Duckyworth's Thoughts: Bambi 2 ~ 2006

Hello, my friends…. Here is my next Disney Sequel review for y’all.

Well, considering the fact that the last film I reviewed was so terrible, it had the villain saying stuff like – ‘ I could… KISS me…. But I’d fall in love! ‘, I think I need some kind of much BETTER Disney sequel to help me to recover from that…. Atrocity… And I believe that I may have found just the Disney sequel to help me recover. So, this time, I will be reviewing one of the more obscure of the Disney sequels, that I only became aware of the existence of very recently – Bambi 2.

 
YES – I typed that correctly – in the same year that the horrid TRAVESTY that was The Wild came out, Disney made a sequel to the 1942 classic Bambi…. And let me say right now, while 2006 may have been a bit of a dark year for animation in my book (The Wild, The Reef, the mediocre Pixar film Cars and the very awkward Ice Age 2: The Meltdown), there were at least some GOOD films that came out of that year – Monster House being one of them that I will review in October, Flushed Away being a great first film in CGI from Aardman, Curious George being a cute little film, Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea being a major improvement from the overhyped Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (PERSONAL OPINION! PERSONAL OPINION!! Please don’t throw hate comments at me for that! ) and the film that I will be reviewing today – Bambi 2. I will admit, I was a little bit sceptical hearing about this film – I mean, Bambi 2?! This was a film I didn’t know existed, and actually thought COULDN’T exist when I heard of it…. But then again, if Return to Oz came out almost 50 years after the first Wizard of Oz film, and Oz the Great and Powerful came out thirty or so years after that, I’m sure 64 years wouldn’t be much of a stretch for the BAMBI sequel to be released. But a question some of you may be asking is (and I will admit, before I saw Bambi for the first time, I was asking it as well) – WHY would Disney make a sequel to BAMBI of all films?

Well, my answer to that question came to me after I saw the original film for myself. The first Bambi was based on the based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten. The film follows the life of the newborn prince of the forest, Bambi, and his trials and experiences as he grows up to follow in his father, the Great Prince of the Forest’s footsteps, including meeting new friends, dealing with the harsh natures of man (by the way, this is one of the better examples of an environmental film I have seen ), meeting his first love, the changes in nature, and….. dealing with the loss of his mother. Even WITHOUT seeing the film itself, I KNEW how tragic the scene when Bambi’s mom was shot is… It’s one of those iconic scenes that are still talked about even to this day. And yes, I also felt incredibly sad when I saw that scene in this film…

The film is a good film, but I do have two main problems with the film that prevents it from being one of my absolute favourite of the Disney films. My first problem is that there isn’t really much development into what Bambi’s relationship with his father was – all that Bambi’s father says to him are ‘your mother cannot be with you anymore’, ‘now come, my son’, and, in a rather bitter voice (I mean, they were trapped in a forest fire, but the way he doesn’t even HELP HIS SON GET UP rubs me the wrong way ) ‘get up, Bambi! Get up!’. Also, the way that he wasn’t even properly PRESENT when his son was born rubbed me the wrong way too…. A similar problem to him and Bambi just being on the cliff when Faline gives birth. Once again, maybe I’m looking too deeply into this, I mean, the film came out in the 40’s, so the way they showed family reactions was most likely different back then to now… but once again, it just… rubs me the wrong way…. My second main problem with the film is that after Bambi’s mother is shot – not only does it suddenly move to that infamous bird singing bit (you know, the ‘lalalala! Tweettweetatweet tweettweetatweet tweettweetatweet lalalala!’ part ) – but she is never mentioned again, and it feels, to me at least, like some scenes have been… missed out. I don’t know, maybe I’m looking at it all wrong, but I personally think the film would have been stronger if they included something like Bambi’s friends TALKING to him about his mother passing, and something like Land Before Time did – you know, that scene where Littlefoot talks to that elderly dinosaur, who says that just because someone has passed away doesn’t mean they can’t still live on forever in your heart – and maybe showing how Bambi’s FATHER reacts to this. I mean, I still LIKE the film – not the best Disney has given me, but still good (similar to how I would rate 101 Dalmations, Aristocats, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Sword in the Stone and Emperor’s New Groove) – but those two main problems still remain…. At least for me.

Luckily, when I heard about what this film focuses on, what Bambi’s relationship with his father was like, I got HYPED. I mean, I was REALLY excited to see this film. No joke – when I heard more and more about the film, my curiosity was REALLY peaked, and I really tried to find the film. And luckily, my search has paid off, for here is my review for the film. So, is this film worth the search? Will it help Disney to make up for the 2006 failures The Wild and Cars, and for Belle’s Magical World, Little Mermaid 2, Hunchback 2 and Lion King 1 ½? Well, let’s go into the forest once more and find out….

The film starts with some rather soothing music and…. Snowflakes that Whoville may or may not be housed on floating by. Oh no… wait a minute….. A snow-covered forest… Oh dear – is the Bambi’s mom being shot scene going to play again? I’m not calling the film lazy or anything for this, but… that’s a rather tense thing to start a film on…. No, wait a minute – the film starts with poor Bambi calling for his mom… So luckily, we don’t see Bambi’s mom getting shot, but we do see the after effects – Bambi calling for his mom…. And while Bambi’s voice actor, obviously, is NOT the same as the original Bambi, I… honestly couldn’t tell the difference… Bambi’s father, the Great Prince of the Forest, says ‘Your mother cannot be with you any more’, and Bambi follows his father away….. And this is where the film shows what happens next…. Needless to say, this is a rather sombre beginning for any film – and… is it me, or am I getting a ‘An American Tail’ vibe from this opening… for some reason, I can imagine that music fitting over this opening – and by the way, there is some rather nice remixing of some of the music from the first film. Anyway, Bambi’s father takes the poor young prince back to the nest where he and his mother was sleeping, and….. then, Owl comes in. As a matter of fact, let me give this film credit where credit is due – the voice acting is GREAT in this film. Even though they (understandably) couldn’t get the original voice actors back, I feel the newcomers did a pretty good job filling in their shoes. For example, Friend Owl (that curmudgeonly old owl who is a little bit like Mama from Fox and the Hound if she had a bit of a disdain for love – at least…. I THINK that was what he was describing in that film – I thought the way he talked about ‘your head’s in a whirl and you’re walking on air’ was a description of heavy drug abuse or something when I watched it recently – yeah, I need to get my mind out of the gutter ) here is voiced by Keith Ferguson, who does a pretty good job, I’d say . And as for the Great Prince of the Forest, he’s voiced by - I kid you not – PATRICK STEWART. That’s right, Professor X from X-Men, Captain Luc-Picard from Star Trek, Seti from Prince of Egypt, Uriel Septim VII from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and many more voiced the Great Prince…. And let me tell you – I think he was the ideal choice here. And this is a testament as to how this film is a par above your average low quality Disney sequel – if they got PATRICK STEWART, it shows they put some extra effort in.

