "I'm here! I'm here!" and they nuzzle each other. Mena then leaves, deciding that she's no longer needed. The Great Prince regretted his decision to send Bambi away, as the two were still together later when Bambi began to grow his antlers.[4] The Great Prince took Bambi to a part of the forest where he first met his mother, and Bambi asked him what he was like. The Great Prince answered that he was a lot like him at his age.
According to one account, however, the Great Prince and Bambi were on icy terms into Bambi's adulthood. According to this source, Bambi did not really know or have a relationship with his father until after he had already married Faline. Even then, it was not until the death of Faline's brother, Gobo at the hands of Man that Bambi decided to seek out the Great Prince and become both his friend and his student.[6]
At any rate, whether the two bonded in Bambi's childhood or his adulthood, it is known that the Great Prince and Bambi were on speaking terms when a great forest fire broke out at Man's campsite. The Great Prince was the one who found Bambi, who had been shot in the leg by Man, and ordered him to get up, despite his wound before they were burned to death. He then led his son through the flames and to safety.[5] However, he was seriously injured in the process and would never fully recover, forcing Bambi to take over his responsibilities, while still lacking the title of the Great Prince of the Forest.[7]
The Great Prince did eventually die, passing on his title of the Great Prince of the Forest to Bambi as he left to die alone in his den.[7] His retirement occurred on the same day his twin grandchildren, Geno and Gurri were born.[5] Bambi and the Great Prince stood on top of the hill together, watching Faline and the twins, and his father was happy that he lived long enough to become a grandfather. They looked at each other, and the Great Prince retired and walked away, and Bambi became the new Great Prince of the Forest.
Quotes[]
"You poor thing."[6]
"Your mother can't be with you anymore. Come, my son."[5]
"Get up, Bambi. You must get up. GET UP!"[5]
"A prince does not "woo-hoo". A prince maintains control at all times."[4]
Relationships[]
- Bambi's mother - Wife
- Mena - Childhood friend of Bambi's mother
- Ena - Mate's sister
- Bambi - Son
- Faline - Daughter-in-law
- Gobo - Mate's nephew
- Geno - Grandson
- Gurri - Granddaughter
Gallery[]
Behind the Scenes[]
The Old Stag was created by Felix Salten, first appearing in his 1922 novel, Bambi: A Life in the Woods. He was a major character in the novel, serving as an inspiration and mentor to the main protagonist Bambi. This "Old Stag" figure, whose real name was not revealed, was retooled into the "Great Prince of the Forest" character for Walt Disney's 1942 cinematic adaptation of Salten's novel, Bambi. Since then, the Great Prince of the Forest has appeared in other Disney-made media including Bambi II, the 2006 midquel to Bambi which gave him an even larger role than he had in the original film.
Old Stag vs. Great Prince[]
An argument might be made that the Old Stag and the Great Prince of the Forest are different characters, as there are some differences in how the two are depicted.
In the book, Bambi: A Life in the Woods, The Old Stage is never explicitly stated to be Bambi's father, but he does refer to Bambi as "my son" twice over the course of the story, but it is unclear if this is indicative of a biological relationship or if it simply a term of endearment. In the Disney version, the Great Prince of the Forest also refers to Bambi as "my son" in the first film, Bambi. In the midquel, Bambi II, Friend Owl confirmed that the Great Prince is Bambi's biological father, along with the lyrics of First Sign of Spring referring to a "father and son" duo, presumably the Great Prince and Bambi, and the Great Prince is shown remembering the first time he met Bambi's mother at the end of the film.
A bigger difference between the two lies in their personas and the way they interact with the world around them. The Old Stag was notable for his mystery, with some characters in Bambi: A Life in the Woods stating that he would sometimes disappear for many years at a time until someone briefly spotted him, only for him to disappear again. The Great Prince, on the other hand, seems to be a much more visible figure in in the first film, Bambi, even going so far as to march proudly in front of the young bucks.
Despite their differences, the two characters are most likely the same. During the production of Bambi, Walt Disney, the producer of the film, referred to the Great Prince as "the Old Stag".[1] There's even more evidence that the Great Prince and the Old Stag were believed to be the same throughout production of the film. A comparative size sheet for the film dated May 31, 1940 gives the name "Old Stag" to the tall, majestic and regal figure that would become the Great Prince of the Forest in the first film. Furthermore, the Bambi comic strip uses the names "The Old Stag" and "The Great Prince of the Forest" interchangeably, further confirming that the two are intended to be the same character.
Notes and References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Unusual Suspects: The Great Prince of The Forest
- ↑ Bambi: A Life in the Woods
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Disneystrology features the Great Prince of the Forest on April 29, though it is unclear as to if he was actually born on that day or not.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Bambi II
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Bambi
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bambi: A Life in the Woods
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Bambi