“Bambi II” (2006)

Bambi II

Also known as: Bambi & the Great Prince of the Forest

Brief Description:

After Bambi’s mother is killed, Bambi’s father, the Great Prince, takes care of him for the winter. The Prince is reluctant, but Bambi tries to make the best of it and his new situation, playing with his friends as much as possible and ignoring the new bully that just appeared. As winter gives way to spring and spring to winter, Bambi will Bambi grow closer to or further from his father? And when danger strikes, will Bambi prove himself a prince or a coward? 

Date: 2006

Genre: American animated drama film

Running time: 1 hour 12 minutes 

Cast: 

Alexander Gould (Bambi)

Patrick Stewart (the Great Prince)

Brendon Baerg (Thumper)

Nicky Jones (Flower)

Andrea Bowen (Faline)

Anthony Ghannam (Ronno)

Cree Summer (Mena)

Keith Ferguson (Friend Owl)

Makenna Cowgill, Emma Rose Lima, & Ariel Winter (Thumper’s sisters)

Brian Pimental (the Groundhog & Porcupine)

Carolyn Hennesy (Bambi’s mother)

Director: Brian Pimental 

Production company: Disneytoon Studios 

Wikipedia page

Watch on Archive

Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 5/5

This is a great followup to the first Bambi. While the vintage feel is gone, they captured the forest and aesthetic very well. I love Bambi I—don’t get me wrong—but it is very vintage. This one is more authentic. And I adore the theme song <3 (though I’m not a fan of the music genre)

Characters: 5/5

Again, great followup to Bambi I. The Prince, Bambi, Thumper + his family, Flower, Faline… they were all just as they were in the film, except Bambi and the Prince were a bit more developed. Ronno was a great addition [to hate on], as well as the Porcupine. And Meta was so sweet! 

Plot: 5/5

This fits in so so well between the first and second part of Bambi I. Bambi’s time with his father, as he struggles to prove himself and his father struggles to accommodate himself, is pretty heart-tugging. His and his father’s grief over his mother, while only slightly touched upon, is poignant… and Bambi’s PTSD really hurt! I never realized the poor thing would have PTSD! But with all those harder bits, the film has plenty of humour and love. Bambi & his friends are the cutest thing, and Bambi + his father are adorable ;) The film has a gentle arc for both Bambi and his father, and just like the first film, the beginning is very simple and gentle, and the ending is dramatic and climatic. 

Theme/Message/Topics: 5/5

The Prince bugged me with his constant insisting that he had other things to do than care for his son, but I was so happy to see him finally settle down. His constant reproof and holding Bambi to the highest of standards was also something that spoke to me. I loved how it helped Bambi, but also how his father learned to scale things down to a realistic level. As for Bambi, I loved how he learned to stand up for his friends, and finally proved his courage in the great showdown where he literally sacrificed himself to save someone else… <3 So yeah, I really, really, REALLY love the theme song.

And the colder the winter,

The warmer the spring;

The deeper the sorrow,

The more our hearts sing...

Content: 5/5 (low)

One euphemism; syncopated music. 

Violence: 5/5 (low)

Two hunting scenes, where deer run from and fight dogs. 

Overall: 5/5

As I said before, this is the perfect addition to Bambi I! I really love it and I like it best when I watch the two films spliced together in this fan edit.