But as well as that, the ANIMATION is really impressive in this film too – this is pretty much PRINCESS AND THE FROG levels of impressive, in my opinion. Friend Owl and the Great Prince feel sympathy for Bambi losing his mother, and when the Great Prince asks Friend Owl to find a suitable guardian for Bambi….. Friend Owl suggests the Great Prince. Well… considering the fact that the Great Prince IS Bambi’s father to begin with, that would be my first choice too… As the Great Prince says the bucks look after the herd and the does look after the young, Friend Owl pretty much brings up my point word for word – ‘well.. you ARE his father..’ WELL SAID. The Great Prince agrees to keep Bambi safe until spring, where a doe could be more available as guardian, and…. it is pretty sweet…. And pretty subtle how Bambi looks up at his dad as he goes back to sleep – I can imagine that after losing his mother, and considering the fact that his father hasn’t had much of a role in his life yet, he may be a reluctant to this….

And we’re off to a pretty good start. No, I’m serious. This setup is actually pretty well established. And some more beautiful songs come in…. and like the animation and voice talents, it’s pretty well made. And some of the lyrics are just…. Great. Listen to this – ‘The colder the winter, the warmer the spring. The deeper the sorrow, the more our hearts sing. And even when you can’t see it, inside everything… there is life.’ Wow… By the way, who sung this song? *looks up on IMDb* Alison Krauss… Not a familiar name, but…. She has a great set of pipes. It’s much more impressive and memorable than ‘Ordinary Miracles’ from Hunchback 2, that’s for sure… I also like how the film is a more gentle and soothing introduction to the film. It fits with the imagery of spring coming and winter ending, and all of the animals in the forest awakening from hibernation. By the way, there is some surprisingly good comedy here – the duck bowling the other ducks over on the ice, and the animals gazing at the frozen berries, and the one pushing the other away. And it doesn’t seem out of place. By the way, am I the only one who wondered whether Scrat was looking for his acorn again and caused that waterfall to thaw out?

Anyway – you may want to remember that little stalk that grew on top of Bambi’s home at the end of the song – it is pretty symbolic throughout the film, in my opinion. It’s a little sapling, dropping a small raindrop… almost like a tear…. Symbolic for Bambi being a lonely, sad sapling, perhaps? Speaking of Bambi, in a relatively cute scene, he sneezes when a droplet drips onto his nose. Noticing his father is no longer there next to him, he rushes outside – and then… bumps into his father outside. Ah, Bambi, just as much a klutz as I remember, I see… Well, at least you’re not getting birds mixed up with butterflies anymore… The Great Prince starts telling Bambi that princes are meant to wake up before the rest of the forest (to… keep an eye out for any danger, I guess) and.. Bambi’s stomach starts rumbling. By the way, that little awkward expression Bambi pulls is just… great. Actually, am I the only one who’s reminded of that Rudolph film I reviewed last Christmas by this? The Great Prince finds him some…. Dried up weeds , and of course, when Bambi eats it, he shudders. Haha, pretty much my reaction to whenever I eat olives… And when Bambi, being excited to spend time with his father, starts jumping about yelling ‘whoo hoo’, The Great Prince says ‘a prince does not ‘whoo hoo’’. WOW. That is…. NOT something I expected to hear coming from Patrick Stewart…. I mean, imagine placing that line over a clip from X-Men or Star Trek…. Speaking of which, as well as showing a developing relationship between the Great Prince and Bambi very well in this film, the funny moments are… surprisingly effective, I may add – I mean, after Hunchback 2’s failed attempts at ‘comedy’, ANYTHING would seem funny, but…. No, for a Disney sequel this comedy is pretty good – the next example being Bambi trying to follow his father walking in a dignified manner, and failing – especially the bit when he can’t bring himself to leap over the log and tries to crawl underneath instead. Bambi here is REALLY reminding me of Rudolph from that Rudolph film I mentioned…. In fact, the voice actor sounds familiar… Just give me a sec - *ten seconds later, after an IMDb check* Let’s see, Alexander Gould, who voiced… NEMO from Finding Nemo? Wow, another good bit of casting. They eventually get to the rest of the herd, and…. this film actually gives me a legitimate reason WHY Bambi’s father was SO FAR AWAY from him when he was born – he says that being far away from the herd gives him a better view to spot danger. Congratulations Disney – you have FINALLY made a Disney sequel that has the potential to CLEAN UP PLOT-HOLES FROM THE FIRST FILM…

Bambi tells his father that he can’t play with the rest of the herd if he’s so far away, and that play is a good part of a young deer’s lifestyle. Now, here’s ANOTHER thing I give this film credit for – both points of view from Bambi and his father make quite a bit of sense. Bambi talks about how his mother told him about that and – oooh, dear.. Touchy subject… As the Great Prince frowns at his late wife being mentioned, he, understandably, tells Bambi that he shouldn’t dwell on the past. A good point – sometimes, to deal with the loss of a loved one, instead of looking back all the time, you need to look ahead. It’s as Gusteau said in Ratatouille – ‘if you keep dwelling on what you have left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead!’ As they continue on – there is some rather… cute/amusing images of Bambi’s father walking through the snow, and Bambi barely being able to drag himself through it… Just… the way, he struggles through, and then gets COVERED in snow and shakes it off, is pretty adorkable.  He has some trouble getting the rest of the snow off his leg, when it turns out under the snow is…. THUMPER!

