Faline

Faline is a female deer (first shown as a fawn, then later as a doe) in the Walt Disney movies Bambi and Bambi 2. In both movies her most obvious role is as Bambi's love interest, but many fans claim that her role goes much deeper than that, saying that, although we see less of it, it is just as much a joy to watch her growing up as it is with Bambi.



Personality
Faline is (obviously enough) about Bambi's age, give or take a week or two. But in both movies her personality is considerably more mature than his. It is she, for instance, whom you will see always making the first move, whether in mere play (as a fawn) or in pursuits romantic (as when they were adults). The way this is so, however, shifts as she grows older. When they first meet, she comes across as a wild, giggly little girl, an image which at first puts Bambi on the run-until he finally manages to get a lock on her location after she steals one kiss too many from him. When we next see her (chronologically speaking) in Bambi 2, she seems to have settled down a bit.



She still has the tendency to giggle, but her laugh is a bit quieter and certainly less wild. Her effect on him is still very much the same-she has him on the run, but she's managing to reel him in a bit. A note of interest is that here her coloration is somewhat darker and browner than it was earlier, which seems to reinforce her image of greater maturity. This is conflicted, however, by the fact that she is the only fawn in Bambi 2 who never loses her spots at any point in the movie '''(pictures of her at any stage in her life would be appreciated). ''' When we see her next, again in the first movie, she is a fully grown and very attractive doe.



The lighter coloring she showed as a fawn is back and (predictably) she still has Bambi on the run. Luck and love are with her though, and this time she finally manages to catch him.

The only time we see her looking truly calm, in the typical Disney image of an adult female, is when she is seen at the end of Bambi with her and Bambi's twin fawns. Clearly Walt felt that, having become a mother, it was time for Faline to start looking and acting like one.



Faline in Bambi 2
Faline's overall image is somewhat different in Bambi 2. For one thing, she has darker coloring. For another, she is at a rather independent stage. She is notably weirded out by Bambi's attempt at a growl (Bambi was trying to ward off Ronno). That is not enough, however, to alter her preferences- she still clearly prefers Bambi's company to Ronno's (but then, who wouldn't?). Unfortunately, Ronno pays little mind to what Faline thinks, and when he tries to force her to go with him Faline tries to stand up for herself- unlike a similar event in the first movie, when she immediately called to Bambi for help. It is hard to say who is most surprised when Bambi tells Ronno to leave Faline alone: Faline, Ronno, or Bambi himself.

Faline is also regarded by some fans as the winner of Bambi vs. Porcupine Round Three, but that's another story. Suffice it to say that in Bambi 2 Faline didn't have to steal a kiss from Bambi like in the first movie- she got it handed right to her (and not by Bambi either).

Trivia

 * In the book on which Bambi was based, Faline had a rather sickly brother named Gobo. Fans who are privy to this little-known fact generally believe it to be for the best that Gobo was not included in the movie, as he would probably have been somewhat of a distraction.  Also, Gobo's story is generally regarded as somewhat depressing-granted, so was the death of Bambi's mother, but this is Walt Disney, not Lemony Snicket.  It would probably not work to have two ill-fated characters, especially since one would numb viewers, detracting from the other.