Bambi II
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| Bambi II | |
|---|---|
 Poster from the theatrical release of Bambi II in Brazil |
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| Directed by | Brian Pimental |
| Produced by | Jim Ballantine Jeffrey Moznett Dave Okey |
| Written by | Alicia Kirk |
| Starring | Alexander Gould Patrick Stewart Brendon Baerg Nicky Jones Andrea Bowen Anthony Ghannam Keith Ferguson Eli Linnetz Brian Pimental Carolyn Hennesy Cree Summer Ariel Winter McKenna Cowgill Emma Rose Lina |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Home Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | January 26, 2006 (theatrical release in Argentina) February 7, 2006 (video premiere in the United States) April 24, 2006 (theatrical release in United Kingdom) May 26, 2006 (theatrical release in Australia) |
| Running time | 73 min. (in the U.S.) 75 min. (in France) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | N/A |
| Preceded by | Bambi (1942) |
| IMDb profile | |
Bambi II is a Disney animated feature that premiered on January 26, 2006 in Argentina. Although it was eventually released in theatres in 25 countries, in the USA and some other countries it was a direct-to-video release (released on February 7, 2006).
The film is a midquel, the story taking place in the middle of Disney's original Bambi, with the Great Prince of the Forest dealing with the now motherless Bambi.
While the film was a direct-to-video release in countries like the United States, Japan, Canada, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, it was a theatrical release in some countries like the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and some other European countries.
This film, in contrast to its predacessor, contains a heavy amount of dialogue. The previous film relied more on other methods to convey the story, such as lighting and musical cues.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
[edit] The beginning
The story begins just after Bambi's mother is shot. Bambi wanders out into the forest calling for her, and comes across the Great Prince of the Forest (in the original film, the Great Prince says "Come, my son," but here he only says "Come.") Knowing that Bambi's mother is dead, the Great Prince leads Bambi back to his den under a fallen tree (The Great Prince's den is copied right out of Bambi, A Life in the Woods - it is a fallen beech tree with a hollow rotted out beneath.) The Great Prince asks Friend Owl to find a doe to raise Bambi, but Friend Owl points out that due to the harsh winter the does can barely care for themselves. The Great Prince has no choice but to look after Bambi until the spring.
Spring is slowly beginning to return to the forest (the song sequence There is Life). The sun breaks through the clouds and the ice and snow begins to melt. Hibernating animals wake up and migratory birds begin to return. On top of the fallen tree that makes the Great Prince's den, a small green plant begins to grow.
[edit] Patrol with the Great Prince
Thee next morning, Bambi wakes up late and finds his father gone. Frightened, he runs outside and bumps into the Great Prince's leg. The Great Prince tells Bambi that a prince must wake before the forest does, but halfway through his reprimand Bambi's stomach growls in hunger. The Great Prince finds a root for him to eat and Bambi reluctantly eats it.
After Bambi has eaten, the Great Prince takes him to check on the other deer. Bambi is excited and begins leaping around, which the Great Prince scolds him for, as a prince must show dignity. Bambi attempts to heed his father's words, but cannot summon the grace and strength that his father has. They eventually reach a cliff overlooking the herd of deer, and Bambi remarks that the distance makes it difficult to play with them. When the Great Prince shoots Bambi a questioning look, Bambi begins to discuss something that his mother told him. The Great Prince interrupts him and says that "a prince does not look back, only ahead." The Great Prince and Bambi then leave to continue the patrol.
[edit] Thumper
As the Great Prince and Bambi walk through deep snow, Bambi walks into a snow drift and comes out the other side covered in snow. As he shakes it off he comes across a lump of snow on his leg that he can't shake off. Eventually, the snow falls off and reveals Thumper clinging to Bambi's leg. Thumper says that he's been having trouble with his overly playful sisters. The sisters arrive and find Thumper hiding behind Bambi, saying that Thumper is supposed to take them to see the Groundhog by order of their mother. Thumper doesn't want to go and says that his mother can't force him to, but his mother is standing right behind him and makes him go.
The Great Prince then appears and Bambi has to leave, much to the dismay of Thumper who doesn't want to be left alone with his sisters. The Great Prince and Bambi have to climb a steep slope to reach their next destination and Bambi can't climb it. The Great Prince sighs, and allows Bambi to go and see the Groundhog. Bambi wants to stay with his father, but the Great Prince says that he has to travel a great distance and that he will meet Bambi later. Bambi leaves to go and join Thumper.