Thumper hides behind Bambi because Thumper’s… younger sisters are after him. And as always, Thumper is a bit of a delinquent, but still likeable and cute. As his sisters chase after him, in a rather cute scene, they ask him to take them to see a groundhog… As long as the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow, I’m sure it will be okay. (Fairly Odd Parents reference ). Thumper, being the troublesome little rabbit he usually is, refuses, but of course, his mother is there to convince him otherwise. By the way, for a father who is full of knowledge for Thumper apparently, do we ever SEE Thumper’s father? Speaking of which, after Thumper recites his latest lesson for the day ‘the family that plays together, stays together’, Bambi’s father calls him away. Bambi’s father realises that Bambi is having problems getting up to follow him, and sees the southern meadow is far away, so he allows Bambi to see this groundhog Thumper went to see. By the way, the way the different animals run really reminds me of the first film – I especially love the touch with the quail and the quail chicks running. I’ve always loved how they were animated in the first film. Thumper and Bambi next come across a rather… messed up Flower. Flower follows, and now all of the other animals come to Friend Owl – to see the groundhog. By the way, Thumper and his sisters are rather cute.

Speaking of Fairly Odd Parents references, it turns out that a groundhog seeing his shadow is... actually a real myth. If a groundhog sees his/her shadow, it means more winter. No wonder everyone’s so excited to see the groundhog emerge. Friend Owl tries to announce the groundhog waking up, but the groundhog is too shy – and is afraid of seeing his shadow. Also, Friend Owl gets his head stuck in the hole. The next re-accuring character from the first film is Faline – who Bambi comes across here. Bambi, being Bambi, is rather shy, and backs away… falling over a ledge… I love the way he waves to her. After some coaxing, the groundhog finally comes out of his burrow, and understandably, the poor fellow is anxious about his opening his eyes, because seeing his shadow would mean more winter. Luckily, the clouds come by and block out the sun, meaning he doesn’t see his shadow. And as the ‘Gay Little Spring Song’ starts up, Friend Owl blocking his ears in disdain (nice bit of continuity there ) starts up…….

HE appears. A rather obnoxious young deer scares the groundhog back into his hole. Understandably, everyone is upset at this and leaves. The young buck stops Bambi, Faline and their friends (covering Flower and Thumper in snow, by the way ), and reveals himself to be called Ronno. Yeah, you remember that deer that tried to drive Bambi away from Faline near the climax of the first film? Yeah, judging by his design, I can guess he’s the same character as that. And….. he’s pretty obnoxious, to say the least…. Not the worst I’ve seen, but he’s quite annoying. Kind of like a deer version of that slurring brat Koda from Brother Bear…. He tells Bambi and his friends that he saw man in the forest, and tells them about them using a kind of animal caller that lured him in. But he claims he hit them away with his horns. A…. tall tale that even Pippi Longstocking would laugh at, I’d say… Everyone says his tale is quite frankly, unbelievable (and to be honest, I agree with them. ), and then Ronno….. er, asks Bambi to spar… Okay, to his credit, I will say that Ronno does act like a boy who wants to act all tough like the centre of attention, like the other child characters are written like real children here, but sadly, Ronno is REALLY annoying….. In fact, let’s check the ‘annoy-o-meter’…. (Ronno says that Bambi is a girl’s name (er… unisex mean anything to you, Ronno? ) and threatens him) …. Right now he’s on par with Pips from FernGully… Luckily, his mom calls him away, just after he…. Squeaks Bambi’s name in an annoying manner. He goes up to his mom and claim he’s… making new friends. PFF, yeah – just like the way ALVIN FROM PARANORMAN tries to ‘make friends’ with Norman by annoyingly calling him a goober and squashing a fly on his locker… Thumper gets a funny bit of irony by calling Ronno a momma’s boy and then going back to his mom – and Flower goes with his mom.

As Faline leaves to her mom…. Clearly this is quite troublesome for poor Bambi – left all alone in the clearing… Daww – like poor children who finish school not having a parent to pick them up until late. He falls asleep while waiting for his father, and…. has a dream sequence where he chases after some butterflies and… one lands on his tongue… That… CAN’T be tasty. And then - *hears a female voice say ‘Bambi’* BAMBI’S MOM! And… let me just say, that shot of the butterflies leading to and surrounding Bambi’s mother is just BEAUTIFUL. Almost looks like a shot of something from Fantasia…. And is it me, or does the wheat remind anyone else of the dream sequence from Gladiator? Bambi runs up to his mother and as they nuzzle each other… you know what…. I can’t do this scene any justice… Just… just read the transcript of this scene…

Bambi: ‘I miss you so much…’

Bambi’s mom: ‘Sssh.. there, there… It’s going to be alright.. You’ll see…’

Bambi: ‘Why did you have to go?’

Bambi’s mom: ‘Everything in the forest has its season… Where one thing falls… another grows. Maybe not what was there before, but something new and wonderful all the same…’

Bambi: ‘But I feel so alone….’

Bambi’s Mom: ‘I’m always with you – even when you can’t see me… I’m here…’

…… Wow… yes, folks – a DISNEY SEQUEL gave us that emotional scene. I’m serious, while I watched that scene and heard that sweet music from the original film… I felt pretty emotional… especially when Bambi said ‘but I feel so alone..’ Daww… poor little guy. And, wouldn’t you know it, THAT scene right there was one of the things that I said was on my wishlist at the start of this review… Wow, well done film – only twenty minutes in, you’re meeting my wishes…

Bambi, waking up from his dream, hears a voice in the forest calling ‘I’m here’…. Thinking it’s his mom, he follows the voice – you know what, this also reminds me of another children’s film that be dark in places, but is still beautiful and charming – Land Before Time! I mean, okay, there aren’t any deer shaped clouds in the sky or Great Valleys, but I’m seeing similarities. Following the voice, Bambi comes into…. THE MEADOW WHERE HIS MOM WAS SHOT. Oooh dear, this isn’t going to go well…. And now it turned into Watership Down creepiness all of a sudden…. I don’t know, I’m finding it a bit eerie here… Speaking of Watership Down, Bambi starts getting chased by DOGS, after some crows came out of the forest…. WOW, this suddenly got… dark… Now all we need is Thumper to get trapped in a snare and there would REALLY be Watership Down tendencies in here… Luckily, the Great Prince of the Forest comes to Bambi, and tells him to run away. But, understandably, Bambi is frozen in fear, and then the Great Prince rushes in and knocks the dogs away! WOO! WOO! GO! GO! GO! The dogs are batted away by the Great Prince, but when the shine of a gun is seen in the distance, Bambi is still frozen in fear, so the Great Prince has no choice but to knock Bambi to his senses, so he can run away. Whew…… That was a close one….

