Bambi

PLOT

In a Maine forest, a doe gives birth to a male fawn named Bambi, who will one day take over the position of Great Prince of the Forest, who guards the woodland creatures. Bambi grows up very attached to his mother, with whom he spends most of his time. The fawn is befriended by an eager, energetic male rabbit named Thumper, who helps to teach him to walk and speak, a young male skunk he mistakenly calls "Flower" (who is so flattered, he keeps the name) and a female fawn named Faline. Curious and inquisitive, Bambi frequently asks about the world around him and is cautioned about the dangers of life as a forest creature by his loving mother. One day out in a meadow, Bambi briefly sees the Great Prince but does not realize that he is his father. As the Great Prince wanders uphill, he discovers the human hunter, named "Man" by all the animals, is coming and rushes down to the meadow to get everyone to safety. Bambi is briefly separated from his mother during that time but is escorted to her by the Great Prince as the three of them make it back in the forest just as Man fires his gun.

During Bambi's first winter, he and Thumper play in the snow while Flower hibernates. One day his mother takes him to find food when Man shows up again. As they run off, his mother is shot and killed by the hunter, leaving the little fawn mournful and alone. Taking pity on his abandoned son, the Great Prince leads Bambi home as he reveals to him that he is his father. Next year, Bambi has matured into a young stag, and his childhood friends have also entered young adulthood. They are warned about becoming "twitterpated" by Friend Owl and that they will eventually fall in love, but the trio views the concept of romance with scorn. Thumper and Flower soon encounter their beautiful romantic counterparts and abandon their former thoughts on love. Bambi himself encounters Faline as a beautiful doe. Their courtship is quickly interrupted by a belligerent older stag named Ronno, who attempts to force Faline away from Bambi. Bambi successfully manages to defeat Ronno in battle and earn the rights to the doe's affections.

Bambi is awakened afterward by the smell of smoke; he follows it and discovers it leads to a hunter camp. His father warns Bambi that Man has returned with more hunters. Bambi is separated from Faline in the turmoil, but finds her cornered by Man's vicious hunting dogs, which he manages to ward off. Bambi escapes them and is shot by Man, but survives. Meanwhile, at the "Man's" camp, their campfire suddenly spreads into the forest, resulting in a wildfire from which the forest residents flee in fear. Bambi, his father, Faline, and the forest animals manage to reach shelter on a riverbank. The following spring, Faline gives birth to twins under Bambi's watchful eye as the new Great Prince of the Forest.

VOICE CAST

Donnie Dunagan as Bambi, the film's title character and protagonist

Bobby Stewart as Baby Bambi

Hardie Albright as Adolescent Bambi

John Sutherland as Adult Bambi

Peter Behn as Thumper, a rabbit friend of Bambi's

Tim Davis as Adolescent Thumper

Sam Edwards as Young Adult Thumper

Paula Winslowe as Bambi's Mother and the Pheasant

Stan Alexander as Flower, a striped skunk and another friend of Bambi's

Tim Davis as Adolescent Flower

Sterling Holloway as Young Adult Flower

Will Wright as Friend Owl

Cammie King as Faline, a female deer whom Bambi eventually falls in love with

Ann Gillis as Adult Faline

Fred Shields as the Great Prince of the Forest

Margaret Lee as Mrs. Rabbit

Mary Lansing as Aunt Ena and Mrs. Possum

Perce Pearce as Mr. Mole

Thelma Boardman as Girl Bunny, Quail Mother, Female Pheasant

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The voice cast was all uncredited, as was the practice at the time for many animated films. 

Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods,