Bambi

Considered by many critics to be a near-perfect animated classic about the timeless journey from birth to adulthood, and one of the best tear-jerker’s of all-time, Bambi follows the adventures of a young fawn as he grows and learns about life in the forest.


On the day of his birth, Bambi immediately finds himself surrounded by a fascinating, chaotic natural world, bursting with natural beauty and teeming with strange and wonderful characters. Called the “Young Prince of the Forest” by the animals, Bambi sleeps at his mother’s side.

On his first walk through the lush forest with his mother, Bambi learns that he and his mother are not the only animals in the forest, meeting quail, moles, birds and rabbits. he finds easy friendship in the chubby-cheeked and irrepressibly brash “Thumper” the rabbit, and Bambi slowly learns about the myriad of natural wonders surrounding him. He meets the adorable but shy skunk, “Flower”, in a daisy patch. It begins to rain, and the young animals rush home.

The next day, Bambi and his mother head out to the meadow. Bambi tells his mother that he’s heard that there are other deer in the forest, and he hopes to meet them. Upon arriving at the meadow, the excited young fawn is warned that open spaces can be dangerous, and they walk cautiously into the clearing. There, Bambi is introduced to the cute young doe Faline. Shy at first, it soon becomes apparent that the two young fawns will become good friends. In addition to the excitement of meeting this new friend, Bambi is amazed when he sees dozens of adult bucks for the first time, rushing out of the forest, bounding and leaping fearlessly.

Moments later, a hush falls over the meadow, and all eyes turn to the giant stag entering the clearing. The stag walks by Bambi, stopping momentarily to look at the young fawn. He passes by, disappearing into the woods, and Bambi’s mother tells him that the wise old buck is the Great Prince of the Forest. Suddenly, the deer panic, bolting from the open meadow and back into the protective embrace of the dense trees. Not understanding what all the excitement is about, Bambi races from the meadow, the great Stag at his side. Just as they enter the forest, an explosive shot rings out, echoing through the wilderness. Back in the safety of the thicket, Bambi’s mother explains to him that “Man was in the forest”.

As time marches on, the seasons begin to change, with summer gently giving way to autumn’s colors. Finally, Winter comes to the forest. Bambi is amazed by the thick, white blanket of snow covering the world, and takes his first fumbling steps on a frozen pond with the help of his friend Thumper. He discovers Flower asleep in his den, and learns that he is hibernating for the winter. As the season wears on, the winter wonderland becomes a stark and desolate place, where it seems that the young Bambi is always hungry and cold, fighting against the piercing winter winds.

Eventually, the bitter snows recede and early spring is here. Gone are the months of eating nothing but dry bark, helplessly fighting the winter winds. The first tufts of green spring grass were beginning to poke through the melting snow, and Bambi consumed them hungrily, moving from patch to patch with his mother.

Bambi’s feast is interrupted when his mother, sensing that something is not quite right, yells to Bambi to run to the safety of the thicket. Older and stronger now, the growing young deer has no problem springing across the stream in a single bounding leap, sure-footed and flying across the patchy snow as a gunshot rings out. Bambi and his mother continue their mad dash for the protection of the thicket when another shot echoes through the forest. Bambi runs through the woods, darting between the trees and into the thicket he knew so well. It’s then that he realizes that his mother is not with him.

Confused, Bambi searches desperately for his mother, finding no sign of her in the falling snow. Pausing as he weeps, Bambi notices a dark shadow looming over him. Looking up, he is shocked to see the giant stag he had seen that day in the meadow. The Great Prince of the Forest gently explains to the confused Bambi that his mother can’t be with him anymore, and the two of them head slowly back into the forest, disappearing into the falling snow.

The days pass, and spring is now in full bloom. The forest is bursting with activity and color, and small birds dart and zip through the trees, annoying the grumpy old owl, who hates all the noise and excitement of springtime. He cries out in surprise and frustration as his tree begins to shake uncontrollably. Looking down, he realizes that it is the young Prince of the Forest, Bambi, all grown-up and polishing his new antlers against the tree-trunk. Interrupting their brief greeting, Thumper appears, hollering to them. Older and bigger now, the rabbit bears little resemblance to the chubby little bunny Bambi had befriended the season before. Flower had grown-up too, and he shyly called out to them from his patch of daisies.