[edit] The Groundhog and Ronno
Bambi catches up with Thumper, and reassures Thumper that he and the Great Prince and "best pals." The two then wake up the hibernating Flower and go to see the Groundhog together, where Friend Owl is presiding over the event. The Groundhog is reluctant to leave his hole and Friend Owl tries to force him out, landing himself stuck in the hole. As the gathered animals laugh, Bambi turns around and bumps noses with Faline. Bambi, in surprise, stumbles backwards and over a log.
Friend Owl manages to free himself from the hole and the Groundhog appears, nervous about seeing his shadow (as this means the winter will continue for a while) and covering his eyes with his paws. As he takes his paws away and looks, a passing cloud obscures his shadow, which the animals take to be a sign that spring will soon arrive. The animals dance and sing Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song, but halfway through the song Ronno scares the Groundhog back into his hole. He laughs, but is the only one doing so, as the other animals have left.
Desperate for attention, Ronno catches up with Bambi, Faline, Flower and Thumper and tells them an untrue story about a confrontation with Man he had out on the meadow. He becomes angry when the others don't believe his story and challenges Bambi to a sparring match. Before they can fight, Ronno's mother calls to him and he leaves relcutantly. One by one, everyone except Bambi leaves to be with their mother. Bambi is left on his own to wait for his father. He lies down next to a log and falls asleep.
[edit] Bambi's dream and Man
Bambi finds himself in a shining golden meadow and begins chasing butterflies. As he does so, he hears his mother's voice call him. Overjoyed, he runs towards her and begins to nuzzle her lovingly. His mother comforts him, telling him that she's there even though he can't see her.
As the dream fades Bambi continues to hear her voice saying "I'm here," which confuses him. He begins to believe that the voice is his mother's after it says "It's me!", so he follows it out onto the meadow where a flock of crows fly past screaming about Man. As Bambi looks towards the source of the disturbance a pack of hunting dogs runs towards him, causing Bambi to freeze in terror. Elsewhere, the Great Prince hears the crows and suddenly becomes concerned for Bambi. He runs to where the crows were flying from and arrives in time to fight the dogs and save Bambi. As the dogs run back to their master, the Great Prince sees the glint of a rifle and yells at the still frozen Bambi to run. After a nudge from the Great Prince's antlers, Bambi snaps out of his trance and the two escape to safety.
Bambi explains that he heard his mother's voice. The Great Prince angrily says that it was one of Man's tricks. Bambi tries to apologize, but the Great Prince is angry and reprimands Bambi for freezing in the face of peril. The two return home, where the realization of his mother's death begins to dawn in Bambi's mind.
The Great Prince leaves to reflect on the situation, and finds Friend Owl. The Great Prince notes that winter is ending and that Friend Owl should have no trouble finding a doe to be Bambi's new mother.
[edit] Being brave
The next morning, the Great Prince tells Bambi to stay in the den where it's safe. Bambi is crestfallen, as he wants to be with his father. Thumper and Flower ask Bambi what's wrong, and Bambi says he wants his father to see how brave he is. Thumper decides to teach Bambi how to be brave (you have to be scarier than what's scaring you), and Bambi, Thumper and Flower walk through the forest practicing their new skills until they come to a log guarded by a grumpy porcupine, which terrifies them. They flee back to the bank, and Thumper sees the Great Prince. Since Bambi is supposed to be back at the den, Thumper suggests they leave. But Bambi realizes that this is a good opportunity to show his new-found bravery. The Great Prince turns to leave and Thumper goes to distract him and bring him back. Bambi goes to confront the porcupine.
[edit] The porcupine
Bambi leaps over the porcupine, angering him. The porcupine stiffens his quills and begins chasing Bambi backwards and forwards across the log. Thumper brings the Great Prince to see Bambi "being brave", but when he notices Bambi in trouble he leads the Great Prince away. After a short struggle, the porcupine is propelled into the air by a piece of wood and lands quills-first on Bambi's rear. Bambi yells out in pain, causing the Great Prince to go and investigate the noise, much to Thumper's dismay. Bambi ducks down under the water so as not to be seen, and the Great Prince leaves. Thumper begins to pull the quills out of Bambi's rear.
Ronno and Faline are nearby, and Ronno is showing off to Faline until she hears Bambi cry out in pain. Bambi cries out again and Faline runs to see to see him. Ronno yells after her, seemingly hurt by losing her attention.
Faline and Ronno go and see Bambi, and Ronno teases Bambi after the meadow incident where Bambi froze. Ronno decides that he and Faline should leave, but Faline wants to stay. Ronno tries to force Faline to leave and Bambi stands up for her. Ronno comes back to confront Bambi and tease Flower and Thumper, causing Thumper to push Bambi so that he headbutts Ronno. Ronno is furious and chases Thumper and Bambi through the forest.