It turns out that the ‘voice’ Bambi heard was a deer caller…. The Great Prince yells at Bambi and tells him that he should never freeze like that. But I do like how the Great Prince shows some sorrow when Bambi said he thought it was his mother’s voice, so it’s clear that the Great Prince doesn’t want the same thing to happen to Bambi that happened to his late wife…. They go back home…. And in a legitimately sorrowful scene, Bambi says ‘She’s never coming back, is she?’ and after a long pause, his father can only simply reply ‘…..no..’ And then the Great Prince… walks off into the fog. Now, before you start saying ‘what, he’s just LEAVING his son there?!’, all I can say is…

HOLD IT!

The Great Prince goes to a cliff overlooking the rain drenched forest and, with a deeply sorrowed expression, goes to Friend Owl for advice. So, I guess like in the first film, Friend Owl is kind of like the Big Mama of this forest. And the Great Prince talks about… finding a new home for Bambi…. By the way, just a little side note – is it me, or does the Great Prince at times sound a bit like what King Sombra would sound like if the ghostly echo was taken away from his voice and was more gentle? Wow – Patrick Stewart reminds me of King Sombra now… Damn, Professor X, you are cool, you know that? The next scene has…. Thumper’s sisters looking for him… While Flower is following him and helping him carry a log. By the way, I think Flower is adorable here when he says ‘I think they’re sweet’. Then the log they’re hiding underneath bumps into the Great Prince…. I just LOVE the Great Prince’s expressions here, and the way he just lifts up his hoof to let them by is pretty good. And then he just shakes his head…. Bambi follows his father to the den, and then the Great Prince leaves him again…. For duties again, I guess. Flower and Thumper ask him what’s going on, and Bambi tells them that he thinks his father pretty much wants nothing to do with him. He wants to show his father he can be just as brave as he is – and guess who tries ‘teaching’ Bambi? Thumper… 

Words of wisdom from Thumper, this will SURELY go well… Giving an expression that, as Flower states, makes it look like he has a hairball… This scene reminds me quite a bit of that scene where Thumper tries to teach Bambi how to say ‘bird’ (one of my favourite scenes from the first film )…. And then, when Flower tries to appear brave, he… goes all Son of Stimpy on us and withers a bush…. Nice. Actually, to be fair, the fart joke here is, for one, understandable seen as he’s a skunk, and second, it’s MUCH funnier than things I’ve seen in say – SANJAY AND CRAIG and BREADWINNERS. Bambi tries to roar, but ends up bleating…… And to be fair, it’s a pretty cute sound… They try acting all brave for a while, until they come across a log on the river – where a porcupine comes across them – by the way, does anyone else think he’s like a mixture between the porcupine and that badger from The Fox and the Hound? Sure seems like it… Bambi and his friends see his father nearby, and Bambi wants to prove himself to him by acting brave….. By going up to that porcupine and demanding to go across the log that the porcupine is guarding… The porcupine starts acting like a prick, and starts toying around with the young prince. Meanwhile, Thumper comes up to the Great Prince, and… er… gets his attention.. Needless to say, what Thumper does, and the way the Great Prince reacts is pretty funny. Meanwhile, Bambi jumps over the porcupine onto the other side – and the porcupine… charges towards him… Oooh dear. Bambi gets pranged in the… butt… Ouch… Imagine that time when Bernard got those prickly plants stuck all over him in Rescuers Down Under – now times that by ten – that’s probably how painful it was… The Great Prince comes across the porcupine and…. THIS happens.

Porcupine: ‘What are you looking at, you big MOOSE?!’

Oh, no, I, dur, I… UGH… He did not just disrespect the Great Prince! Mark my words, porcupine, you do NOT disrespect the GREAT PRINCE! He’s like Princess Celestia – you mess with him and your ass is grass! Remember those dogs he beat up earlier?! How about you get done to your face, you disrespectful - *clears throat* …. …. Sorry, got a bit carried away there… But yeah, regardless of whether Bambi was on his property or not, that porcupine was pretty rude… Bambi, who was hiding from his father, comes out once he’s gone, and his friends come to help him…. Who has suddenly got porcupine thistles on his butt… Ow. And then, coming along are Faline and… Ronno. This can’t be good…. Ronno is (rather annoyingly) bragging about ‘not feeling any pain’ and, rather stupidly ramming into a tree. Faline hears Bambi, and rushes to his help. And Ronno –

Ronno: ‘HEY! I wasn’t finished talking about me!’

