Line #100 WesternAnimation/Bambi


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4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bambi_1989_re_release_poster.png]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:''Love is a song that never ends...'']]
6
7	->'''Thumper:''' Whatcha gonna call him?\
8	'''Bambi's Mother:''' Well... I think I'll call him... Bambi.\
9	'''Thumper:''' Bambi... Yep, I guess it sounds alright.\
10	'''Bambi's Mother:''' Bambi... My little Bambi...
11
12	Released on August 13, [[TheForties 1942]], ''Bambi'' is the fifth movie in the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon. It's based on ''[[Literature/{{Bambi}} Bambi, a Life in the Woods]]'' (''Bambi, Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde''), a 1923 novel by Austrian author Felix Salten.
13
14	Both the book and the movie are a ComingOfAgeStory that follows the titular character, a young deer (a roe deer in the book, [[AdaptationSpeciesChange a white-tailed deer in the movie]]), from birth to adulthood in the forests of {{UsefulNotes/Austria}} (in the book) or {{UsefulNotes/Maine}} (in the movie).
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16	Salten's sequel book, ''Bambi's Children'', was also considered by Walt Disney for a film adaptation, though that was cancelled in early development. Disney did make an adaptation of the novel through their Creator/DellComics-published comic series in 1943, alongside one based on the first film. Nearly a decade later, a [[Manga/{{Bambi}} one-shot manga version]] was drawn by none other than longtime Disney admirer Creator/OsamuTezuka, to tie in with the film's belated Japanese release in 1951.
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18	Despite this, a {{Midquel}}, ''WesternAnimation/BambiII'', was released in 2006 (a DirectToVideo release for parts of US and Asia, and theatrical elsewhere). One of the better-regarded sequels released by the Mouse (primarily for being consensually viewed as [[SoOkayItsAverage decent]] instead of abysmal), it focuses on the period of Bambi's life immediately following his mother's death. Released 64 years after the original film, it holds the world record for the [[SequelGap longest span of time between two consecutive installments of a film franchise.]]
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20	There is a spin off series of books centered around Thumper's family when he was a baby. It's called "Disney Bunnies".
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22	On January 24, 2020 Disney announced they would be remaking the film with the same photo-realistic animation style as ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019''. Geneva Robertson-Dworet (''Film/{{Captain Marvel\|2019}}'') and Lindsey Beer will write the screenplay, with Creator/ChrisWeitz and Creator/PaulWeitz’s "Depth of Field" producing the film.
23
24	Now has a [[Characters/{{Bambi}} character sheet.]]
25	----
26	[[foldercontrol]]
27
28	[[folder:Tropes the first film provides examples of]]
29	* AdaptationalLocationChange: Because the titular character was changed [[AdaptationalSpeciesChange from a roe deer to a white-tailed deer]], the setting was also changed from somewhere in Europe (presumably Austria) to Maine.
30	* AdaptationalVillainy:
31	** The hunters in the film are explicitly reckless and thoughtless -- they spray the landscape with bullets while shooting at everything that moves, and their ill-tended campfire sets half the forest ablaze. Bambi's mother, shot in early spring, is clearly the victim of a poacher. A responsible hunter would never shoot a female with dependent offspring.
32	** Ronno appears as a one scene character who tries to force Faline to be his mate. In the books, he starts off as Bambi's adult friend who becomes his rival once Bambi grows up (though Bambi scares him off without as much as a fight).
33	* AdaptationSpeciesChange: The original Bambi was a roe deer in Germany, but here he's a white-tailed deer to fit the North American setting of the movie.
34	* AdaptationTitleChange: The title is shortened from its source material, ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods''.
35	* AdaptedOut: Faline's twin brother Gobo, Nettla (Bambi's surrogate mother after his mother dies), Karus, Marena, Friend Hare (replaced with Thumper), and several minor characters.
36	* AgeLift: Ronno in the novel is an adult when Bambi is a fawn. In the film they're the same age.
37	* AllThereInTheManual:
38	** In some Disney websites, the cream-colored rabbit Thumper falls in love with is named "Miss Bunny". She is even called that at the Ride/DisneyThemeParks when guests meet Thumper along with her.
39	** Similar to Miss Bunny, the female skunk that flirts with Flower and becomes his wife is also unnamed in the film. In the film's script and occasional merchandise she is named "Bluebelle".
40	** Thumper's sisters are unnamed in the original film and its midquel. Four of them are actually given names in the album "Peter Cottontail", which was sold at Disneyland in 1963. According to the album, Thumper's sisters are named Blossom, Violet, Nillie, and Frillie. The later ''Disney's Bunnies'' storybooks rename them Trixie, Daisy, Ria and Tessie, however.
41	** The deer that Bambi fights is named Ronno in the book and midquel.
42	* AnimationBump: "Little April Showers".
43	* BabiesEverAfter: The first film ends with Faline and her two new fawns in a thicket [[BookEnds much like the one where Bambi was born]], as Bambi regally looks on from higher ground.
44	* BabysFirstWords: Bambi learning to talk for the first time, by saying "bird".
45	* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: The animals have to hide whenever Man is in the forest, and whenever going out in the meadow. [[spoiler:Bambi's mom is even shot.]]
