''Bambi II'' (also known as ''Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest'') is a 2006 American animated

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Brian Pimental and produced by the Australian office of Disneytoon Studios as a followup to the 1942 film ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten. ...

''. Animation production was done by DisneyToon Studios

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

. It premiered in theaters in Argentina on January 26, 2006, before being released as a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

title in the United States on February 7, 2006. Taking place between

's mother's death and Bambi shown as a young adult buck, the film follows Bambi's relationship with his father, The Great Prince of the Forest, and Bambi's efforts to earn his father's love for him. It was first titled ''Bambi and the Great Prince'', but was renamed ''Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest'' and later ''Bambi II''.

Plot

After his mother is shot and killed by a hunter,

is greeted by his father the Great Prince, who takes him to the den. The Great Prince asks Friend Owl to find a doe to raise Bambi, but Friend Owl tells him that due to the harsh winter, the does can barely feed themselves. The Great Prince has to take care of Bambi until spring. Sometime later, the Great Prince allows Bambi to be with his friends Thumper and

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

. At the groundhog ceremony, Bambi meets

Faline ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' (German title: ''Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde'') is a 1923 Austrian coming-of-age novel written by Felix Salten and originally published in Berlin by Ullstein Verlag. The novel traces the life of Bambi ...

, a young doe he had encountered before. The

Groundhog The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...

is coaxed out of his hole, only to be scared back in by an older fawn named Ronno, who tries to impress Faline with stories of his encounter with Man. When Bambi believes the story, Ronno is about to fight Bambi until he is called away by his mother. When the others leave, Bambi falls asleep waiting for his father and dreams about reuniting with his mother. He wakes up to what appears to be his mother's voice, which calls him into a meadow, but it turns out to be an ambush by Man. The Great Prince comes to Bambi's rescue and saves him in time, but is furious that he fell for the trick and almost getting himself killed. Days later, Bambi informs Thumper and Flower about his wish to impress his father. They decide to help Bambi be brave, but while doing so, they encounter a

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

, who sticks his quills into Bambi's backside. Ronno and Faline, hearing the commotion, investigate; Bambi sees Ronno bothering Faline and gets into a fight with him. Ronno chases Bambi and Thumper through the forest until Bambi leaps over a large ravine to safety. The Great Prince, having seen the whole thing, is impressed by this feat. Ronno, jealous of the young prince, tries to jump over the chasm himself, but falls in, thwarted for now. The next day, Thumper encourages Bambi to talk to the Great Prince, and the two connect. The Great Prince allows Bambi to come along with him on his patrols, and as the two get closer, Friend Owl approaches them and introduces them to Mena, a doe who was a childhood friend of Bambi's mother and has been selected by Friend Owl to be Bambi's new mother. Bambi realizes the Great Prince had planned on sending him away and snaps at his father, while the Great Prince concludes that he is not meant to raise Bambi. Bambi sadly accepts the change. On the way to Mena's den, Ronno shows up to taunt Bambi again. The two get into another fight that sets off one of Man's traps, alerting Man. Bambi saves Mena by leading Man's dogs away from her, and the Great Prince arrives. The dogs chase Bambi, and his friends help him fend them off. Bambi evades all but one of the dogs. Bambi kicks the other dog off a cliff but falls off as well. Everyone grieves him until Bambi reveals he is still alive, and he and the Great Prince reconcile. Sometime later, Thumper shares his version of the chase with the rest of his friends, and Bambi, whose antlers have just grown in, enjoys the tall tale with Faline. Ronno appears and vows vengeance on Bambi before being bitten on the nose by a turtle and runs off. Bambi meets up with the Great Prince, who shows him the field where he and Bambi's mother first met as fawns.

Cast

Alexander Gould Alexander Jerome Gould (born May 4, 1994) is an American actor. He is best known for voicing the title character of the Pixar animated film ''Finding Nemo''. He is also known for playing Shane Botwin on the Showtime (TV network), Showtime drama s ...

