Bambi II

Bambi II is a direct-to-video Disney animated feature that was released on May 29, 2000. The film is a midquel, and the story takes place in the middle of Bambi, between the event in which Bambi loses his mother to Man, and the event in which he grows into a buck. This film was first titled Bambi and the Great Prince, but was changed to Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest and later Bambi II. This film is considered to hold the world record for longest period of time between a sequel and its predecessor,[1] previously held by The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Return to Oz (1985). Bambi was released in 1942; Bambi II in 2000, almost sixty-four years later.
Received mixed reviews, but was better received than most Disney sequels.
== Plot ==
Taking place in the middle of the original Bambi, the film opens with the scene where Bambi (voiced by Alexander Gould) is wandering the forest for his mother, not realizing she has been killed by Man. His father, the Great Prince of the Forest (Patrick Stewart), finds him and leads Bambi back to his den under a fallen tree, the Great Prince asks Friend Owl (Keith Ferguson) to find a doe to raise Bambi, but Friend Owl points out that due to the harsh winter season the does can barely care for themselves. The Great Prince has no choice but to look after Bambi until the spring. Spring is slowly beginning to return to the forest (the song sequence "There is Life") The sun breaks through the clouds and the ice and snow begin to melt. Hibernating animals wake up and migratory birds begin to return. On top of the fallen tree that makes the Great Prince's den, a small green plant begins to grow.
Bambi wakes up late. He eats, and the two go to the forest. The prince eventually lets Bambi go with his friends. While walking, Bambi tells Thumper that he and the Great Prince are "best pals," though Bambi has doubts about the Great Prince's affection. They wake up the hibernating Flower (Nicky Jones) and go to see the Groundhog together, where Friend Owl is presiding over the event and it is here that Bambi meets Faline again. The nervous Groundhog (Brian Pimental) is eventually coaxed out of his hole, only be scared back in again by Ronno (Anthony Ghannam), an older fawn. Ronno laughs, but the other animals leave. Ronno catches up to them and ends in an argument with Bambi. Ronno's mother eventually calls Ronno away, and Bambi is left alone to sleep under a tree and wait for the Great Prince to return after Thumper, Flower and Faline leave with their families. Bambi finds himself in a shining golden meadow and begins chasing butterflies. As he does so, he hears his mother's voice calling him. Overjoyed, he runs towards her and begins to nuzzle her lovingly. His mother comforts him, telling him that she's there even though he can't see her. As the dream fades Bambi continues to hear her voice saying "I'm here," which confuses him. He begins to believe that the voice is his mother's after it says "It's me!", so he follows it out onto the meadow where a flock of crows flies past screaming about Man. As Bambi looks towards the source of the disturbance Hunter Dogs runs towards him, causing Bambi to freeze in terror. Elsewhere, the Great Prince hears the crows and suddenly becomes concerned for Bambi. He runs to where the crows were flying from and arrives in time to fight the dogs and save Bambi. As the dogs run back to their master, the Great Prince sees the glint of a rifle and yells at the still frozen Bambi to run. After a nudge from the Great Prince's antlers, Bambi snaps out of his trance and the two escape to safety. Bambi explains that he heard his mother's voice. The Great Prince angrily says that it was one of Man's tricks. Bambi tries to apologize, but the Great Prince is very cross and reprimands Bambi for freezing in the face of peril. He calms down and orders Bambi to immediately return home with him and possibly never come back to that place ever again, where the realization of his mother's death begins to dawn in Bambi's mind. The Great Prince leaves to reflect on the situation and finds Friend Owl. The Great Prince notes that winter is coming to an end and that Friend Owl should have no trouble finding a doe to be Bambi's new mother, meaning that Bambi is possibly an orphan.