46	* {{Bambification}}: The trope namer -- for people who have never sat down and watched the movie... Also known as All Deer Are Bambi and The Martyr With Antlers.
47	* BookEnds: After an establishing shot, the first film begins with Bambi's mother and her new baby in a thicket, surrounded by admiring forest animals. The film ends with Faline and her two new babies[[note]]Geno and Gurri, the protagonists of ''Bambi's Children'', which Disney at that time had plans to adapt to film[[/note]] in a thicket, surrounded by admiring forest animals.
48	** The first words spoken directly to Bambi in the film are from his mother, urging him to get up (shortly after his birth) and meet the other forest animals. The last words spoken to him are from his father, urging him to get up after he has been shot by Man.
49	* {{Bowdlerise}}: When this movie is aired on TV in some foreign countries, they completely remove the entire scene of Bambi's mother's death even though it's the most important part of the movie.
50	* BunniesForCuteness: Thumper and his sisters.
51	* CleverCrows: Everytime The Man is present a flock of black crows sound the alarm in order to alert the animals of The Man's presence. It's obvious that they watched The Man's movements all the time and thus they are the first ones to know when he (The Man) will go hunting.
52	* ConnectedAllAlong: The Great Prince reveals to Bambi he's his dad, shortly after revealing his mother died.
53	* {{Crossover}}: The old comic story "Thumper meets the Seven Dwarfs", where Thumper encounters the Seven Dwarfs from Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'', and Friend Owl and Flower also appear, and they even encounter the giant from ''WesternAnimation/BraveLittleTailor''!
54	* DeerInTheHeadlights: Literally! When man comes to the meadow, the Great Prince warns the herd. When they flee in droves, Bambi and his mother get separated. Not knowing of the danger, Bambi tries to spin around and call for her but doesn't know he needs to get out of the meadow. His father has to come and urge him to move.
55	* DisneyAcidSequence: When Bambi gets twitterpated after getting kissed by Faline, the entire background turns into clouds, up until the jealous Ronno appears.
56	* {{Disneyfication}}: Even with the inclusion of Bambi's mother dying, the film's tone is significantly lighter than the novel's (it was written for adult audiences), which was much darker and more brutal, including graphic death scenes:
57	** First off, in the original novel Bambi and Faline are [[KissingCousins cousins]], but in the film it was changed so that they're not blood-related. However, Faline's mother is still called "Aunt Ena" for some reason. Weirdly enough, this has been included in a few storybook adaptations of the movie. Now calling Ena "Aunt" is less problematic today, when it has become fairly common practice, at least in the US, for children to refer to their parents' close friends as "aunt" or "uncle".
58	** Thumper, Flower, and Friend Owl were [[CanonForeigner created entirely for the film]] (although Thumper may have been inspired by Friend Hare from the book). Walt wanted to tone down the dark, brutal mood of the novel in the adaptation to allow it to appeal to a wider audience, so he brought Bambi's friends in as comic relief to make the film LighterAndSofter.
59	** In the original version of the aftermath of the death of Bambi's mother, they were going to have Bambi find the impression where his mother fell and show that her body had been dragged off, but Walt Disney cut this from the film as he thought it would be too much for the younger audience to handle.
60	*** An even darker example would be near the end, when they were going to have a scene similar to the novel where Bambi and his father find the corpse of a man whose gun backfired on him, but when an early version of this was shown to a test audience, "400 people shot up into the air when the corpse appeared". Needless to say, it never made it beyond a test screening.
61	*** Even more interesting is that in the infamous death scene, they were also going to show Bambi's mother getting shot ''onscreen''. However, this never made it beyond a [[http://images.wikia.com/disney/images/1/13/Bambi_deadmotherdeleted.jpg few sketches]], as the scene was dark enough as it was.
62	** The omission of Faline's brother Gobo, who is killed because of his trust for humans.
63	** A non-gory example: Bambi and Faline are not so much in love as they are habitually attached. They separate whenever it's not mating season and Bambi watches her age and become sad and lonely from afar and thinking about the sweet, happy little fawns they once were. Curiously this was a change apparent not just in the Disney film but the direct sequel of the book, where Bambi is also rewritten as closer towards his mate and children.
64	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Watch the scenes of the forest animals fleeing for their lives while their home burns and collapses around them, desperately seeking shelter, calling for loved ones... then remember [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the year this came out.]]
65	* TheDreaded: Humans, full stop. Every single animal is absolutely terrified of them, and with good reason: they will hunt and kill any animal, big or small. One particularly chilling scene that really hammers this in is when a pheasant hen goes crazy with fear of the approaching humans and bolts into the air. She becomes their first victim.
66	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The Great Prince appears in the middle of Bambi experimentally prancing. He stands regal and stoic, as a ruler should be. Bambi shies away from him and returns to his mother. Then man comes to the meadow, and the Great Prince not only warns the herd but also personally escorts his son out of the danger zone when Bambi freezes in the panic and confusion, showing that he's the BigGood and a PapaWolf to boot.
67	* EyelashFluttering: Miss Bunny notices Thumper and tries to catch his eye by slinking up to him and fluttering her eyelashes. It works, and she gets a kiss from him.
68	* FaceDeathWithDespair: When the birds are hiding from the hunters, one pheasant gets so freaked out at the prospect of being killed that she tries to make a break for it, only to be shot instantly.
