The Forest Animals are characters who appear in Disney's 1942 animated feature film Bambi.
Background[]
Development[]
During development of Bambi, Walt Disney wanted the animals to act realistically rather act in a cartoony manner in previous Disney cartoons, so he hired animal painter Rico LeBrun to help the team study animals realistically[1][2][3]. The team visited the Los Angeles Zoo (specifically the former Griffith Park Zoo in East Los Angeles) and Disney established a small menagerie of animals consisting of rabbits, ducks, owls, and skunks as well as a pair of fawns named "Bambi" and "Faline" so artists could study more details about animating animals realistically[1]. Marc Davis, who did the final design for Bambi, incorporated LeBrun's realistic deer anatomy, albeit combined with exaggerated expressions as a means of animating deer characters realistically[1]. This eventually became a long-lasting tradition at the Disney Studios, although some animals were harder to sketch and animate due to the amount of details they had.[4]
Appearances[]
Bambi[]
As Friend Owl lands in his home, an oak tree, a squirrel sleeps above him and wakes up while a smaller squirrel sleeps under her. Later, a mother sparrow feeds her chicks some berries (which the one in the center stops a tug of war between his two siblings), followed by a field mouse interacting with a droplet from the tip of a plant's leaf, using it to wash his face. A rabbit named "Thumper" notices a bluebird flying past animals such as woodpeckers, mice, beavers, rabbits, quails, raccoons, pheasants, and squirrels. Thumper wakes up Friend Owl, telling him to come to the spot where the new Prince was born. All of a sudden, the animals are gathered to see the birth of a fawn named "Bambi", where they congratulate a mother doe for giving birth to a fawn. As the other animals (and Friend Owl) greet Bambi, he takes his first step while Friend Owl tells all the other animals to leave the fawn in peace.
Later, when Bambi is following his mother, the father squirrel and his son greet him just before approaching Mrs. Quail. As Mrs. Quail greets Bambi, the other quail chicks who follow their mother also greet him just before they leave. Bambi encounters a mother possum and her three joeys hanging on their tails on a tree where they happily greet him, followed by a mole popping out from a hole who greets him just before digging back to his burrow and later approaching Thumper and his family. While playing with Thumper and the other bunnies, Bambi sees a flock of bluebirds feasting on berries on a tree where Thumper teaches him how to say the word "bird", which he puts his effort to say the word, but not before he encounters a butterfly flying past him. Thumper corrects him, telling him that what he saw was a butterfly after Bambi mistook it for a bird and later a skunk whom he mistook for a flower, which he doesn't mind being called "Flower".
As a storm arrives at the forest and Bambi and his mother sleep together, rain falls at the area where they are sleeping during the musical number "Little April Shower". Amongst the other animals noticing the rain are Mrs. Quail and her chicks, rabbits, squirrels, a mother robin and her chicks, a mouse, a mother pheasant and her chicks, mallards and a hummingbird. As the sun rises, a flock of birds perched on a tree clean themselves after the rain stops.
The next day, Bambi tells his mother that he and his mother are not the only deer in the forest, which she explains to her son that there are many deer in the forest besides them and Bambi thinks he might see more deer in the meadow. Before Bambi could go to the meadow, his mother warns him that the meadow is not safe, because it is an unprotected area with no trees or bushes for shelter, due to the dangers that could occur, which Bambi's mother decides to look if there are any hazards present in the meadow, only to find a flock of birds landing on a patch of grass, just as she tells her son that the meadow is safe, due to no signs of hunters to be found. As Bambi and his mother cross the meadow, they encounter a mother duck leading her ducklings on a pond, which Bambi rushes through the nervous duckling, causing him to scowl just before encountering Thumper and his family again.
Bambi then follows a bullfrog into a pond, which he dives within, but not before he finds another fawn named "Faline" approaching and starting a bond with him. All of a sudden, Bambi and Faline encounter a herd of male deer who prance across the meadow just before they approach the protector of the forest, the Great Prince of the Forest. Bambi's mother explains to her son that all the deer in the forest respect the Great Prince, thanks to him being brave and wise which is why he got his name. Suddenly, the Prince hears a flock of crows flying in the sky cawing nervously, sensing danger in the forest, which he decides to warn the other deer that a hazard is coming, causing the deer and other surviving animals to escape from the hazard. As Bambi tries to find his mother, the Great Prince leads him to safety but not before the sound of a gunshot is heard. Bambi explains to his mother of why they had to run, which she tells her son that the threat they encountered was Man, a hunter who wanders across the forest. During the winter, it was getting cold for the deer, so they consume the tree bark in order to survive the harsh weather, so Bambi and his mother consume on bark just before returning home due to the lack of grass.