[edit] Jumping
Bambi comes to a large jump, and to his surprise he clears it with ease. The Great Prince appears and begins to tell Bambi off for leaving the den, but interrupts himself when he notices that Bambi cleared the jump, saying that he didn't make a jump that far until he was older. Bambi is delighted at the positive attention, but the Great Prince composes himself and the three leave.
Ronno tries to clear the jump as well, but falls and lands in the mud.
The next day, Bambi practices his jumping with Thumper. The Great Prince sees this and smiles, but becomes serious when Friend Owl arrives and says that the search for a new mother is going well. The Great Prince does not concentrate and is more concerned with Bambi's jumping. Friend Owl notices this and slyly hints that the Great Prince might have changed his mind. The Great Prince, annoyed, confirms that he has not. He then walks past Bambi's jumping lesson, seemingly taking little interest in it. Bambi is confused as his jumping drew praise the day before.
[edit] Asking the Great Prince
Bambi says that the Great Prince has been standing around and contemplating a lot. Thumper suggests that Bambi should go and ask the Great Prince about it. Bambi does so, and the Great Prince says that he is observing - looking, listening and smelling for danger all at the same time. The Great Prince says that Bambi should try to "feel the forest" (feel vibrations through his hooves for abnormalities in forest activity). The Great Prince leaves and Bambi turns to head back to the den, but the Great Prince wants Bambi to come with him. The two journey through the forest and join the stags as they participate in their annual run. Through this, the bond between father and son deepens (the song sequence First Sign of Spring).
[edit] A new mother and the dogs
The next morning as Bambi and the Great Prince play, Friend Owl arrives with Mena, the doe he has found to be Bambi's new mother. The Great Prince now seemingly regrets the decision to pass on his parenting duties, but resolves to do so despite Bambi's protestations. After saying goodbye to his friends and the Great Prince, Bambi leaves with Mena.
Ronno appears and continues to tease him about Bambi's father sending him away. Bambi, enraged, charges at Ronno and the two fight. Mena disrupts the fight but Ronno charges into Bambi, causing Bambi to knock Mena into a trap attached to jingling bells. As Mena struggles, the bells jingle and alert Man and the hunting dogs to her position.
Ronno flees in terror screaming for his mother, and Bambi freezes again. He quickly snaps out of it and begins to run as well, but he doubles back to distract the four dogs away from Mena. The Great Prince arrives and frees Mena from the trap before going after Bambi.
Bambi manages to lose some of the dogs (one with the help of Flower's scent glands, and another with help from the grumpy porcupine) and begins to climb a steep, rocky cliff. One of the dogs slips and falls, leaving only one chasing after Bambi. Bambi climbs to a high ledge and dislodges some rocks, which do nothing to the dog. As the dog closes in, Bambi kicks it in the chest, causing it to fall to the bottom of the cliff.
The Great Prince sees this and is relieved. Bambi goes to join him, but the ledge beneath Bambi gives way and he falls. The Great Prince goes to him and believes the prince to be dead. He nuzzles his son tenderly and cries. Friend Owl, Mena, Flower and Thumper arrive to see what is happening. As the Great Prince gets up to leave, Bambi wakes up. The Great Prince, relieved, begins to nuzzle his son again, causing Bambi to smile at the attention. Mena turns and leaves, knowing that the Great Prince wanted to take care of Bambi after all.
[edit] Ending
A while later, Thumper tells the exaggerated story of how Bambi defeated the dogs. Bambi arrives, now with a pair of antlers and without his spots. The porcupine pricks Bambi's legs with his quills, causing Bambi to leap forward and be nose-to-nose with Faline. Ronno arrives and say he will come back to get his revenge, but steps on a turtle and is bitten on the nose, making him scream for his mother. Bambi leaves as his father is calling him.
The Great Prince takes Bambi to a forest glade, saying that this was the place where he met Bambi's mother. Bambi asks what the Great Prince was like when he was Bambi's age, and the Great Prince says that he was a lot like Bambi.
Above the Great Prince's den, the small green plant has grown and split into two, resembling a large stag beside a smaller stag.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Characters from Bambi
- Bambi, voiced by Alexander Gould, is the protagonist of the story. Saddened and traumatized by the loss of his mother, Bambi copes with his new life without her. Throughout the film he constantly tries to win the attention, support, and love he needs from his father.
