History YMMV / BambiII

* CantUnHearIt: Go on, just try to read the original book or adaptations of the original Disney movie now without hearing Creator/PatrickStewart's take on the Great Prince in this movie. Same with Creator/AlexanderGould's take on Bambi.

** Admit it, when [[HateSink Ronno]] goads Bambi into a fight by [[KickTheDog insinuating the Great Prince was ashamed of him and "(gave) him away"]] (to a stepmother), and Bambi, who is at his lowest emotional point, [[RageBreakingPoint finally snaps]] and hands him his flank on a silver platter, you felt more than gratified that he did.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: One of the things that is always praised about the midquel is its ambitious art direction and animation. The midquel had a surprisingly large budget for most DTV fare (enough to gain a theatrical release in several regions), resulting in animation and visuals that ''almost'' match the original, and are at least on par with the animation of Disney's 90's features. Having Creator/AndreasDeja supervise certainly helped.

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Since the late 80's, Creator/PatrickStewart had wanted a role in a Disney animated film, but other projects kept getting in the way. He ended up voicing a character from one of Disney's most iconic franchises.

** The vocal pop songs. Some fans of the film love them, while others (including [[CreatorBacklash some of the film's production staff]]) feel that they're [[{{Narm}} cheesy]] and [[SoundtrackDissonance painfully out of place]] with the film's tone and the orchestral score.[[note]]It bears noting that the film initially used the entire score for the first film as temporary tracks, and the pop songs weren't added until much later in production.[[/note]]

** Heck, the entire climax involving the cute fawn-era Bambi [[TookALevelInBadass taking escalating levels in badass]] is oddly satisfying considering his (sometimes undeserved) legacy with {{Bambification}} and his MemeticLoser reputation.

** "A prince does ''not'' 'woo-hoo'."[[labelnote:explanation]]The Great Prince chiding Bambi early on when he gets excited about tagging along with him to look after the herd. Mind you, this is the ''Great Prince'', a generally stoic and no-nonsense authority figure, [[TheComicallySerious saying this completely straight-faced]]. Patrick Stewart's voice acting takes what would otherwise be an incredibly ridiculous line regardless of context and [[NarmCharm pulls it off with complete conviction]], making it one of the funniest lines in the movie.[[/labelnote]]

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Ronno to a fault. Yes, he's [[HateSink clearly meant to be an unlikable jerk]], being a cocky bully and lying coward who deserved to be taken down a peg or two, and absolutely crossed the line by goading Bambi into a fight by making fun of his dad sending him to live with a stepmom, which almost got both Bambi and Mena killed. But he's also playing second fiddle to a younger fawn who, in his eyes, [[PrivilegedRival was born with a silver wheat stalk in his mouth]] and seemingly upstages him at everything he does without effort, and it's implied that his bullying and fragile, haughty ego is a result of a FriendlessBackground (however, it's entirely possible it was the other way around and his attitude as is isn't helping his case). Furthermore, the aforementioned bit of nearly getting Bambi and Mena killed by hunting dogs was a complete accident on his part, and him running off, while cowardly, was something he was specifically told to do by Mena. Heck, if he wasn't so [[ItsAllAboutMe obnoxiously self-centered]] and [[SmallNameBigEgo big-headed]], he'd be an outright sympathetic, if still heavily flawed, character. While it does '''not''' excuse any of his actions, it's at least somewhat understandable why he'd act so terribly, hence why he [[DracoInLeatherPants tends to get more sympathetic treatment in fanfiction.]]

** Deconstructed for Ronno, with his fawn counterpart portrayed as a loudmouthed, cowardly bully who sours over [[AlwaysSecondBest Bambi constantly upstaging him]]. Of course, this takes place before his role in the first film, so it varies whether it's [[FridgeHorror more or less unsettling]] that this Ronno will still [[FromNobodyToNightmare become the sinister, eerily silent menace]] he is as an adult.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: While few were ''demanding'' a rectification, many think that the midquel works well in smoothing the transition between the death of Bambi's mother and [[MoodWhiplash birds singing happy little spring songs]] in the first film.

** Creator/ArielWinters provided the voices for one of Thumper's sisters, she would later become best-known as the voice of Sofia in Creator/DisneyJunior's ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst''.

* RetroactiveRecognition: The singer who performs the cut song “Sing the Day” is Anika Noni Rose, who three years later would voice Tiana in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''.