After the winter passed during the season of spring, the birds sing "Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song" where the birds sing that spring is the best season for birds where several birds start their relationships with each other. As the birds continue to sing, Friend Owl wakes up and becomes irritated by the singing birds, telling them to be quiet, but not before being approached by Bambi who grew up into a young adult stag, followed by an older version of Thumper and Flower looking at two birds starting their relationship. Suddenly, Bambi encounters another rival deer named "Ronno" who attempts to replace him as Faline's love interest, which he engages in a fight in the forest. During the scuffle, Bambi manages to throw Ronno off a cliff and defeat him. Bluebirds later appear flying during Bambi and Faline's relationship during the musical number "Looking for Romance (I Bring You a Song)", where they fly across a meadow, alongside fireflies flying around at night.
Later when Bambi sees a camp set up by humans from a distance, the Great Prince informs him that Man has returned, this time in greater numbers, and that they must now flee into the forest; at the same time, a flock of crows fly in the sky to witness the presence of the hunters while Faline tries to look for Bambi in the forest. As the crows continue to fly across the forest, amongst the animals hearing the danger are squirrels, rabbits, quails, chipmunks, and pheasants. One of the fearful pheasants in hiding suggests to immediately fly to avoid getting hunted by Man, despite two others warning her against it. Unfortunately, she gives into her hysteria and flies anyway and is instantly shot down and either wounded or killed, inadvertently revealing the presence of the other animals to the hunters, who immediately resume firing at them, followed by a pack of hunting dogs who chase Faline across the forest, only for Bambi to save her from the dogs as he repels them while Faline causes a rockslide to crush the dogs.
After Bambi was injured by a gunshot, a wildfire starts to occur and spread across the forest, causing the surviving animals to retreat from the fire. Bambi suddenly gets up and recovers from his injury after being shot by Man just before following the Great Prince into a safe place while avoiding the fire as well as the falling trees. The surviving animals manage to swim towards an unaffected path of land near the water while Bambi and the Great Prince approach Faline who is happy to see Bambi, as she kisses him for being a hero. Sometime later after the fire caused by Man and his group of hunters was extinguished, Thumper, Flower, Bambi, and various other animals arrive at the spot where Faline gave birth to two fawns in a thicket. As they arrive, they become excited that Faline gave birth to two children, thanks to Bambi who saved her while Friend Owl tells the animals that Bambi would be very proud of himself.
Bambi II[]
During the song "There is Life", three trouts swim under a frozen stream beneath the ice. Elsewhere, a family of groundhogs cuddle up together while hibernating during the winter just before the snowfall abates. A mouse wakes up and then sees that spring is about to come while raccoons pop out from tree branch and a sparrow stretches and flies. Later, a beaver swims under a frozen lake while a mother flying squirrel and her offspring peek through a hole just before a flock of mallards land on the frozen lake - the duckling unable to stand on its feet properly and knocking down the other mallards accidentally. As the gophers leave their cave and slide on the snow, a flock of nightingales fly in the sky while a chipmunk and squirrel wait for the ice to melt from the berries, just as all the other animals are excited to see the arrival of spring. Bambi then follows the Great Prince to the spot where the other deer are present and as Bambi remembers, the Great Prince tells him to put the past behind.
Later, when Thumper's sisters attempt to take their brother to see the groundhog, the Great Prince suggests Bambi to see the groundhog like what Thumper and his sisters are planning to see, explaining to him that he must check on the South Meadow, which is very far. Later, two squirrels scurry down a tree while a possum and her babies, a family of quails, mice, raccoons, and other animals gather at the burrow where the groundhog would wake up as organized by Friend Owl. As the groundhog feels nervous of coming out his burrow, he explains to Friend Owl that he would see his shadow. As Bambi engages with Faline privately, Friend Owl tries to encourage the groundhog to leave his burrow, but still refuses until he finally decides to. Not seeing his shadow due to the clouds passing by, the groundhog announces that spring has arrived, just before singing "Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song", much to Friend Owl's annoyance but not before being spooked by a young Ronno. Later when Bambi grieves over his mother's death, a dream shows him interacting with his mother where several butterflies fly around her, while Bambi's mother in her son's dream explains to him that she is always in his heart, even though she is no longer around.
As Bambi attempts to find his mother, a flock of crows fly above Bambi while the Great Prince notices a pack of hunting dogs arriving due to the presence of Man and his activities, leading him to defend Bambi from the dogs, causing them to retreat as Man continues to stalk the two deer and it was revealed that the hallucinated voice of Bambi's mother was one of Man's tricks who could have put him in danger. After the snow melts, one of Thumper's sisters yells calling out her brother's name, causing a flock of birds to retreat. When Thumper tells Bambi to be brave as a bear with the former pretending to be a cougar, Flower pretends to be a turtle while two cardinals watch from above just before encountering other animals such as a turtle, bees, a mouse, and tadpoles.