The next morning, the Great Prince orders Bambi to stay in the den where it's safe since he would trust him to go out on his own again. Bambi is crestfallen, as he wants to be with his father. Thumper and Flower ask Bambi what's wrong, and Bambi says he wants his father to see how brave he is. Thumper decides to teach Bambi how to be brave (you have to be scarier than what's scaring you), and Bambi, Thumper, and Flower walk through the forest practicing their new skills until they come to a log guarded by a grumpy porcupine, which terrifies them. They flee back to the bank, and Thumper sees the Great Prince. Since Bambi is supposed to be back at the den, Thumper suggests they leave. But Bambi realizes that this is a good opportunity to show his new-found bravery. The Great Prince turns to leave and Thumper goes to distract him and bring him back. Bambi goes to confront the porcupine. Bambi leaps over the porcupine, angering him. The porcupine stiffens his quills and begins chasing Bambi backward and forwards across the log. Thumper brings the Great Prince to see Bambi "being brave", but when he notices Bambi in trouble he leads the Great Prince away. After a short struggle, the porcupine is propelled into the air by a piece of wood and lands quills-first on Bambi's rear. Bambi yells out in pain, causing the Great Prince to go and investigate the noise, much to Thumper's dismay. Bambi ducks down under the water so as not to be seen, and the Great Prince leaves.Thumper begins to pull the quills out of Bambi's rear. Ronno and Faline are nearby, and Ronno is showing off to Faline until she hears Bambi cry out in pain. Bambi cries out again and Faline runs to see to see him. Ronno yells after her, seemingly hurt by losing her attention. Faline and Ronno go and see Bambi, and Ronno teases Bambi after the meadow incident where Bambi froze. Ronno decides that he and Faline should leave, but Faline wants to stay. Ronno tries to force Faline to leave and Bambi stands up for her. Ronno comes back to confront Bambi and tease Flower and Thumper, causing Thumper to push Bambi so that he headbutts Ronno. Ronno is furious and chases Thumper and Bambi through the forest.
Bambi comes to a large jump, and to his surprise he clears it with ease. The Great Prince appears and begins to tell Bambi off for leaving the den, but interrupts himself when he notices that Bambi cleared the jump, saying that he didn't make a jump that far until he had antlers. Bambi is delighted at the positive attention, but the Great Prince composes himself and the three leave. Ronno tries to clear the jump as well but falls and lands in the mud. The next day, Bambi practices his jumping with Thumper. The Great Prince sees this and smiles but becomes serious when Friend Owl arrives and says that the search for a new mother is going well. The Great Prince does not concentrate and is more concerned with Bambi's jumping. Friend Owl notices this and slyly hints that the Great Prince might have changed his mind. The Great Prince, annoyed, confirms that he has not. He then walks past Bambi's jumping lesson, seemingly taking little interest in it. Bambi is confused as his jumping drew praise the day before. Bambi says that the Great Prince has been standing around and contemplating a lot. Thumper suggests that Bambi should go and ask the Great Prince about it. Bambi does so, and the Great Prince says that he is observing - looking, listening and smelling for danger all at the same time. The Great Prince says that Bambi should try to "feel the forest" (feel vibrations through his hooves for abnormalities in forest activity). The Great Prince leaves and Bambi turns to head back to the den, but the Great Prince wants Bambi to come with him. The two journey through the forest and join the stags as they participate in their annual run. Through this, the bond between father and son deepens (the song sequence "First Sign of Spring").
The next morning as Bambi and the Great Prince play, Friend Owl arrives with Mena, the doe he has found to be Bambi's new mother. The Great Prince now seemingly regrets the decision to pass on his parenting duties, but resolves to do so despite Bambi's protestations. After saying goodbye to his friends and the Great Prince, Bambi, who seems to accept the change even though he's upset, leaves with Mena. Ronno appears and continues to tease him about Bambi's father sending him away. This causes an enraged Bambi to charge at Ronno and the two fight. Mena disrupts the fight but Ronno charges into Bambi, causing Bambi to knock Mena into a trap attached to jingling bells. As Mena struggles, the bells jingle and alert Man and the hunting dogs to her position. Ronno flees in terror screaming for his mother, and Bambi freezes again. He quickly snaps out of it and begins to run as well, but as Mena is encouraging him to run, she unknowingly quotes Bambi's late mother's last words, saying "Faster Bambi, don't look back! Keep running! Keep running!" hearing this he pauses and doubles back to distract the four dogs away from Mena. The Great Prince arrives and frees Mena from the trap before going after Bambi. Bambi manages to lose some of the dogs (one with the help of Flower's scent glands, and another with help from the grumpy porcupine) and begins to climb a steep, rocky cliff. One of the dogs slips and falls, leaving only one chasing after Bambi. Bambi climbs to a high ledge and dislodges some rocks, which do nothing to the dog. As the dog closes in, Bambi kicks it in the chest, causing it to fall to the bottom of the cliff. The Great Prince sees this and is relieved. Bambi goes to join him, but the ledge beneath Bambi gives way and he falls. The Great Prince goes to him and believes the prince to be dead. He nuzzles his son tenderly and sobs. Friend Owl, Mena, Flower, and Thumper arrive to see what is happening. As the Great Prince gets up to leave, Bambi wakes up. The Great Prince, relieved, begins to nuzzle his son again, causing Bambi to smile at the attention. Mena turns and leaves, knowing that the Great Prince wanted to take care of Bambi after all. A while later, Thumper tells the exaggerated story of how Bambi defeated the dogs. Bambi arrives, now with a pair of antlers starting to grow in and without his spots. The porcupine pricks Bambi's legs with his quills, causing Bambi to leap forward and accidentally engage Faline in a kiss. Ronno arrives and swears revenge against Bambi, but also steps on a turtle who bites him on the nose, making him run away, screaming for his mother. Bambi leaves as his father is calling him. The Great Prince takes Bambi to a forest glade, saying that this was the place where he first met Bambi's mother. Bambi asks what the Great Prince was like when he was Bambi's age, and the Great Prince says that he was a lot like Bambi.