** The midquel with many fans of the original. Is it another cheap and pointless cash grab, or is it one of few Disney sequels that is up to par with the original? Are the plot and character treatment more nuanced, and do they fill loose ends of the first, or is it derailment of the original's artistic approach in favour of contemporary clichés? Not to mention whether it was worth choosing a midquel when ''Bambi'' [[Literature/{{Bambi}} already had a sequel to adapt]].

** Heck, the entire climax involving the cute fawn-era Bambi [[TookALevelInBadass taking escalating levels in badass]] is oddly satisfying considering his (sometimes undeserved) legacy with {{Bambification}} and Disney's TastesLikeDiabetes reputation.
* ClicheStorm: One of the main criticisms of the film is that the story is a rather by-the-numbers and [[TastesLikeDiabetes overly sentimental]] take on the [[WellDoneSonGuy "Wayward son tries to earn the approval of his]] [[ParentsAsPeople stern, emotionally aloof parent]] [[ComingOfAgeStory by maturing]]" plot, a story thats been done before by [[WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves several]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} other]] [[WesternAnimation/AnExtremelyGoofyMovie Disney]] [[WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle works]][[note]]in fact, ''[[WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove Kronk's New Groove]]'', which was released just a year before ''Bambi II'', had just such a plot as its conflict, albeit [[PlayedForLaughs presented in a more comical way]][[/note]] and way too many live action movies to count. Not helping this is the fact that, being a [[{{Interquel}} midquel]], a viewer would [[ForegoneConclusion already know how it's going to end]], so its events are seen by some as an ultimately [[MissionPackSequel superfluous addition to the original]]. The general idea of conflict being sprung by tension between the parent and their ward was [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIReturnToTheSea absolutely]] [[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook2 nothing]] [[WesternAnimation/ReturnToNeverLand new]] [[WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie for]] [[WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTrampIIScampsAdventure direct-to-video]] Disney films, much less animated films in general, either. Even the film's most popular character, Ronno, is often seen as a rather standard bully character that's common to animated cartoons. While ''Bambi II'' is at least often praised for being one of Disney's more heartfelt examples in execution and balancing it with a few clever expansions on the original film, it still feels relatively more formulaic than [[ToughActToFollow the very unique flow of its predecessor.]]

* TastesLikeDiabetes: While the first ''Bambi'' was infamously cloying, it was partially down to the MandelaEffect, with the film relying on more subtle imagery and at times becoming ''much'' darker. ''Bambi II'', however, while similarly rounded, amps up the cutesy cartoon animal behaviour and dialogue in some parts of the story, particularly the "Being brave" montage and the opening scenes with the groundhog.

** The Porcupine. Next to Ronno, he's the only animal who is outwardly disrespectful to Bambi. Initially, it seems like [[GrumpyOldMan he’s a grouchy old guy who yells at young animals for trespassing on his log]]. But when Bambi mentions his title as the young prince, the Porcupine [[{{Troll}} begins to act up even more]]. Is he just a cantankerous {{Jerkass}} or is he taking a stand against animals, who think they can do as they please because they’re royalty? [[{{Hypocrite}} His rant about a lack of respect and his insulting the Great Prince]] seem to be good evidence.

** The Porcupine. Next to Ronno, he's the only animal who is outwardly disrespectful to Bambi. Initially, it seems like [[GrumpyOldMan he’s a grouchy old guy who yells at young animals for trespassing on his log]]. But when Bambi mentions his title as the young prince, the Porcupine [[{{Troll}} begins to act up even more]]. Is he just a cantankerous {{Jerkass}} or is he taking a stand against animals, who think they can do as they please because they’re royalty? [[Hypocrite His rant about a lack of respect and his insulting the Great Prince]] seem to be good evidence.

** The Porcupine. Next to Ronno, he's the only animal who is outwardly disrespectful to Bambi. Initially, it seems like [[GrumpyOldMan he’s a grouchy old guy who yells at young animals for trespassing on his log]]. But when Bambi mentions his title as the young prince, the Porcupine [[{{Troll}} begins to act up even more]]. Is he just a cantankerous {{Jerkass}} or is he taking a stand against animals who think they can do as they please because they’re royalty? His rant about a lack of respect and his insulting the Great Prince seem to be good evidence.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: While few were ''demanding'' a rectification, many think that the midquel works well in smoothing the transition between the death of Bambi's mother and [[MoodWhiplash birds singing gay little spring songs]] in the first film.

* RetroactiveRecognition: The singer who performs the cut song “Sing the Day” is Anita Noni Rose, who three years later would voice Tiana in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''.