69	-->'''Pheasant''': He's almost here! '''''I can't stand it any longer!!'''''
70	* FallingInLoveMontage: Towards the end of the film, and not a typical one, anyway.
71	* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath:
72	** Bambi's mother is shot dead when she and her son are looking for food in the winter snow. A whole generation of kids was traumatized. Now, movies for kids should not be all sanitized pink happy affairs. But the death of a parent is quite disturbing to any six-year-old. This one is fairly famous for all the denial associated therewith. It gets worse. Originally, Bambi was going to go back later, and find his mother ''lying in a pool of blood'', but the idea was scrapped, both because it was too cruel and because it wouldn't make sense for a hunter to score a deer and then just leave it in the woods.
73	** A panicking pheasant flies in the climax when they hear man coming. Her friends urge her not to fly, but to stay still, but she can't take the suspense. A bang, and her body falls to the ground. You know, for kids!
74	* FearInducedIdiocy: The birds hide from the hunter in the tall grass, but one has a panic attack, takes off and immediately receives a shot from the aforementioned hunter.
75	* TheFilmOfTheBook: Although many people aren't aware of this.
76	* GRatedSex: Plays quite a prominent part in the story, given the natural setting. With springtime comes mating season ("nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime"), with mating season comes fighting for a mate, and the end result is a new generation of animals.
77	* TheGreatFire: The forest fire sequence at the film's climax, starting out as a simple campfire and quickly spreading out of control until soon the entire forest is ablaze.
78	* HeDidntMakeIt: The Great Prince's way of breaking the news to Bambi: "Your mother can't be with you any more."
79	* HopeSproutsEternal: After the fire, grass and flowers are seen growing amongst the charred, blackened tree trunks.
80	* HuntingIsEvil: The hunters kill Bambi's mother (which they would not usually do). In an example of AdaptationalVillainy, they are also stupid enough that their fire burns out of control and nearly burns down the forest.
81	* HumanlikeHandAnatomy: Largely averted. Aside from Friend Owl, who switches from regular wings to FeatherFingers when needed, the only characters to have human-like hands are Flower and his girlfriend, and that is mostly based on a real skunk's anatomy.
82	* IgnorantAboutFire: The hunters leave their campfire unattended, starting a blaze that nearly destroys the whole forest. We never know their ultimate fates, though a cut scene would've shown that they were killed in the forest fire.
83	* IWantMyMommy: Happens twice:
84	** In the meadow, the herd panics when man comes and separates Bambi from his mother by accident. He doesn't know that he needs to run as well and starts calling for her. Fortunately, the Great Prince sees him and urges Bambi silently to go with him and start moving. This time, his mother reunites with them and they make it out of the danger area.
85	** When the first spring grass appears, Bambi's mother orders Bambi to run for the thicket and not look back. He makes it turns around to tell her with exhilaration. But she's not behind him. Where is she? Bambi goes out into the cold, calling for his mother. The Great Prince tells him solemnly what happened, looking guilty that he didn't make it in time.
86	* JumpScare: Twice by Friend Owl, when he leans toward Bambi to greet him (unintentionally scaring him and the audience), and when he tries to scare off the birds singing "Let's Sing A Gay Little Spring Song" to get some rest.
87	* KnightOfCerebus: Man. Once he enters the story, Bambi's happy forest home no longer feels safe.
88	* LighterAndSofter: Than the original novel. Among other things, the Disney adaptation cuts the Gobo subplot, where a young buck who gets too friendly with humans meets a terrible end, and the scene where the Great Prince shows Bambi that humans can die too.
89	* LoudGulp: Thumper when he's being seduced by the female bunny.
90	* MeaningfulName: ''Bambi'' is derived from ''Bambino'', the Italian word for ''baby''. The names Thumper, [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Friend Owl]], and [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Flower]] speak for themselves.
91	* AMinorKidroduction: The opening scene is after Bambi's birth.
92	* MoodWhiplash:
93	** "Your mother can't be with you anymore." ...It's spring again! Birds are singing! The midquel takes place in-between this gap.
94	** Bambi is twitterpated with Faline...all of a sudden, a rival encounters him.
95	* MotionParallax: The DVD extras go on to explain how the multiplane camera is employed to generate a feeling of depth through several layers of parallax. The characters in the foreground are animated at a different speed than the middle- and backgrounds whenever there are any CameraTricks involved. More elements are made dynamic in certain scenes.
96	* MusicalNumberAnnoyance: Friend Owl is driven nuts by "Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song" when he's trying to sleep.
97	* NoBodyLeftBehind: Crossed with SoundOnlyDeath. The body of Bambi's mother is never seen after being shot.
98	* NotAllowedToGrowOld: Friend Owl doesn't age one bit between the TimeSkip to when Bambi, Thumper and Flower become adults.
99	* NothingIsScarier: As mentioned above, Bambi never finding his mother nor her killers, instead only being lost in a snowstorm, is scary by implication.
100	** Man himself is never seen or heard, other than gunshots. We see his camp, but no one is in it.
101	* OneSteveLimit: Averted at the end. Flower names his son Bambi in honor of his friend and prince.
102	* OneWordTitle: Also a ProtagonistTitle.
103	* OhCrap: That infamous scene in which Faline disappears into the cloud during Bambi's fantasy, and then Ronno emerges from the cloud in her place, wanting to fight.