Reunited, the three friends watched as a pair of excited birds fly and dart about their heads, fluttering and chirping wildly before gliding off again. The three friends stare at each other, Confused, and the old owl explains to them that every year as spring blooms, every forest creature succumbs to the charms of spring, becoming “twitterpated”. Love is in the air, and owl warns them that even they could become “twitterpated”. Scoffing at the old owl and resolving to never become “twitterpated” themselves, the trio begins to head off into the forest, but before they can get far, Flower notices a pretty young female skunk giggling at him from a spring flower patch. She kisses the shy flower, and the two of them head off through the daisy patch, leaving the confused Bambi and Thumper to stare after them as they disappeared. Now a duo, the two friends continue into the woods, just as a cute girl bunny grabs Thumper’s attention. He is twitterpated. Bambi, disgusted by the ease with which Thumper has fallen victim to the girl bunny’s charms continues on, alone, finally stopping to drink from a stream. As he drinks, he is startled to see the reflection of a pretty young doe in the water next to him. It is Faline, all grown-up and beautiful. Feeling twitterpated himself, he finally gives chase to the doe after she playfully kisses him on the cheek and bounds away.

It’s love at first sight, but Faline has another admirer, Ronno. He suddenly jumps between the couple, ready to fight Bambi for the lovely young doe. The two charge at each other, and Bambi, though the smaller of the two, eventually vanquishes his challenger, locking antlers with him and throwing him down a ravine. Bambi and Faline continue their walk into the moonlit meadow.

The season goes on, and it is autumn again. On one cold morning, Bambi awakes suddenly. Something is wrong. Smelling the scent of a campfire, he leaves the thicket and the sleeping Faline to investigate. As Bambi gazes across the valley, the Great Prince of the Forest appears behind him, explaining that man is here again, many this time. It’s time to leave. Faline wakes and in a panic, searches desperately for Bambi, leaving the thicket just as Bambi returns. Gunshots ring out, and a pack of hunting dogs picks up Faline’s scent and is soon closing in on her. Bambi hears her cries. and heroically fights off the attacking dogs as Faline makes her escape. Bambi follows, Leaping fearlessly across a gorge, just as a gunshot rings out. Bambi collapses, unconscious on the other side.

Bambi is awoken by the old stag standing over him. The campfire left by the hunters had spread, turning the forest into a blazing inferno, and it was spreading fast. Bambi stood, shaking in pain and confusion, somehow finding the strength to follow the great stag through the roaring inferno to the edge of a waterfall. realizing that they had no choice, the two bucks throw themselves over the precipice and into the churning water below. Tired and wet, they find refuge on a small island in the middle of the river. Bambi’s heart suddenly swells, his pain forgotten as he sees Faline standing on the shore waiting for him. Relieved but exhausted, they leaned against each other, watching as the forest is consumed around them.

The season passed and it was spring once again. There was excitement in the forest. All the animals were dashing hurriedly to the thicket. Thumper and his four children stop briefly to awaken the old owl, and run off. Flower came by next, with his young son, “Bambi” in tow, telling him excitedly: “It’s happened!” and scurrying away. “In the thicket” he cried, before heading off again. Owl flies off, following the other animals to the thicket. There, curled-up on the ground, was Faline with not one but two baby fawns.


Bambi watched over the scene from the high cliff above the thicket, the Great Prince at his side. Together, they gazed over the forest for a moment, then the old stag turns and leaves Bambi alone on the cliff. Bambi raises his head proudly. He is the new Prince of the Forest.

The story of Bambi is simple and straightforward, with the gorgeous natural environment playing as much of an integral character as the animals in the film. The movie is best remembered for the moving and powerful scene in which young Bambi’s mother is killed off-screen by a hunter. Many critics believe that Disney Studios has spent the years since Bambi’s release trying to duplicate the sense of shock and sadness this particular scene invariably produces in adults and children alike, with little success. Deemed by some to be too intense for young children due to this one scene, Bambi has nonetheless remained a top favorite of Disney fans for over a generation.