…..Yeah, needless to say, he’s becoming less and less likeable by the second… Sorry, but I’m not finding myself liking this character…. If you want to make a child character who acts really tough, you’ve got to be careful. They could come as really charming (Thumper) or REALLY annoying (Ronno and Koda from Brother Bear). In fact, where is he on the annoy-o-meter now? *checks* Now he’s on par with Nikki, Kaltag and Star from Balto…. Ugh. Anyway, Faline comes across Bambi, who is trying to hide his embarrassing injuries from Faline. After Thumper pulls off the last spine…. Gggh… Ronno comes in…. Insulting Bambi for….. *twitches in anger* Ahem… let me.. try and say this again….. INSULTING BAMBI FOR BEING FROZEN IN FEAR WHEN ON THE MEADOW. Oh no. He didn’t. …….He did. He REALLY did. Well – look, if I had been caught in a hunter’s torchlights with RABID DOGS coming at me, I think I would freeze in fear too – whether or not I was a deer or a human. But you know the worst part? That isn’t ALL that this little pukestain Ronno does. He next says ‘if we didn’t have cowards, we wouldn’t know who the brave ones are’. *clenches fist in anger* …….UGH. Luckily, Faline wants to stay with Bambi, but… Ronno tries to PUSH Faline away. Bambi tells Ronno to leave her alone, and then after Ronno pushes more of my rage buttons, Thumper nudges Bambi and Bambi accidentally pushes Ronno into the mud… Oooh dear. And now Ronno chases after Bambi and Thumper…. But they come to a cliff face and… do a rather cool jump over it. And now Thumper gives Ronno a taste of his own medicine, before…. They run into the Great Prince. Dooogh…. The Great Prince notices that Bambi was able to jump the distance, something he wasn’t able to do until he had antlers, and…. Daww, this next bit is sweet. Bambi smiles at his father, and when the Great Prince smiles back, he becomes a bit bashful and composes himself… Aww… That was a cute little bit of bonding. No, seriously, throughout this film, the Great Prince started working his way up my underappreciated characters list AND favourite characters list. He was more of a….. plot device than a character in the first film, but here, I feel he’s been made more three-dimensional, and the development of the relationship between Bambi and his father is, honestly, very interesting, and quite heart-warming too. Oh, and now Ronno tries to make the same jump… Yeah, because nothing makes me like a character MORE than saying ‘no way, that’s lame, watch me do it better. FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL.’  

Also, just a bit of a side note – the butterfly that hatches in the next scene is actually pretty symbolic… We’ll see in time. Bambi tries to make the same jump he did earlier, and starts practicing with Thumper. By the way, how is that when THUMPER playfully taunts Bambi, it’s cute, but when RONNO taunts Bambi, it’s really obnoxious? The Great Prince comes across Friend Owl, and the Friend Owl says (after a flying start gag that - O-kaaay… How is that I’m getting so many laughs out of the Great Prince’s reactions to things going on in this film? Seriously – I LOVE this guy!) that he’s found several does that can be excellent mothers for Bambi… And needless to say, I can tell that the Great Prince is starting to worry about becoming a bit too soft in other people’s eyes, and says he still hasn’t changed his mind about needing a new mother for Bambi…. Who has… just formed a MOSHPIT on top of Thumper… It turns out that the Great Prince has been doing a lot of… standing atop tall forest-based structures recently and looking all awesome while looking out on the horizon. What is that about, pray tell? Well, Bambi goes to ask him, and the Great Prince tells him that he is observing the forest – it’s very difficult to explain EXACTLY how to do it – but it’s basically feeling the forest all around you. Not LITERALLY feeling it, like… hugging trees constantly, but rather, hearing, seeing and smelling what’s around you all at the same time. OH, so it’s like feeling that leaf wind thing in Pocahontas or feeling an AURA of the forest, if you will. So, is the Great Prince like a deer version of.… Lucario? Because THAT would be really AWESOME!! Bambi tries to do the same thing, and says that even if he is scared – a prince cannot let fear stop him from acting… He chuckles softly when Bambi says his father knows everything – but the Great Prince replies ‘Well.. not EVERYTHING.’ Yet another great bit of father/son bonding in this film I really enjoy – both the father and the son can learn from each other. Bambi wants to learn how to be brave, while the Great Prince feels that his life has been devoid of joy and innocence. And the Great Prince lets Bambi come along with him. And then….. Thumper’s sisters chase him again.

And now we get another song. Like the film at the start of the film, the song is very pleasant and soothing. And – is it me, or am I reminded of the start theme for Friendship is Magic with this song? That is a very good sign. And…. this scene is, to be honest, VERY sweet… The song shows Bambi and his father bonding – including Bambi’s father helping him up a cliff, Thumper’s sisters chasing him (again ), and Bambi trying to scrape a tree like his father does. Also, I love how when a ladybird gets trapped on a spider web (HEEELP MEEE! Fly reference ftw ), Bambi helps it off – and Bambi can begin to hear the forest like his father can…. Oh, but Ronno has to ruin it by staring at Bambi harshly and jump into a stampede, where Bambi can’t go yet…. That little PUKE!! *checks the annoy-o-meter* Yep, he’s right on par with Cera from Land Before Time and Florent L’Belle from Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies. youtu.be/yxAUL7yyPdo?t=6m30s  Yep – Ronno is now as annoying as a vain fop who constantly sprays Apollo Justice with cologne and laughs annoyingly… But Ronno doesn’t have the technicality that Florent has – he doesn’t have any technical knowledge, like having mobile phone shoulder pads, and Ronno doesn’t have a theme tune like Florent, which, admittedly is a pretty cool theme… Ronno is pretty much this film’s one-dimensional bully with no development or redeeming qualities whatsoever…. UGH. Luckily, the Great Prince then allows Bambi to follow him to run alongside him, and Bambi outruns that puke Ronno… By the way, I like this lyric ‘A new season’s begun, for a father and son’ And now, the Great Prince really starts bonding with his son, and finally beginning to have some fun in his life. And… let me just say, it’s quite adorable, to be truthful. I love the bits when they’re splashing each other… And let me say, this is a MUCH better use of that Brother Bear clearing than Brother Bear did… I think it’s official – the Great Prince, throughout this film, has developed from a character who was merely a plot device in the first film, into a fully-fledged three-dimensional character, who has become of my favourite parent/guardian characters in media. Alongside with Mrs Brisby from Secret of NIMH, Zoroark from Pokemon: Zoroark Master of Illusions, Kanga from Winnie the Pooh, Professor Layton (I feel he’s a pretty good second father for Luke ), Princess Celestia (I see her as a kind of mother figure for her subjects ), Duchess from the Aristocats, Cassim from Aladdin 3 and Nani from Lilo and Stitch, the Great Prince has now become one of my favourite parent/parental figure characters.