104	* TheOner: The iconic, [[SceneryPorn spectacular opening shot]] done completely with Disney's multiplane camera.
105	* PapaWolf: He may be a bit stiff and stern, but not even the threat of guns or a forest fire will stop the Great Prince from rescuing his son. The Great Prince will help Bambi step up on his two feet and shield him at the same time.
106	* PassingTheTorch: The film's conclusion. Bambi and the Great Prince stand watch on the cliff-top, then the Great Prince turns to his son and share a silent look before the former walks away, thus leaving Bambi alone as the new Great Prince.
107	* PopCultureOsmosis: It helps to be one of the oldest Disney films in the canon. Also, there is probably not a single person in the western world that does not know Bambi's mother dies.
108	* PrincessesRule: A rare male version of this: Bambi's father is explicitly called the Great Prince, not a King, and Bambi is implied to take up the same mantle in the end.
109	* ProtagonistTitle: The first film and the novel on which it's based are called ''Bambi''. The novel does also have the frequently omitted secondary title, "A Life in the Woods".
110	* PuppyDogEyes: A.K.A. "Bambi Eyes" in the film's case. Especially when he learned his mother is gone.
111	* RandomEventsPlot: The film eschews traditional narrative in favor of episodic mood pieces with an overarching theme of friendship, love and growing up tying it all together. Considering the film is meant to be a naturalistic portrayal of nature, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools this works perfectly in the films favor.]]
112	* RealityIsOutToLunch: The films generally down to earth tone is occasionally cast aside for cartoonish gags, such as Flower turning stiff and completely red all over while falling in love and Friend Owl doing physically impossible actions like literally walking on air and contorting his head well beyond 360 degrees like his neck is made of rubber. The dream sequence when Bambi first meets the grown up Faline also counts as this.
113	* RecycledAnimation:
114	** Sort of. Disney occasionally likes to recycle and will reuse animation if they need to. This has prompted the Fandom saying, "[[http://forthebirdsblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/disneys-gettin-lazy-3-whatever-happened.html Bambi's mother lives!!!]]" Also, Bambi and his mother made a brief speaking cameo in the Donald Duck short "No Hunting".
115	-->'''Bambi's mother''': Man is in the forest. Let's dig out.
116	** "Bambi's mom" appears in ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'' (a deer Shere Khan stalks), ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'', ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' (in the opening), and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owH1WT6XOmg The Rescuers]]''.
117	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJGjZsrk0YI The burning tree was reused/referenced for a tree struck down by lightning]] in ''WesternAnimation/FunAndFancyFree''.
118	** Some animation of adult Bambi and Faline was recycled for a brief scene in ''Film/MaryPoppins''.
119	* SatelliteLoveInterest: Faline doesn't really have much in the way of personality other than being a GenkiGirl as a fawn, but even that is lost when she grows up. The midquel fleshes her out. Likewise, neither Thumper's nor Flower's love interests have any personality, though they only appear very briefly.
120	* SequelHook: The scene with Faline and her fawns at the end of the first film was originally intended to set the stage for an adaptation of the sequel novel, ''Bambi's Children''. Disney shortly canned the project however.
121	* SerendipitousSymphony: "Little April Showers".
122	* {{Sexophone}}: During the scene where Thumper gets twitterpatted by a lovely female rabbit. (Though, technically, it's played on a slinky clarinet.)
123	* SexyDiscretionShot: Subtly. In "I Bring You a Song," the newly-paired Bambi and Faline frolic in the meadow by night. A gust of wind kicks up a burst of leaves and flower petals and the camera follows those while the song hits its climax... and when they finally settle we are back to the new couple, now calmly grazing.
124	* ShooOutTheClowns: Thumper and Flower both vanish from the film in the scenes preceding the winter storm and Bambi's mother getting shot.
125	* ShownTheirWork: The crew studied real deer and other animals so they could properly incorporate the behavior into their animal characters.
126	* SilenceIsGolden: The film is surprisingly light on dialogue, with only about 950 words being spoken in the entire film. A fan analyzed the film and discovered that (not counting the non-diagetic songs and non-speaking voice effects), the film [[https://vimeo.com/340720744 only has around 11 minutes of dialogue total out of its 1:10 runtime.]] The midquel has loads more dialogue, however.
127	* SnowMeansDeath: A heavy snow begins falling as Bambi searches through the woods for his mother. By the time his father finds him and delivers the bad news, it's so thick we can barely make out either of them.
128	* SomethingElseAlsoRises: During the Twitterpated scene. First Flower the skunk becomes red and stiff as a board upon his encounter with a lady skunk; as he falls over the sound effects are certainly wooden. And then there's Thumper, whose romantic encounter leads to stiff ears, a stiff body, repeatedly appearing/retracting claws, and a madly thumping foot.
129	* SoundOnlyDeath: We hear the fatal gunshot, but we don't actually see Bambi's mother die. Even Bambi is unaware of what's happened until he turns around and realizes she's not behind him.
130	* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the original novel, the only movie-shared characters to survive are [[spoiler:Bambi, Faline, and their two fawns]].
131	* StylizedForTheViewer: The butterfly has no legs, [[ExaggeratedTrope not even when it lands on Bambi's tail]].
