Bambi's Mother

“	Faster, faster, Bambi! Don't look back! Keep running! Keep running!	„
	~ Her last words to Bambi

“	I'm always with you. Even if you can't see me. I'm here.	„
	~ Bambi's mother to Bambi in his dream about visiting her in Heaven from Bambi II

Bambi's mother is one of the two overarching protagonists (alongside The Great Prince of the Forest) of Disney's 5th full-length animated feature film Bambi.

She was the wife of the Great Prince of the Forest, the mother of their son Bambi and the paternal grandmother of Geno and Gurri. While she was alive, she educated Bambi about the forest. Sadly, she was killed by hunters halfway through the film, and she briefly appears in Bambi's dream about him visiting her in Heaven in the film's 2006 midquel Bambi II, which takes place a short time after her death. She was the Great Princess of the Forest, and was succeeded by her daughter-in-law, Faline. She was very close to Faline's mother, Ena, and she was the childhood friend of another doe named Mena.

She was voiced by the late Paula Winslowe in the first film and Carolyn Hennesy in the second film.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Not much is known about Bambi's mother's early life, except that she met her future husband, the Great Prince of the Forest in a glade in the forest, and she also grew up with another doe named Mena.

Bambi[]

Bambi's mother first appears at the start of the film in her thicket after giving birth to her son, and she is visited by all the other forest animals. They congratulate her and she thanks them, and she encourages her son to wake up, because they have company. He's scared at first after seeing everyone, and he tries to get up, but stumbles. After her son falls asleep, the forest animals leave, and Thumper asks her what she will call him, and she decides to call him Bambi, and Thumper is happy and leaves. While nuzzling Bambi, his father, Great Prince of the Forest, is standing on top of the hill watching them.

Bambi's mother teaches her son about the forest, and one day takes him out to the meadow where Bambi meets another doe named Faline and her mother, Ena. Later, while running with the other deer, Bambi soon sees all the deer standing still in reverence as his father, the Great Prince of the Forest, comes on the meadow. Bambi is shocked by his majestic and regal appearance, and he stops and looks at him, and his ears move forward in curiosity. After he walks away, Bambi asks his mother about him, and she explains that everyone respects him. He's the oldest surviving deer in the forest, and he's very brave and very wise.

Soon after leaving the meadow, the Great Prince alerts the deer and all the other animals of Man's arrival, but as they flee, Bambi's mother gets separated from her son, but luckily, the Great Prince finds him and leads the two of them to safety.

During the winter, food becomes scarce, but one day, Bambi's mother finds new Spring grass, and she and Bambi eat it. Bambi's mother suddenly senses something, and realizes that Man has returned to the forest. She tells Bambi to get to the thicket and tells him to not look back and to keep running and a gunshot is heard. Bambi reaches the thicket, but notices that his mother is not with him, and he goes to look for her. While searching for her, he sees the Great Prince, and he tells him: "Your mother can't be with you anymore. Come, my son." Devastated, Bambi goes with him.

Bambi II[]

The midquel takes place after Bambi's mother's death and before Bambi reaches adulthood. After the Great Prince's takes Bambi to his den, Friend Owl visits, and asks if there's anything he can do to help. The Great Prince tells Friend Owl to find a suitable doe to raise Bambi, since he was taught that raising fawns is the doe's job. Friend Owl reminds him that food is scarce in the Winter and the does can barely feed themselves, so the Great Prince decides to keep Bambi with him until Spring. The next day, when Bambi talks about his mother, his father cuts him off, and tells him that it's best to leave the past in the past, as a prince does not look back, only ahead. In truth, the Great Prince was devastated over his wife's death, and it was too painful for him to talk about it.

While waiting for the Great Prince to take him home, Bambi falls asleep and dreams about visiting his mother in Heaven, who tells him that everything will be okay before he wakes up, thinking he was hearing her voice calling him. He runs to the meadow, only to be faced by Man and 3 of his hunting dogs and he freezes in fear. Luckily, the Great Prince arrives and fights the 3 hunting dogs, and he gets Bambi to safety. Afterward, he tells Bambi that the voice he heard was one of Man's tricks, and he's angry at his son for freezing instead of running away. Bambi apologizes, and after they return home, Bambi asks his father: "She's never coming back, is she?" He sadly lowers his head and answers: "No." and he walks away to be alone to calm himself down.

When Spring comes, Friend Owl finds a doe named Mena to take care of Bambi. Mena tells Bambi that she and his mother grew up together. At first, Bambi is excited to hear about his mother, but when he learns that his father is sending him away, he yells at him, saying that he wished his mother was there instead of him, and he runs away to tells his friends. The Great Prince tells Friend Owl: "This is my fault. Bambi needs a mother. A prince should NOT be raising a child!" Later, after Bambi nearly died after falling off a cliff, his father was forced to realize that he made a mistake sending Bambi away, and they reconciled. Mena leaves, deciding that she's no longer needed.

Bambi's mother is last mentioned at the end of the film, where the Great Prince takes a now teenage Bambi to a glade where he first met his mother, and he was just about his age. Bambi asks him what he was like, and he tells him that he was a lot like him, much to the delight of his son.