Bambi (Disney film)/Characters

The cast of both movies.

Bambi

The central protagonist of both films, Bambi is a white-tailed deer, destined to grow up to become the next Prince of the Forest. Brave but incorruptibly pure.

• Babies Ever After
• Badass Adorable: If him as an adult doesn't count in the original film, then the climax of the midquel with him as a fawn certainly does. Not bad for a little fawn.
• Berserk Button: Two things that can get him enraged:
  • Taunting him about his relationship with his father.
  • Trying to make a move on Faline (even worse when it's against her own will).
• Beware the Nice Ones
• Break the Cutie: Happens in the first film when his mother dies and his father tells him off about what happened. Happens again in the midquel, once Bambi's hope of his mother being alive get dashed, as well as getting berated by his father for falling for the hunter's trick.
• Brown Eyes
• Curtains Match the Window: Big brown eyes matched with brown fur.
• Cute Bruiser
• Death Glare: Actually gains one in the midquel, most notably before he buck-kicks a ferocious hunting dog off a cliff.
• Missing Mom: Like you didn't know.
• Let's Get Dangerous:
  • Right before engaging in combat with Ronno for trying to separate him from Faline.
  • Repeated in the midquel when Ronno presses Bambi's Berserk Button by taunting him because his father sent him off to live with another doe.
• Like Father, Like Son: The end of the first movie implies that, as in the novel, he became aloof like his father when it shows him standing besides said father, observing Faline and their newborn children from a distance.
• Puppy Dog Eyes
• The Quiet One: In the original film, Bambi has a rather limited number of lines, usually emoting more from facial expression. In the midquel, while still more reserved than Thumper, he is much more talkative.
• Shrinking Violet: To an extent, Bambi is portrayed as somewhat shy and insecure, especially as a fawn.
• Summon Magic: He can be summoned in several Kingdom Hearts games. Apparently, in Kingdom Hearts canon his world was destroyed but his spirit lived on as a summon.
• Took a Level In Badass: The midquel shows this evolution process.
• Warrior Prince: Grows into this.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Kind of wants his dad's good opinion.

Thumper

Bambi's best friend, a peppy little rabbit.

• Big Brother Instinct: Thumper is older than Bambi, so he takes to helping him out as he grows into a Prince, even helping him talk as an infant. Less prominent with his own younger sisters, who chase and bug him to the point of annoyance.
• Bratty Half-Pint: In the midquel.
• Breakout Character: Was the star of his own series of books; "Disney Bunnies".
• Canon Foreigner: Played with. While Thumper seems to be roughly based off of the novel's Friend Hare, his personality and role were improvised and expanded greatly to help give the film a Lighter and Softer feel.
• Character Tics: Thumps his foot to get someone's attention or when excited.
• Everyone Loves Blondes: Falls in love with a cream-colored rabbit.
• Meaningful Name: See Character Tics.

Flower

A minor character in the films, he is friends with Bambi and Thumper.

• Ambiguously Bi: Flower is this. In the first half of the film he is quite friendly and close to Bambi and Thumper...only to have him fall in love with a female skunk early in the second half. It should be noted that the Flower seen in the first portion of the film was just a kit, the one in the 'twitterpated' sequence's voice and size making it rather obvious he had gone through the skunk equivalent of puberty.
• Brick Joke: Flower's "Turles are so scary" line midway through the midquel gets backed up at the end when Ronno winds up with a turtle clinging to his nose.
• Camp Straight: Despite whatever misconception you might have had, Flower is male, one who was even the first of the trio to have a girlfriend.
• Canon Foreigner: An original character for the Disney adaptation, created to help with the Lighter and Softer feel of the film similar to Thumper.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady / Viewer Gender Confusion: Before he grows up. He has a very high, cute voice, and acts very demure and a bit shy, and would rather sit and smell the flowers than go on an adventure. Even after he grows up, his voice gets deeper, the first hint that he is actually a male, but he still looks effeminate.
• Only Known by Their Nickname
• Smelly Skunk: Averted in the first film, played straight in the midquel when it serves as a Chekhov's Gun when Flower uses it to scare off one of the dogs that was chasing Bambi.
• Through a Face Full of Fur: Flower turns red when being kissed for the first time, the blush traveling from his nose all the way to the tip of his tail.
• Something Else Also Rises: His tail turns stiff and he turns completely red when kissed by the girl skunk.

Faline

The love interest of Bambi, and possibly his cousin.

• Blue Eyes
• Damsel in Distress: Bambi has to save her from both antagonists in the original film. While to a much lesser extent, Bambi and Thumper also defend her against Ronno's bullying in the midquel.
• First Girl Wins
• Genki Girl: Was quite jumpy while meeting Bambi for the first time.
• Kissing Cousins: In the original novel. Bambi and Faline are still listed as cousins in some licensed books based off the Disney version. Whether or not it's canon in the movies but never mentioned is unknown.
• Shallow Love Interest: In the original film. Gets more of a personality in the midquel.

Friend Owl

A mentor of sorts to our heroes.

• Know-Nothing Know-It-All
• Owl Be Damned: Averts this.
• The Obi-Wannabe
• The Owl-Knowing One: Played with. While something of a Know-Nothing Know-It-All he seems genuinely knowledgeable in some areas. In the midquel he is near instantly observant that Bambi would be in better care with his father.

Ronno

Bambi's rival.