And now the amusement returns, when the understandably excited Bambi can’t get to sleep, and talks about the escapades they had that day…. The way the Great Prince rolls his eyes when Bambi talks about the cricket chasing, and he gives a little smile… The Great Prince giving words of wisdom doesn’t sound QUITE as serious when he’s tired, but I love the way he says ‘everything must get rest. Some at night, some during the day… *looks at Bambi* Some not at all…’ I can say right now – the Great Prince trying to explain to Bambi why everything sleeps reminds me of when Gepetto tried to explain the same thing to Pinocchio… And then, after some beautifully animated fireflies are shown, Bambi says ‘Mother’s resting now, isn’t she?’ …..Touchy subject… And it’s clear here that the Great Prince mourns Bambi’s mother as much as his son does, as he curls more around his son… The next morning, Bambi and his father continue to bond…. And after they start playing…. Friend Owl comes in – and the Great Prince is a bit embarrassed and a bit too proud to admit that he’s showing his soft side… Friend Owl then announces that he has found a suitable guardian for Bambi – a doe named Mena. Oh dearie me… This is going to get awkward… Especially when Mena says she has a… NEW HOME ready for Bambi… OH…… DEAR….. Bambi puts two and two together, and figures out his father’s original plan. After the two argue, Bambi says ‘I wish my mother was here instead of you’, and runs away…. Bambi says goodbye to his friends…. And then the Great Prince takes Bambi away…… But it’s clear that, while following tradition, the Great Prince is feeling regretful at sending his son away to a new guardian… As he says that a prince must allow sacrifice and must ignore his feelings in doing what’s best for others. I don’t think he’s necessarily talking to Bambi here – he’s talking to himself. Daww… when Bambi strokes his father goodbye… Now, I will give this film credit for doing one thing that is VERY difficult for a film to do correctly, in my opinion – portray BROKEN FAMILIES well. Unlike Flight Before Christmas, with Prancer knocking up Oona in a one night stand and LEAVING way before his son is born and not showing ANY signs of being a suitable guardian after Niko is born, Bambi 2 handles the mature subject matter really well – in real cases, sometimes a single parent may be deemed as an unsuitable guardian, and may be forced to send their child away to a new guardian. The Great Prince worries that he is not a suitable guardian for Bambi, and is forced to send Bambi away. He feels this is what’s best for Bambi, but I like the little touches that show that he is showing regret in his decision, and has warmed up to his son immensely… It’s similar to Elf, where Buddy’s father starts off being reluctant to raise his son, but begins to warm up to him.

As Mena and Bambi head to their new home - *sees a certain deer prop up* Oh no. He’s NOT. HE’S HONESTLY NOT. Ronno: ‘It’s gotta be hard to have a father that is so ashamed of you that he’d give you away.’

OH! I! HE!! YOU! I…….. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!! YOU LITTLE BRAT!! Wow… he’s like a deer version of Myrtle Edmunds from Lilo and Stitch! He’s higher up the annoy-o-meter now, by the way… about a 6 on the annoy-o-meter. And, in an act that I’m sure the audience would be doing right now, Bambi knocks Ronno over. YAY! Damn, that was satisfying…. In fact, what I wouldn’t give for a loop of that… Oh, but it gets worse….. Ronno knocks Bambi into Mena, who then falls into a…. TRAP. OH. SNAP. So, the practical DEERSLAUGHTERER (the deer equivalent of MANSLAUGHTER) Ronno runs away like a coward….. If only he was the one in that trap… And Bambi is once again, frozen in fear at the dogs barking coming towards them. Oh my god, the dogs from Ginga Nagareboshi Gin are out for revenge! Bambi snaps out of his trance, and starts running…. But upon hearing ‘don’t look back! Keep running! Keep running’ – the EXACT SAME LAST WORDS OF HIS MOTHER – he stops in his tracks, afraid of the concept of losing TWO mothers in his lifetime… Instead of running, he now stands his ground against them, and draws the dogs away, as the Great Prince comes in to the rescue to free Mena from the trap. Needless to say, the chase scene is pretty intense – even MORE so considering that it’s a CHILD being chased by the dogs this time round. Flower and Thumper hide in the bushes from the dogs, and Flower makes his ‘brave face’ (not a business face, like Bilbo’s – :iconbilbobusinessfaceplz: ) and gasses one of the dogs to run away… Why is it that Flower’s gas related jokes are funnier than Pumbaa’s in Lion King 1 ½? One, because Flower is a much more endearing character than Pumbaa has ever been. Two, because it makes SENSE that Flower stinks like this, he’s a skunk. And three, this film is much BETTER than Lion King 1 ½ ever could be. Bambi continues drawing the dogs away, and takes them to the porcupine nest. That douchebag porcupine comes back, and Bambi launces the porcupine onto one of the dogs. Wow, talk about a living weapon… And now Bambi comes out onto the now… red meadow…

FiverThe field… The field! It’s covered with BLOOD!

Bambi swallows his fear, and heads out into the meadow…. Gulp – this scene gets…. Quite honestly, rather chilling… It could, no joke, MATCH the Bambi’s Mom scene from the first one and the climax from the first one, I think. Luckily, Bambi feels the ground beneath him to detect when the dogs are nearby, and continues to flee them… but comes up to… the rocky cliff face from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves… No joke, it kind of looks like the one Queen Grimhilde climbed up when she turned into the witch… Bambi continues to climb upwards, the dogs still chasing him. Luckily, as one dog falls off the cliff face, Bambi sees a way to dispatch of the final dog, who admittedly, is pretty awesomely animated here, almost looking like that jump scare face Fidget made in Basil the Great Mouse Detective when he burst in to kidnap Mr Flaversham… Bambi sees some rocks atop him, and lets them loose to knock the final dog down… But it still doesn’t work… But then, something even COOLER happens. Just when it seems like all is lost, Bambi KICKS the dog down! Wow… nevermind the FALCON PUNCH, this here is the DEER KICK! Bambi’s father sees him, no doubt proud of him, and Bambi jumps over to see him when….. The ground beneath Bambi CRUMBLES… And now, this film does a BETTER version of that scene where his father says ‘Get Up!’ over and over. The Great Prince comes across Bambi, who appears to be dead (now, while it’s obvious this is a fake out death, this is pretty sad in how the Great Prince reacts to it) and yells ‘Get up!’ And it actually makes sense why the Great Prince would say ‘YOU MUST GET UP!’ in the first film – it’s clear that he REALLY doesn’t want to lose his son…. And….. the way the Great Prince nuzzles Bambi and – *sees the Great Prince cry* AAAH, the tear drop! Trust me, after Fox and the Hound and the scene where Widow Tweed looks back at Todd, who she has been forced to let free, and lets out that single tear…. I am telling you, that is a SURE FIRE WAY to tug at my heartstrings and get me to feel all misty eyed…. YES. Along with The Tigger Movie and Lilo and Stitch 2, this Disney sequel managed to bring forth powerful emotions from me…. I give them credit for that. I don’t think I need to even say how sorry I felt for the Great Prince here…. Even if, after seeing the first film, I KNEW that Bambi is alive after this, I STILL felt real emotions here. Luckily, Bambi wakes up, and… this scene is just adorable. The way the Great Prince says ‘I’m here’ in a gentle voice, and the way Thumper hugs Flower while crying is very sweet. And, in a similar way to the clouds parting when the danger of Ratigan passed in Basil the Great Mouse Detective, the clouds part, and the moon shines on Bambi and his father in some – admittedly, BEAUTIFUL animation.  