132	* TimeSkip: After the infamous death scene, the next scene shows Bambi as a young adult, presumably during the second spring following. [[note]]The same time skip is present in the novel.[[/note]] The midquel helps to patch up this gap.
133	* TooDumbToLive: Averted somewhat. One of the birds was so scared and desperate she tries to fly away as Man comes closer. She ends up getting her headshot off (at least, that's how it seems). Also Gobo was this in the book as previously mentioned.
134	* UnwiseOwl: Creator/{{Disney}}'s version of Friend Owl initially appears to be wise but turns out to be a KnowNothingKnowItAll, inverting TheOwlKnowingOne.
135	* WeirdCrossover: There is an very old Disney comic story called "Thumper meets the Seven Dwarfs", where [[WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}} Thumper the rabbit]] encounters the Seven Dwarfs from Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'', and Friend Owl and Flower also appear, and they even encounter the giant from a WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse cartoon ''WesternAnimation/BraveLittleTailor''!
136	* WhamLine: "[[NeverSayDie Your mother can't be with you anymore.]]"
137	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Thumper's sisters for some reason aren't present during the final scene where Faline's new children is born, let alone shown as adults. Instead we see Thumper and Miss Bunny with their newborn children. They were last seen eating greens with Thumper when they encounter Bambi for the second time and don't show up for the rest of the film.
138	* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Friend Owl describing being "twitterpated" to the adult Bambi, Thumper and Flower.
139	* WingShield: Two mother birds shield their young from the rain during the ''Lil' April Showers'' segment, the first being a red-headed robin who uses her wings to keep her young dry, though one sticks his head out and immediately gets hit by a raindrop in the face. Meanwhile, on the ground, a mother pheasant keeps her wings outstretched so her chicks can remain dry while they hurry home.
140	* YouExclamation: Bambi screams this when he's just about had enough of Faline's exuberance.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Tropes the series as a whole provides examples of]]
144	* AdaptationSpeciesChange: In the original novel, Bambi and the other deer were Roe Deer, but in the films they were White-Tailed Deer because the films were set in North America where there are no Roe Deer.
145	** Upon the [[RecursiveTranslation re-translation into German]] however, the terminology for the deer was completely mixed up, leading to what is commonly known as the ''Bambi-Lüge'' or ''Bambi-Irrtum''. The German m/f/child terms for deer in general are Hirsch/Hirschkuh/Hirschkalb, while those specific to the Roe Deer species ("Reh") are Rehbock/Reh(geiß)/(Reh)Kitz. The German film translation however reverted to calling Bambi and his mother by the roe deer terms, while the father was left with the ''Hirsch'' befitting his looks. This resulted not only in people confusing what the respecive species looked like, but more importantly in thinking that the terms for a deer nuclear family were Hirsch/Reh/Kitz; generations of people were thusly miseducated, and it keeps on spreading, while often refusing correction.
146	* AdaptationalVillainy: Ronno in both films. In the novel, he's actually friendly to Bambi in the first part of the story and has a larger role. In the first movie, he appears in only one scene as a random, non speaking antagonist. The midquel expands his role, but also portrays him as a cowardly bully and AttentionWhore who is an out and out enemy of Bambi.
147	* AmbiguousSituation: The hunter doesn't hear Bambi's mom talking. It's not clear whether this is because [[TalkingAnimal the hunter was too far away]], or if it was because she was speaking her own [[TranslationConvention deer language being translated into English]].
148	* AmbiguousTimePeriod: Despite being featured in a more down to earth setting, it is very difficult if not impossible to pin down a specific point in time in the series. There is no indication of what time the film or its midquel take place or where beyond the general depiction of an eastern American forest. The stories do not feature any (on-screen) humans[[note]]the sequel comic [[LooseCanon of dubious canon]] ''Bambi's Children'' does feature them and they are depicted in a culture consistent with the 1940s, when the first film and comic were made.[[/note]], only animals in the wild who have basic, symbolic personalities, and there are zero pop culture references, so there's hardly anything within the setting that could ever become dated. Even the characters more humanized behaviour in the direct-to-video midquel is ''just'' detached enough from any specific human culture to remain rooted outside of any specific time or place.
149	* AnimationBump: The first film, and surprisingly the second, had some of Disney's top notch animation. However the studio's artstyle change over six decades is evident in areas, even with the second film making some effort to emulate the original. Generally the first film focuses more greatly on elegance and scenery, while the second has a wider emphasis on character acting and expressions and is often more frenetic.
150	* AntiVillain: According to [[Creator/DisneysNineOldMen animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston]] in their book ''Literature/TheDisneyVillain'', [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen Man]], the villain of Bambi, is this, simply because he had no comprehension of the pain and terror he was inflicting on what he simply thought were mindless animals.
151	-->"The biggest threat, of course, is from the predator, man, and his gun. As victims, the deer have no way of combating this foe and must suffer the consequences. Man, for his part, has no thought or understanding of the pain he has inflicted on the wild animals by pursing his own personal desires. There is no villainy in his heart when he kills Bambi's mother, yet to the audience, this is an event that stays with them for the rest of their lives."