, the young prince of the forest. His mother dies, and he has to be with his father. Andrew Collins served as the supervising animator for Bambi. *

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...

as the Great Prince of the Forest. He is Bambi's father, and due to the death of Bambi's mother, The Great Prince is forced to be the fawn's guardian. Pieter Lommerse served as the supervising animator for the Great Prince. * Brendon Baerg as Thumper. He and Flower are Bambi's friends who help him be brave to impress his father. Ian Harrowell served as the supervising animator for Thumper. *

Nicky Jones Nicholas Payne Jones (born July 16, 1996) is an American former child actor. He is best known for voicing the title character in '' Chowder'' (2007-2010). Early life Jones was born on July 16, 1996 in Houston, Texas to Dallas Jones and Terri Yv ...

. He and Thumper are Bambi's friends who help him be brave to impress his father. Ian Harrowell served as the supervising animator for Flower. *

Andrea Bowen Andrea Bowen is an American actress and singer. She began her career appearing on Broadway musicals, including ''Les Misérables'' and ''The Sound of Music''. In 2004, she began playing the role of Julie Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Des ...

. She is Bambi's romantic interest and is part of a

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

between Bambi and his future rival, Ronno. * Anthony Ghannam as Ronno, Bambi's rival. He is the deer that Bambi fights in the original film. Bernard Derriman and Mark Henn served as the supervising animators for Ronno. Ronno has dialogue unlike in the original film in which he was silent. *

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is a American-Canadian actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in ''Rugrats'' and Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and r ...

as Mena. She is to be Bambi's adoptive mother, and is a childhood friend of Bambi's mother. * Keith Ferguson as Friend Owl, who is told by The Great Prince to find a new mother for Bambi. * Makenna Cowgill, Emma Rose Lima, and Ariel Winter as Thumper's sisters. They annoy Thumper, who tries to hide from them. * Brian Pimental as The Groundhog and Porcupine. The Groundhog, timid, comes out of his hole to determine if

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

will end. The Porcupine is grumpy and overprotective of his log. *

Carolyn Hennesy Carolyn Lee Hennesy (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress, author and animal advocate. Hennesy's early work consisted of guest appearances and roles in shows and television movies, including '' Dark Justice'' and in '' Deadly Invasion: Th ...

as Bambi's mother. She was shot by a hunter, and because of her death Bambi must be looked after by his father. Mary Day, Jordan Orr, Alexis Restrum, George Shenusay, and

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

provide additional voices.

Release

While the film was a direct-to-video release in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, it was a theatrical release in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and other

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an countries. The film was officially the last Disney animated film to be released on VHS with the exception of Disney Movie Club Exclusives.

Reception

The film sold 2.6 million DVDs in its first week in the United States. It would also later on win an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

for Best Home Entertainment Production at the

34th Annie Awards The ceremony for the 34th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation in 2006, was held on February 11, 2007, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. The nominations were announced on December 4, 2006. Winners are marked in bold ...

. Reviews for it were generally mixed as it currently holds a 50% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

Music

''Bambi II''s musical score includes instrumental pieces by

Bruce Broughton Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed man ...

, and new vocal songs by several noted artists, including

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocat ...

, and

Anthony Callea Anthony Cosmo Callea (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter and stage actor who rose to prominence as the runner-up in the 2004 season of '' Australian Idol''. Callea's debut single, a cover of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocel ...

. Coinciding with the film's DVD release, the soundtrack was released by

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its r ...

in the United States on February 7, 2006. Produced by Matt Walker, the CD includes nine songs from the film, as well as three tracks from ''Bambi''. "Sing the Day" was written for the "Running Brave" sequence in ''Bambi II'', but unused.''Bambi II'' soundtrack album booklet

Songs

Original songs performed in the film include:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bambi II 2006 films 2006 animated films 2006 direct-to-video films 2000s American animated films 2006 fantasy films 2000s English-language films American sequel films American animated fantasy films Australian animated feature films Australian sequel films Australian animated fantasy films Annie Award winners Bambi Direct-to-video sequel films Disney direct-to-video animated films DisneyToon Studios animated films Films about deer and moose Films directed by Brian Pimental Films produced by Jim Ballantine Films set in forests Films set in North America Films scored by Bruce Broughton 2006 directorial debut films Films based on Austrian novels Films based on works by Felix Salten Fiction about animal cruelty Drama animation Animated drama films Films about father–son relationships Interquel films