As Bambi, Thumper, and Flower attempt to cross a log, a porcupine leaps and prevents the three from crossing the log, telling them that this is his territory but not before Bambi unsuccessfully tries to get past him. As Bambi fells into the water after getting injured by the porcupine, he finds two tadpoles swimming by attempting to be brave like him but not before the Great Prince (whom the porcupine mistakes him for a moose) passes by. Later, Friend Owl informs the Great Prince that he encountered a herd of does where one of them would be Bambi's adoptive mother unless he changes his mind.
During the "First Sign of Spring" sequence in addition to Bambi and the Great Prince passing by a herd of young bucks headbutting each other, they encounter a ladybug landing on a spider's web, which Bambi saves it from being eaten by the spider. All of a sudden, Bambi sees the herd of bucks run across the meadow, wishing to have antlers like them, only to find out that he didn't grow his antlers. Bambi enters a meadow of yellow flowers and encounters a cricket where he attempts to hop like it. As Bambi interacts with the flowers, more crickets leap out of flowers but not before the Great Prince stomps his hooves to cause more crickets to leap out, happy to have his moments during the spring. Later, Bambi and the Prince pass through a flock of mallards where they pass through them, only to fly away. That night, fireflies illuminate the forest just before Bambi sleeps with the Prince.
The next day, Bambi and the Great Prince pass through a pond of frogs and dragonflies just before avoiding a hornet nest and later meeting a doe named "Mena". Later when Bambi slips off an edge of a rock, he finds himself lying unconsciously while the other animals believe he is dead due to the injury he got after he fell off the edge, only to find out he is alive. The next day, hummingbirds flutter around trees with pink blossoms while a squirrel and two bluebirds are gathered to listen to Thumper telling his story about Bambi after surviving an ambush set out by the hunting dogs.
Bambi arrives at the spot where Thumper is telling a story in front of the forest animals just before continuing his relationship with Faline. As Ronno arrives, he steps onto a turtle camouflaged as a rock and bites him on the nose angrily in revenge, just before he runs away in defeat while Flower thinks turtles are scary animals. As Bambi leaves to meet the Great Prince, all the other animals bid a farewell to him; Bambi rushes past a flock of bluebirds just before the Prince shows him a small clearing in the forest, seeing butterflies flying around as the latter explains this was the spot where he met Bambi's mother when she was alive, just before Bambi and the Prince seeing countless butterflies flying around them. One last butterfly lands on a tendril growing on a log before the film ends. More butterflies can be seen flying on the screen during the end credits just before the part where more credits scroll.
Disney Parks[]
During Epcot's International Garden Festival, the seasonal butterfly house, Bambi's Butterfly House, is inspired by Bambi's interaction with a butterfly in the film. In addition to live butterflies that guests would encounter, standees of Bambi and his friends would also be displayed inside the butterfly house to give it a Bambi theme while guests could learn about butterflies when they entered the seasonal attraction.
Trivia[]
- Bambi's interaction with the butterfly makes it one of the most recognizable moments in Disney history, despite the latter's minor role, making butterflies a sporadic element appearing in a lot of merchandise inspired by the film.
- The butterfly with the same coloration from Bambi (specifically the one which the titular character interacts with) makes a brief appearance in the Saludos Amigos segment Pedro where the titular character becomes distracted at seeing it through a window at school while studying, only for the narrator to tell him to concentrate.
- A red version of one of the pheasants appeared in Mickey Down Under using the same animation.
- While not appearing in the Kingdom Hearts games, a butterfly does appear on the artwork of Bambi used for the Level 4 rare card in the Kingdom Hearts Trading Card Game.
- Not all the forest animals seen in Disney's adaptation of Bambi appear in Felix Salten's original novel, Bambi: A Life in the Woods, as the original story was set in Austria. Some of the animals seen or mentioned in Disney's Bambi franchise are animals restricted to North America in real life, such as white-tailed deer (the original source material had roe deer, which the deer characters were going to be, but they were changed to white-tailed deer to make the Disney adaptation of Bambi familiar with American audiences), cardinals, or bullfrogs.
- The crickets who appear in Bambi II may be a possible tribute to the grasshopper character for the original Bambi film who was deleted from the final version of the film.
- In an early version of the "Pomp and Circumstance" segment from Fantasia 2000, some of the forest animals from Bambi were going to appear during the part where they saw Donald arrive at a pond, only for Tick-Tock the Crocodile to emerge from the water prior to the whole segment being rewritten to give it a "Noah's Ark" theme.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born (Bambi Diamond Edition, 2011)
- ↑ Disney's Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules (Pg. 6: Expansion and War: Bambi)
- ↑ "Walt Disney Collection: Walt's Masterworks". The Walt Disney Family Museum (February 28, 2007).
- ↑ The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms: 2004 Edition (Pg. 217-222, Dumbo and Bambi)