152	* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
153	** Aside from the well studied movement and anatomy of the animals, there are very, ''very'' few things that are accurate to the real life behaviour and biology of the animals in both of the Disney films and their tie-ins, ''especially'' in regards to the deer themselves. There are so many liberties or inaccuracies, that the series [[ArtisticLicenseBiology/{{Bambi}} has its own subpage for it.]]
154	** Generally averted with the original Felix Salten novel. While it is not void of its own liberties and it does humanize the animals to a point, it presents the specific behaviours and biology of the animals much more accurately. ''Bambi's Children'' tones this down by humanizing their behaviour even more, but not to the extent of the Disney series.
155	* BigDamnHeroes: Both Bambi and his father do this in both films.
156	** Bambi saves Faline from a pack of hunting dogs by his late in the first film.
157	** The Great Prince saves Bambi from getting shot by a hunter and his dogs in the midquel.
158	* BigGood: The Great Prince of the Forest [[spoiler:and later Bambi himself]].
159	* CarnivoreConfusion: Salten addresses it a bit more directly than Disney does. In the Disney film, the only predators are Friend Owl and Flower (not counting the hunter's dogs), and neither is actually shown eating anything (or anyone). In fact, the worst Friend Owl does to a squirrel is that he gives it an angry glare when it doesn't want to go away from looking at Bambi.
160	* CerebusRollercoaster: Both films, particularly the first one, vary between being some of Disney's most lighthearted, sentimental and cutesy animation and some of their darkest, most brutal animation.
161	* ComicBookAdaptation: Along with not one but two comic book retellings of the film itself, Disney also published a comic of the original novel's sequel ''Bambi's Children''. Though still using the film's mythos and cast, it follows the story of the second novel closer than the film did the first.
162	* ComingOfAgeStory: Bambi, and to a lesser extent his friends, goes from a child to a mature adult and then a father over the course of the film.
163	* CowardlyLion: Bambi in the midquel.
164	* CrossOver: Some of the old Dell comics have crossovers with other Disney series, such as "Thumper Meets the Seven Dwarves" and an issue where Bambi (as a yearling) meets Chip 'n Dale.
165	* CrossoverCameo: Being an iconic Disney character, Bambi and other characters have made multiple reappearances in Disney media:
166	** Bambi himself actually makes an appearance in person in the crowd of toons in the ending of Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit, and in one scene early in the film, Thumper is mentioned by Roger himself [[spoiler:to be his uncle]].
167	** Also, [[spoiler:Judge Doom]] was originally planned to be the killer of Bambi's mother in a shocking revelation. It ultimately never made it into the final film, unfortunately.
168	** Also, Bambi makes a cameo (as a silhouette) in the end of ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingOneAndAHalf''.
169	** A cell of Bambi is used to document Disney's ink and paint department in ''Film/TheReluctantDragon'', after which it briefly springs to life in proper animation.
170	** Bambi and his father also make a cameo in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''.
171	** Bambi's mom's head is mounted on [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Gaston]]'s wall.
172	** Bambi and his mom cameo in the Disney Classic Short ''No Hunting''.
173	--->''"Man is in the forest. Let's dig out."''
174	** As with many characters of Disney Animated Canon, Bambi and other characters from the original film frequently cameo as audience members in ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse''.
175	** Bambi's mom can also be seen as the deer Shere Khan is hunting in his introductory scene in ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'', to the bottom right in the first frame of the prologue to ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', and her and Bambi both shows up during the song "Someone's Waiting For You" in the first ''[[WesternAnimation/TheRescuers Rescuers]]'' movie. All of these appearances are the animation of she and Bambi eating grass before the infamous death scene.
176	** There's something eerily familiar about Kay aiming his bow at a deer in ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone''...
177	* CrownShapedHead: Deer are treated as royalty (for example, Bambi is often referred to as Young Prince, and Bambi's father carries the title Great Prince). Their antlers form a natural crown over their heads.
178	* DisappearedDad: The Prince of the Forest barely interacts with Bambi, only showing up at important moments when his son needs help. This is consistent with nature, as fawns are raised exclusively by their mothers. However, Bambi's father dropped the disappearing act and took over the parenting duties after the death of his mother, as confirmed years later in the {{midquel}} ''WesternAnimation/BambiII''.
179	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[ICallHimMrHappy Ronno naming his antlers...]]
180	* DubSpeciesChange: A weird case happened in the German translation, where Bambi's father is referred to as a red deer while Bambi himself and his mom are referred to as roe deers. As a result, this created a common misconception in Germany that red deers are the adult males of roe deers.
181	* EarnYourHappyEnding: While the first half of the film doesn't invoke this trope, the second half plays it brilliantly. First loses his mother; later he goes through a tough fight for his mate (but wins). Then he gets chased after by dogs, gets shot...AND has to get back up and run. And his home gets destroyed by a forest fire. But the film ends with a healthy new forest some time later, the birth of Bambi's children, and Bambi finally assuming the mantle of The Great Prince of the Forest, the latter done without any words being spoken. This trope is played to such an extent that it's likely this is one of the films that particularly inspired Creator/DonBluth, practically the king of said trope in animated movies.