- The Great Prince of the Forest, voiced by Patrick Stewart, is Bambi's father. The Great Prince feels that a father is not what Bambi needs, and he tries to send Bambi away rather than teach him the ways of having the crown of the forest. Things are not helped much by the fact that he is used to a solitary, quiet life. In spite of this, he learns how to become a loving father and friend to Bambi.
- Thumper, voiced by Brendon Baerg, is one of Bambi's two best friends and helps Bambi try to impress his father. Thumper also spends much of his time fleeing from his four sisters as he reaches a more or less teenage mentality and finds them irritating.
- Flower, voiced by Nicky Jones, is a bashful skunk and Bambi's other best friend. Flower also helps Bambi try to impress his father.
- Bambi's mother, voiced by Carolyn Hennes, makes one appearance in a dream sequence in which she comforts Bambi despite being deceased. She is also present in an emotional sense throughout the movie; whenever she is mentioned, Bambi's father becomes crestfallen.
- Faline, voiced by Andrea Bowen, is one of Bambi's childhood friends and eventually grows up to become his mate (as seen in Bambi.) Her effect on Bambi has changed little since the first movie. Whenever she is around, Bambi generally becomes tongue-tied and very clumsy.
- Friend Owl, voiced by Keith Ferguson, is a friendly but irritable old owl. Friend Owl is asked by The Great Prince to find a suitable doe to raise Bambi.
- Ronno, voiced by Anthony Ghannam, is an enemy of Bambi's and is actually the younger version of the deer who fights Bambi for the affections of Faline in the original movie. Exactly as his adult self, Ronno tries to battle Bambi for Faline's attention through the use of bullying and fighting.
- Man: Man plays the villain in the film accompanied by his band of hunting dogs. His sole purpose is to hunt the various forest animals using rifles and deer calls.
[edit] New characters
- The Groundhog, voiced by Brian Pimental, is the focus of the forest's Groundhog Day celebrations. On February 2 each year, the Groundhog comes out into the forest square and determines whether or not winter will last a few more weeks. Ironically, he hates the job and is scared of his own shadow, complaining that his "nerves just can't take it any more."
- The Porcupine, voiced by Brian Pimental, is a minor character who is extremely territorial and vindictive. As the forest's resident grouch, he regularly takes pleasure in keeping animals away from his log home. Bambi's first encounter with the Porcupine ends in a painful and humiliating defeat for Bambi. Their second confrontation leads to the Porcupine being used as catapult ammunition. The porcupine also causes Bambi to accidentally kiss Faline at the end of the movie.
- Mena, voiced by Cree Summer, is the doe Friend Owl finds as a surrogate mother for Bambi, in order to allow the Great Prince to focus his attention on protecting the forest. Friend Owl found her just when Bambi and the Great Prince were beginning to bond, nearly ruining the relationship. She grew up with Bambi's mother.
[edit] Home video
The film was released on home video at differing dates, due to it being a theatrical release in some countries.
As major studios continue to phase out VHS, this was the last Disney animated film released on VHS.[citation needed] (All other Disney films after this continue to phase in DVD) Later, the first Disney animated film only released on DVD was Chicken Little.
The film sold 2.6 million DVDs in its first week North America. [1]
[edit] Release dates
| Country | Release date |
|---|---|
| United States | February 7 2006 |
| United Kingdom | April 24 2006 |
| France | August 22 2006 |
| Japan | June 16 2006 |
[edit] Soundtrack
Walt Disney Records released the soundtrack CD on February 7, 2006. The executive producer for the soundtrack album is Matt Walker.
[edit] Soundtrack listing
- There is Life - Alison Krauss
- First Sign of Spring - Michelle Lewis
- Through Your Eyes - Martina McBride
- The Healing of a Heart - Anthony Callea
- Snow Flakes in the Forest - Bruce Broughton
- Bambi's Dream - Bruce Broughton
- Being Brave (Part 1) - Bruce Broughton
- Being Brave (Part 2) - Bruce Broughton
- Bambi and the Great Prince / End Credit Suite - Bruce Broughton
- *Sing the Day - Anika Noni Rose, Harrison Chad, Marcus Carl Franklin, Leon Thomas and Chorus
- **Main Title (Love is a Song) - Frank Churchill
- **Little April Shower - Frank Churchill
- **Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song - Frank Churchill
- * Sing the Day was originally used in the "Being Brave" sequence
- ** These tracks are from Bambi, the original film
[edit] Songs used in the film
- "Love is a Song" (silent version) (Note: This version of this song was not on the soundtrack disc. 2nd Note: The only version of this song on the soundtrack disc was the one from Bambi.)