• Adaptation Dye Job: He has brown eyes in the original, but in the midquel he has green eyes, probably to help further distinguish him from Bambi.
• Always Second Best: A partial reason for his growing hatred of Bambi in the midquel, growing rather competitive around him in terms of athleticism and skill.
• Ambition Is Evil
• Ascended Extra
• Attempted Rape: Implied that he was going to do this to Faline when he is an adult. Bambi puts a stop to that.
• Bratty Half-Pint: As a fawn.
• The Bully
• Butt Monkey: Should Ronno's Jerkass antics ever get grating, just wait five seconds for him to fall victim to some Amusing Injury or other form of humiliation.
• Cute Bruiser: The nearest to his fawn form's boasting being genuine is he can match Bambi in a fight.
• I Call Him Mr. Happy: In a G-rated version, Ronno has apparently named his antler buds and refers to them as "the boys."
• Miles Gloriosus: In his child form at least, despite his boasting he is usually the first to run in even the slightest threat.

Ronno: MOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

• The Rival
• Took a Level In Badass: Timeline wise, he grows from a cowardly dim witted bully to a rather sinister hulking deer.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Ronno goes from simply making fun of Bambi when they first meet, to deliberately coaxing him into fights and confrontations. As an adult, he even seems to provide an animal example of Attempted Rape when he tries forcing Faline apart from Bambi.

Bambi's Mother

Bambi's mother. Sadly killed off in the most famous moment of the original film, but her death is the driving force of the midquel.

• Death by Newbery Medal
• Disposable Doe: She probably has less development than Faline the Shallow Love Interest has.
• Mood Whiplash: Bambie's mom's death scene is so memorable because the film had been so tranquil up until that point. Directly afterwards, there's a cut right into spring with happy birds singing an upbeat song about the mating season.
• No Name Given
• Parental Neglect / Parental Abandonment: In the novel she gradually grows more distant to Bambi, eventually abandoning him once mating season arrives. She does come back, though.
• Snow Means Death: There's a heavy snowfall after she dies.

The Great Prince

The wise guardian of the forest, and the oldest surviving deer in the forest. Also the father of Bambi.

• Badass
• Berserk Button: In the midquel, after he saves Bambi from the hunter and his dogs:
  • "What if i hadn't gotten to you in time?! You could have been... When I tell you "run", you RUN, NEVER freeze like that!"
• Death by Adaptation: There actually is a pro-hurting educational book out there called Little Jake And The Three Bears that has the titular Little Jake off him and one of said bears, because this will totally make kids want to be ethical responsible hunters. As if kids weren't traumatized enough by Bambi's mother's death.
• Defrosting Ice King: In the midquel.
• The Stoic: Very much in the original film. Initially is this in the midquel, but softens up.
• Large Ham: It's really hard to take the Great Prince seriously when you realize that he's voiced by friggin' Picard.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: The Great Prince turns out to be Bambi's father midway through the first film. The midquel (which takes place immediately after the death of Bambi's mother) also states early on that he is his father.
• Manly Tears: The sign of his full defrosting when he believes Bambi is dead in the midquel.
• The Obi-Wan: The Great Prince. This is averted more than halfway through Bambi II, however, when the Prince finally starts to open up and care more for Bambi as a father.
• Papa Wolf: Took on hunting dogs to protect his son.
• Parental Neglect: In keeping with the semi-realistic deer behavior of the first film, he doesn't seem to have much to do with his son until his mothers death. This comes back to haunt him in the midquel, where he is left to care for Bambi alone.
• Spared by the Adaptation: In the original novel, the Great Prince is last depicted leaving Bambi to die of old age. A similar transition of him departing as Bambi takes his place is shown in the film, though his death is not directly implied whatsoever (especially since a lot less time has passed than in the novel).
• Spell My Name with a "The": The Great Prince of the Forest, Bambi's father.
• The Quiet One
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: In the midquel. Though he means well, and it doesn't stop Bambi Calling the Old Man Out later on either.
• What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: The Great Prince does everything in a ridiculously majestic manner but somehow seems to do it all with his eyes literally closed.

Thumper's family

• Annoying Younger Sibling: All of Thumper's sisters in the midquel, who follow and cling to him perpetually. He is constantly trying to ditch them.
• Bratty Half-Pint(s): The sisters.
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: His father does not appear at all in either films.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The fifth sister is inexplicably gone from the midquel.

Mena

Was intended to be the stepmother of Bambi, but an encounter with a hunter's trap and his dogs, as well as Bambi bonding with his father, changes this. She was childhood friends with Bambi's mother. Only had a couple minutes of screentime.

• Damsel in Distress: Got her back foot stuck in a trap thanks to Ronno and had to be saved by both Bambi and his father.
• Meaningful Echo: When the above happens, she says the exact words Bambi's mother said to him before she died.
• Parental Substitute: Was supposed to be this for Bambi.

The Hunter

Unseen antagonist.

• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In the novel he's known by the animals simply as "He" or "Him".
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: Although concept art for the film did show his dead body like the novel did, from a scene that never made it into the final film.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: Though not intentional in the film (the reason he was not shown was because Walt didn't want to make him a villain and kids wouldn't understand if he wasn't) the film still seems to send this message.
• Humans Are Cthulhu: More so the novel than the film. The novel has a darker tone that extends to the portrayal of the hunter as well. In the film he is more of a occasional hazard, in the novel he always comes with a foreboding atmosphere and is viewed as all powerful, inescapable and so terrifying deer can barely bring themselves to run away.
• Not So Different: In the novel, the Great Prince brings Bambi to his dead body for the purpose of teaching him one last lesson. Bambi learns man is not all powerful, he has needs like animals do and dies like animals do, and there is one greater who does not. The Great Prince then calls him son for the first and last time, before going off to die.
• The Voice: In the sequel you hear him using deer calls. The deer hear it as "I'm here" or "Hello."
• Ultimate Evil: Disney's decision to not show him to avoid vilifying hunters appears to have backfired on Disney as it just made him scarier in peoples minds, so much so he ranked 20 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains list, making him the only character on that list that is never shown.