182	** The midquel only extends these hardships to greater heights! Bambi [[spoiler:is forced to cope with the loss of his mother and he tries to earn the love of his father, only to be given away to a stepmother (on the grounds that his father believes that he has no business raising children, ironically). He also ends up getting stung by a porcupine, ''and'' he risks his life to save his would-be-stepmom from a pack of hunting dogs, and after a long chase scene it ends with the dogs defeated...and him falling off a high cliff. Despite early impressions, he survives and finally earns the love and affection of his father, who finally accepts Bambi as his child, without any words being spoken. The film also ends with Bambi getting an accidental smooch from Faline, and his father showing him where he and Bambi's mother first met.]]
183	* EnclosedSpace: The story is set entirely in the boundaries of the forest, which the characters never leave. Justified as the Maine woods, especially in the 1940s (and still somewhat even today) are quite extensive.
184	* ExpandedUniverse: Along with the midquel, the film has a relatively modest one, mainly composed of vintage comic books and many miscellaneous comic stories scattered throughout various Disney magazines, as well as various childrens storybooks published throughout the years, like the ''Disney Bunnies'' spinoff books. While many of these comics are non-canon crossovers with other Disney series that often blatantly contradict the films, a few of them manage to remain consistent with the tone and feel of the films (with the midquel even making some subtle {{Mythology Gag}}s). One of the old Dell Comics notably did an adaptation of the novels sequel, ''Bambi's Children''.
185	* TheGhost:
186	** Thumper's father, who never once appears on-screen in either films, even though Thumper's mother constantly brings up one of his {{Green Aesop}}s if Thumper is ever giving her trouble or causing it. This is later averted in one of the ''Disney Bunnies'' storybooks, where he finally appears in person.
187	** [[NothingIsScarier Man]] is also included, except in ''Bambi's Children'', where their presence is open and clear.
188	* HumanlikeFootAnatomy: Flower the skunk has feet that look like human feet and Thumper and other rabbits have footpads.
189	* HumansAreCthulhu: To the forest animals, Man is a horror beyond understanding, let along fighting. They flee and hide at the mere hint of a human presence.
190	* {{Interquel}}:
191	** ''WesternAnimation/BambiII'', a direct to video film made by Creator/DisneyToonStudios, which is, despite its title, a midquel set after the death of Bambi's mother midway through the first film and before the TimeSkip to Bambi as a yearling. Notably, it is one of the very few offshoots of the first film where the plot is centered on what happened after the film's midway point.
192	** "Bambi's Winter Trail", a children's storybook, is a minor one that is set after the day Bambi first sees snow, but well before the fateful day where his mother dies.
193	** There are also many other children's storybooks set during Bambi's infancy (e.g. the Little Golden Book "Bambi: Friends of the Forest"), and thus set between events of the first film.
194	* {{Jerkass}}: Bambi's father, mainly in the original film. He says barely five sentences to his son throughout the entire film and ''all'' of them make him sound distant, demanding and utterly disappointed in his son. The midquel still has traces of this, but makes it a plot point that his character softens throughout the film.
195	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He has shades of this in both films, but it's much more obvious in the midquel.
196	* KissingCousins: Bambi and Faline 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.
197	* LanguageBarrier: It is implied that humans cannot hear animals speak English (or any human language).
198	* {{Leitmotif}}: ''Love is a Song'' and a snippet of ''I Bring You A Song'' in the original film. ''Love is a Song'' also pops up as a leitmotif in the midquel, as well as an all new leitmotif (entitled "Bambi and the Great Prince" on the soundtrack disc) for scenes with Bambi and his father.
199	** "Man"'s presence is only indicated by a three-note motif that plays over and over and gets louder and louder, until a gunshot is heard. Supposedly, this was the inspiration for the minor-second motif for the shark in ''Film/{{Jaws}}''.
200	* LighterAndSofter: The original film when compared to the original novel, and the midquel when compared to the original film. Tie in material to the films usually play up the more cute, sentimental elements of them, leaving out the darker elements.
201	* LikeRealityUnlessNoted: Despite the many, ''many'' liberties taken with the animal's specific behavior and biology, the films otherwise treat the animals as if they are in a real life forest, with cartoonish exaggeration only sparsely being used in the animation. In short, Bambi isn't at all realistic in its presentation of wildlife, but it treats its world of caricatured animals with believable conviction.
202	* LooseCanon: Some of the spinoff comics and storybooks--the ones that don't contain elements that blatantly contradict the films, such as any issue with a crossover with another Disney property--fall into this. They stay consistent with the tone and nature of the films, but they also don't influence or add content onto them in any significant way either, barring showing what Thumper's father actually looks and acts like, and naming a few of the more minor characters.
203	* MisplacedWildlife: California Quail in the Maine woods. Also, a surprising example of artistic license in a movie which is otherwise amazingly accurate to the nature and animals (see ShownTheirWork above) it's based off of...[[CarnivoreConfusion for the most part anyways.]]
204	** Also, the quails' calls are wrong; they sound more like Bobwhite Quails instead...
205	* MoodWhiplash: "Your mother can't be with you anymore. Come with me, my son." This line cuts directly to the most happiest song of the movie. The midquel (which takes place within the TimeSkip) serves largely as a smoother transition point between the two scenes.
206	* MusicalSpoiler: Man's presence in the film is represented only be a recurring three note leitmotif.
207	* NeverSayDie: The line, "Your mother can't be with you anymore." Also in the midquel, when the Great Prince outright restrains himself from saying "killed" or "die". This is TruthInTelevision, as many people find it hard to apply these words to people they love. Especially if it was recent and sudden.