- "There is Life" - performed by Alison Krauss
- "Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song" (Groundhog's version) - performed by Brian Pimental (Note: This version of this song was not on the soundtrack disc. 2nd Note: The only version of this song on the soundtrack disc was the one from Bambi.)
- "First Sign of Spring" - performed by Michelle Lewis
- "Through Your Eyes" - performed by Martina McBride (featured in end credits)
- "The Healing of a Heart" - performed by Anthony Callea (featured in end credits)
[edit] Trivia
- This movie was first titled Bambi and the Great Prince, but was changed to Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest and later Bambi II.
- This movie appears to break the record of longest interval between a sequel and its predecessor [2], previously held by The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Return to Oz (1985). Bambi was released in 1942; Bambi II in 2006, almost sixty-four years later, though there is some dispute as to whether this movie can be considered a "sequel" since it takes place in between scenes of the original.
- Following its moratorium strategy, in which releases are made available for a limited time only, Disney gave the DVD a 70-day window for its initial U.S. release.
- While alive, Walt Disney expressed his desire to never make sequels to his classic animated features, with the exception of Fantasia.[citation needed] Despite Walt's wishes, the Disney corporation has released numerous straight-to-video sequels.
- In the original book on which Bambi was based, Ronno was already a stag when Bambi was born, as opposed to being mere weeks-to-months older than him as in the movie. An additional twist is that in the book, Ronno was quite respectable, and there was nothing at all personal about his rivalry with Bambi over Faline.
- Ronno's character is never named in the original movie. However, documentation from Disney clearly indicates that the Ronno in Bambi II is the same deer which Bambi fought in the original, right down to the same moves each deer makes during their fight in the sequel.
- Many of the backgrounds used in the movie are the exact same that were used in the original 1942 movie. The old backgrounds were put through the computer to create a clearer image
[edit] Double-Takes
There are several scenes in Bambi II which are noticeably similar to scenes from the first movie, Bambi. For example:
- In one scene Bambi is shown following his father through snow that, while barely knee-deep on the Great Prince, is neck-deep (and at one point even deeper) on Bambi. The scene is reminiscent of Bambi's first encounter with snow in the original movie.
- The scene where Bambi and Thumper wake Flower up for Groundhog Day is quite similar to a scene in Bambi; in fact the entire background painting used for Flower's den is the same painting used in the original movie.
- When the song "Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song" was played in Bambi, Friend Owl was annoyed by all the singing birds keeping him awake. In Bambi II, after the groundhog announces that spring has come, all the gathered animals start singing the song, to which Friend Owl moans, "Oh, not that song."
- When Ronno shows up and everyone promptly leaves he asks, "Where's everybody going? Forest on fire?" The line is an allusion (and when taken chronologically a foreshadow) to the forest fire at the end of the original movie.
- In Bambi II, Ronno finds himself buried in snow when a great heap of it falls on him from a branch, similar to what happened to Bambi in the first movie. The difference is that Bambi suffered it only by curiosity, whereas Ronno quite literally brought it upon himself.
- While trying to teach Bambi to growl, Thumper adjusts the position of Bambi's front legs much as he did while trying to teach Bambi to ice-skate in the original movie.
- Following Bambi's less-than-fortunate encounter with a porcupine, Ronno attempts to drive Faline along with his budding antlers, much the same as he did in Bambi when he tried to break up a romantic scene between the pair.
- Bambi's jump across the small chasm over a stream while fleeing from Ronno mirrors his jump across a larger chasm in the first movie after he buried a pack of dogs in a rockslide.
- The fight between Ronno and Bambi is constructed shot-for-shot exactly as the fight between the older Ronno and Bambi in the original.
- When Bambi is trying to escape the pack of dogs later in the movie, after deterring them from Mena, he struggles and jumps up a cliff which is reminiscient of the cliff that Faline tried to escape the dogs from in the original.
- A scene in which The Great Prince repeatedly tells Bambi to get up is reminiscent of a scene in the original movie when Bambi had been shot. The Great Prince says the same words as the forest fire closes in.
- Towards the end, as Bambi's antlers begin to emerge, they are momentarily snagged in a low-hanging branch laden with what appear to be cherry blossoms. This is directly mirrors the scene where he becomes "twitterpated" in the original movie.
[edit] External links
- The official U.S. Bambi II DVD website
- Bambi II at the Internet Movie Database
- Bambi II DVD Review with Pictures
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/news/dvdnews.php?id=13200
- ^ http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=50608