And all is well again, as Thumper starts telling the story of Bambi’s adventure to the other animals. Well, one things for sure, he could be as good a story teller as Fflewdur Fflam from The Black Cauldron. Why is that I can imagine Thumper carrying a lie detecting harp and telling bard’s tales now?  I also love how Thumper’s sisters interrupt him, and Thumper begins warming up to his sisters. Bambi, being something of a local hero now, comes in, and – he has antlers! Little antlers, but still – antlers! Bambi sheepishly backs away from Faline, into that…. Mean porcupine again, and ends up springing forward into a kiss…. A bit of a… harsh way to get them to kiss, but it works…. And Friend Owl complains about them being twitterpated. Good reference. But trust me, I still think that him talking about ‘your head’s in a whirl, and you’re walking on air’ could be a reference to heavy duty drugs instead of love… And to wrap everything up – GUESS WHO COMES IN. No, just guess…. That’s right, the OBNOXIOUS WIMPY PUKESTAIN HIMSELF. He says ‘one of these days, we’ll meet up again’, like an idiot, he slips into the water, and… gets his nose bitten by a turtle. YAAAAY! SATISFACTION!! By the way, he calls for his mom even more than Prince John from Robin Hood did – at least Prince John was funny, Ronno was just obnoxious – but at least the writers worked in that bit of nose biting for him. And Flower rather cutely sees ‘See, I TOLD you turtles were scary!’ Earlier in the film, when they were acting ‘brave’, Flower acted like a turtle, and said ‘Turtles are scary.’

Bambi remembers his father is waiting for him, and runs off towards him – as they head towards a rather beautiful part of the forest – and it’s where the Great Prince first met Bambi’s mother. And now, the Great Prince recalls that he met Bambi’s mother when he was Bambi’s age, and he was a lot like him…. And what a better way to end this beautiful film with a reprise of that beautiful song from the start…. Oh, and remember that symbolic sprout from the start of the film? Well, the last image shows the little sapling now grown, it’s leaf twirling around a much larger sapling, and a butterfly landing on it…. Get the symbolism? Yep – the little sapling is Bambi, the large sapling is the Great Prince, and the butterfly is Bambi’s mother…. A much better ending shot than in Hunchback 2, wouldn’t you say? And it doesn’t force in any plot points, it leaves it for your interpretation. And that was my interpretation. Wow.. really touching symbolism…. Something you wouldn’t expect to see in a Disney sequel, is it? Well – that’s the thing about this film – it goes ABOVE AND BEYOND what is normally expected for a Disney sequel… Oh, and the next little song in the credits is equally beautiful… I love the flute and lute that plays in it especially…. And the final song, ‘The Healing of a Heart’, is pretty good too. Also, there is another song in the deleted features of the DVD called ‘Sing the Day’, that plays when Bambi, Thumper and Flower try to act brave… and it’s quite a sweet little song that…. To be honest, I personally wish hadn’t been deleted from the film.

I like how they made a movie to show us what happened during the timeskip in the original movie. However, they could have titled it better, since "two" makes you think of a sequel, which this really isn't

This movie isn't insulting to the original. In fact, it answers our questions to what is Bambi's relationship with his dad (not sure if biological or adopted), why Ronno attacked Bambi in the first film, and a few other things that doesn't need mentioning. Not only that, but the song 'There is Life' is also quite memorable.

This is another really good Disney sequel, even though it's more of a midquel, in that it starts after Bambi's mom dies, and shows how he was raised by the Prince of the Forest. It even features a young buck named Ronno, who is actually the buck Bambi fought with over Faline, which is, in my opinion, a great choice for a villain. The animation is good, the characters are just as lovable as the first, if not even more so, and there's some good character development in especially the Prince of the Forest. I hope I spoil much, but I think you won't be disappointed in this one.

Even as much as I really hate Ronno, this is one of the more better Disney midquels. One that doesn't clash with the original story or question consistency to the original (looking at you, Lion King 1 1/2). It actually answers some plotholes from the first film and gives the audience a good insight on what happened between the first and second half of the movie. And though I don't hate the characters from the first movie, I think they had more personality in the sequel. Again, I don't have a problem with their personalities in the original since it was one of Disney's most early films, I think they're a LOT more three-dimensional in this. (especially the Great Prince. This movie had made me grow to love him.   ) Plus did I mention the soundtrack and the animation is beautiful? And an interesting fact I found, the kid who played Bambi in this film was also the voice actor for the original Finding Nemo.  

This one's actually pretty good! It does explain: what happened between the death of his mom, and his first day as an adult. And it does that like a boss.

:icosnaysplz: I actually remember this movie, but it's a vage memory. From what I can tell, it stood out just fine. And after watching it again, it did clear up the blank period of time that went by in the first film. Overall, I found it alright, not the best, but alright.