208	* NoNameGiven: None of the characters' parents have actual names.
209	* NothingIsScarier: You never once see [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen Man]] in either of the films (although he/they ''are'' seen in the novels on occasion) but that makes him (they?) more terrifying than your usual Disney villain. Man is the second highest-ranking Disney villain in ''"AFI's 100 Heroes and Villains"'', surpassed only by the Queen from ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'', and is also the only villain on the entire list who is never seen.
210	* PaleFemalesDarkMales: {{Zig Zagg\|ingTrope}}ed. Faline plays this trope straight as both a fawn and a doe, while Bambi's mother {{avert\|edTrope}}s it, being colored more or less the same as The Great Prince. Then there are several background bucks that ''{{in\|vertedTrope}}''[[InvertedTrope vert]] the trope by being colored lighter than the others as well.
211	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: There are many, particularly Thumper and Flower.
212	* SceneryPorn: The backgrounds of the movies look like something out of a Norman Rockwell {{painting\|s}}. Perhaps the best known example is the long forest {{pan}} at the very start of the first film.
213	* ShownTheirWork: When it comes to the ''movement'' of the animals, Disney pulled out all stops to get it accurate -- Disney had a pair of live baby deer shipped down from Maine so the animators could study their movements first hand, and one animator even pulled apart the corpse of a dead fawn he acquired to study how the skeleton and muscles of it worked. They also had a small zoo of other animals on hand to help with their studies as well. But when it comes to the specific biology and behaviour of deer and other animals? Lets just say there's a very good reason Bambi has its own subpage for ArtisticLicenseBiology.
214	** Not only that, but he sent his artists to camp out in the Maine woods and take hundreds upon hundreds of photographs to recreate the environment exactly. That clearing where Bambi is born? Really exists.
215	** The portrayal of how bucks begin fighting over a doe is accurate by showing a buck (Bambi) following a doe in heat (Faline) into the territory of another buck (Ronno).
216	* SlidingScaleOfAdaptationModification:
217	** The first film is a type 2 (Recognizable Adaptation).
218	** The comic adaptation of ''Bambi's Children'' hovers between a type 3 (PragmaticAdaptation) and a type 4 (Near Identical Adaptation). Some story elements are changed and condensed and it follows the mythos of the first film, but its much more faithful to its source material than the first movie was to its respective novel.
219	* SlidingScaleOfVisualsVersusDialogue: The first film leans firmly on the Visuals end of the scale. The film notably has less than 900 lines of dialogue in the entire film. The midquel has ''far'' more conversation scenes, but still quiets for visual elements more than most other Disney films.
220	* SpinOff: Thumper received his own series of books called "Disney Bunnies" in the 2000s.
221	* UnbuiltTrope: Despite being the TropeCodifier for many cutesy baby forest animal franchises, the first film was noticeably ominous and dark in many areas, especially after the TimeSkip where upon Bambi is no longer an innocent fawn but a badass stag constantly under threat of predators and hunters. The midquel is LighterAndSofter, though still stays loyal to the dark undertones and showing [[TookALevelInBadass Bambi's maturing]] in parts.
222	* UnnamedParent: All of them.
223	* UnusualEuphemism: "Twitterpated" for "smitten".
224	* UrbanLegends: There is a rumor that they were trying to imply in ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' that Gaston killed Bambi's mother. Evidence for this is that [[RecycledAnimation she can be seen in the opening]], and that there is a mounted doe head visible during one of Gaston's {{Villain Song}}s. Evidence against this is that ''Bambi'' takes place in North America, whereas ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' takes place in France[[note]]The explanation is a lot more mundane and simple - she's just a popular piece of animation, being already well-researched and accurate in her movements, to use when a deer is needed. She's been used in a number of other scenes, such as WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967[[/note]].
225	* VoodooShark: The series has a minor one in the form of how fast the characters age. The original movie implies that the Spring after Bambi's Mother died is the immediate Spring afterward, making it rather strange that Bambi has suddenly undergone a big growth spurt when we had last seen him as a scrawny fawn (to say nothing of how Bambi should have already been close to that large by winter [[ArtisticLicenseBiology if real life deer aging is taken into account]]). At least one of the Dell Comic adaptations of the first movie, as well as the midquel movie, tries to HandWave this by stating that the spring we see Yearling Bambi in is actually [[TimeSkip takes place a year after that fateful winter]] and isnt the immediate spring, which gives a much more plausible length of time for Bambi to grow so much. But then ''another'' Disney comic adaptation also stated [[ContinuitySnarl that it was the immediate Spring and not a later one]]. And then the Dell comic book adaptation of ''Bambi's Children'' throws a wrench into all of this by having the eponymous fawns abruptly shown grow up after winter via a TimeSkip--but this time, the narration explicitly points out that its the immediate spring and not a later one!
226	* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Friend Owl describing being "twitterpated" to Bambi, Thumper and Flower.
227	* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The forest appears to be set somewhere in North America, but its exact location is never identified in either of the films or their tie-in materials.
228	* WildWilderness: The forest of both films.
229	* WoodlandCreatures: Whereas in most Disney movies woodland creatures are background characters, in this one they are the stars of the movie.
230	[[/folder]]

Context WesternAnimation / Bambi