== Cast ==
* Alexander Gould as Bambi, the young prince of the forest. His mother dies, and he has to be with his father. Andrew Collins served as the supervising animator for Bambi.
* Patrick Stewart as the Great Prince of the Forest. He is Bambi's father, and due to the death of Bambi's mother, The Great Prince is forced to be the fawn's guardian. Pieter Lommerse served as the supervising animator for the Great Prince.
* Brendon Baerg as Thumper. He and Flower are Bambi's friends who help him be brave to impress his father. Ian Harrowell served as the supervising animator for Thumper.
* Nicky Jones as Flower. He and Thumper are Bambi's friends who help him be brave to impress his father. Ian Harrowell served as the supervising animator for Flower.
* Andrea Bowen as Faline. She is Bambi's romantic interest and is part of a love triangle between Bambi and his future rival, Ronno.
* Anthony Ghannam as Ronno, Bambi's rival. He is the deer that Bambi fights in the original film. Bernard Derriman and Mark Henn served as the supervising animators for Ronno.
* Cree Summer as Mena. She is to be Bambi's adoptive mother, and is a childhood friend of Bambi's mother.
* Keith Ferguson as Friend Owl, who is told by The Great Prince to find a new mother for Bambi.
* Kath Soucie as Thumper's Mother, She is Thumper's mother.
* Makenna Cowgill, Emma Rose Lima, and Ariel Winter as Thumper's sisters. They annoy Thumper, who tries to hide from them.
* Brian Pimental as The Groundhog and Porcupine. The Groundhog, timid, comes out of his hole to determine if winter will end. The Porcupine is grumpy and overprotective of his log.
* Carolyn Hennesy as Bambi's Mother. She was shot by a hunter, and because of her death Bambi must be looked after by his father.
* Frank Welker as Dogs
== Reception ==
The film sold 2.6 million DVDs in its first week in the United States. The film grossed $35 million in the territories it was released theatrically.
Review were generally mixed, On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of 9 critics' reviews are positive. Joe Leydon of Variety called it "lightly amusing but unremarkable." Conversely, R.L. Shaffer of IGN gave the film 7 out of 10, writing, "Bambi II might be pointless, but it's harmless as well. It's brilliantly animated, and it's fairly fun, too. Give this one a spin if you're in the mood for a cute little return to Disney's classic 2D animated realm."
It won Annie Award for Best Animated Home Entertainment Production at the 34th Annie Awards.
Category:Disney Films
Category:Walt Disney Pictures films
Category:DisneyToon Studios animated films
Category:Films without Humans
Category:English-language films
Category:Films starring Patrick Stewart
Category:Films starring Alexander Gould
Category:Films starring Frank Welker
Category:Rated G
Category:Films scored by Bruce Broughton
Category:Films with a single song
Category:Films with vocal and instrumental credit music
Category:Films with multiple vocal credit songs
Category:Films starring Cree Summer
Category:Films without opening credits
Category:Films starring Keith Ferguson
Category:Films starring Ariel Winter
Category:2000 films
Category:2000 animated films