So…. That was Bambi 2. And… you guys may think I’m crazy here, but I’m completely honest here – I think this film is actually BETTER than the first film. I mean, sure, Ronno is one of the most annoying, horrid and obnoxious characters that have come from a Disney film, and is a shoe-in for my least favourite characters list, but to be fair, that’s the only major problem – and it does at least give a good reason why Ronno attacked Bambi in the first film. So, he may have been a pathetic wreck of a character, but at least a plot hole was filled in by him being written into Bambi 2 like this. I would complain about the film being a bit short, but to be fair, Dumbo was a pretty short film, and they managed to get all the points they needed across. And this film is short but sweet. And now, I bring myself to the positive points about this film. And let me tell you, there are a LOT of good points in this film. First of all, not only are Bambi, Thumper, Flower and Faline in character, but I feel that they get some good development in this film. Also, I feel that the voice actors that they got for these characters really sounded a lot like the characters in the original film. I also like the other additions to the cast (Ronno is an OBVIOUS exception), such as Thumper’s sisters. I also feel that this film fills in some plot holes from the original, like what happened in between the ‘your mother cannot be with you anymore’ and the ‘lalalala tweettweetatweet tweettweetatweet tweettweetatweet lalalala’ scene, some nice little hints as to how Bambi could have learned to jump as well as he did in the first film, and him gaining courage that was not present when he was still a child in the first film. Also, I really feel that the film greatly shows what Bambi’s relationship with his father was like very well. In the first film, Bambi only shared two or three scenes with his father, and there wasn’t much of a chemistry between them, in my opinion. But this film REALLY built up their relationship well.  

And speaking of the Great Prince of the Forest – he may be one of my new favourite characters. Along with Aladdin 3 introducing Cassim and Sal’uk, Pocahontas 2 introducing John Rolfe, making Governor Ratcliffe more threatening and introducing Uttamatomakkin (wow, I actually managed to say it right this time! ), and Lion King 2 introducing Zira, Kiara, Nuka and Vitani, Bambi 2 expands the character of the Great Prince into one of my favourite Disney characters, father characters, and characters in general. I’m completely serious. Patrick Stewart’s voice fits him PERFECTLY, and on top of that – this is one of those voices that is so powerful, yet so gentle at the same time. As I said before, the Great Prince felt more like a plot device than an actual character in the first film, but the development of the Great Prince in Bambi 2 turns into a well-rounded three-dimensional character, and I really love how they show him warming up to the idea of being a father, lightening up his previously serious interior, and helping his son learn self-defence, and even learning something else in return from his son. He’s just a great character to follow in this film…. [Clap]

Also, the animation in this film is just INCREDIBLE – not just for a Disney sequel, but for a Disney FILM too – and the soundtrack is just…. Breathtaking. I LOVE the use of the original music from the first film, which DOESN’T sound shoe-horned in, and the original songs made for this film – my favourite being There Is Life, then Through Your Eyes, then First Sign of Spring, then The Healing of a Heart. But ALL of them are great songs. [Headbang!] Interestingly enough, this Disney sequel got CINEMA releases in 25 countries, but in USA, it was a direct to DVD release. I think, along with the Tigger Movie, could actually belong in the original canon. I was looking through some Disney DVDs for sale while I was looking for the Bambi 2 DVD I have now, and I saw THE WILD with a number 46 on the side. SEE?! The Wild IS part of the animated canon… sadly. [Waaaah!] If The Wild, Brother Bear and Chicken Little get to be part of the canon, I believe The Tigger Movie and Bambi 2 DEFINITELY should be on there too….  

So, let me check my wishlist for this film. First wish – development for Bambi’s father and what his relationship with his son is like. CHECK. [Thumbs Up] Second wish – filling in scenes after Bambi’s mom is shot, and showing how Bambi’s father would react, and showing scenes like Land Before Time’s when they say ‘she may be gone, but she never leaves your heart.’ CHECK. [Thumbs Up] Yep, this film ticks all my boxes. Yes, I mean it when I say that Bambi 2 is one of those rare examples where the sequel is BETTER than the original. And for a Disney sequel, that is INCREDIBLY impressive. [Clap] Sure, Ronno still grinds my gears, but then again, Basil the Great Mouse Detective, my favourite Disney film, has a character I find annoying – Miss Kitty Mouse – and I still sing that film’s praises constantly – so one annoying character will NOT ruin a film for me if the rest of the film is great. And this film is not only great, it’s REALLY great. [Aww] In fact, not only is it one of the most underappreciated Disney films next to Home on the Range, Black Cauldron, Return to Oz and Oz the Great and Powerful, but it’s actually one of my favourite Disney films, and one of my favourite films PERIOD. I am COMPLETELY SERIOUS. [Clap] Some people may find the premise being a father/son relationship developing being boring, and it may be an acquired taste for family dilemmas being the focus of a film, but for what it is, I think developing relationships could be JUST as interesting as any big action scenes this film has to offer. And it REALLY fits the tone of the first film, and doesn’t talk down to its audience about how hard it can be to deal with the death of a loved one, and the pressures of parenthood and trying to develop your skills as a guardian. It’s one of the few Disney sequels I highly recommend for you to check out. [Nod] 

Let’s face it, I mean, considering the fact that the last Disney sequel I reviewed gave us THIS line –

'I could KISS me…. But I’d fall in love!' …..Then it would make ANY Disney sequel afterwards feel impressive, but this film doesn’t just do better than an average Disney sequel, it actually manages to be on par with some Disney CANON films in my opinion…. [Aww] And I’m happy to have it in my collection of films. Apart from being a ‘pain in the pinfeathers’, this film ends up being a ‘love’s sweet song’. [Love]

So, Bambi 2 was a brilliant Disney sequel….. So, which Disney sequel is next for me to review? Well, I think I may finish off the Disney sequel reviews with the next one (sorry for this, but I would like to review some other films after the next review before I go to horror films in October), and I think it’s time for me to review my FAVOURITE Disney sequel to finish off my Disney sequel reviews for now. [Aww]

So, get ready folks, next time, I shall review my favourite Disney sequel – LILO AND STITCH 2: STITCH HAS A GLITCH. [Aww]

UPCOMING REVIEWS

A little bit of a different way to show my next few reviews– here is how I’m planning for my reviews to come. This is probably the order I’ll do the next few in. [Aww]

145. Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch

146, 147 and 148. These three films in no particular order (Rio 2, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, The Boxtrolls)

149. Hocus Pocus

150. Hellraiser (yep, Hellraiser, being the first horror film I ever saw all the way through and I enjoyed it, this will be my 150th review. )