Other mistake: After the great fire scene there is a raccoon that drags her baby to shore and begins cleaning it. A few seconds later the baby has jumped across to the other side of his father and siblings, but the mother does not stop licking. This error has since been fixed in newer releases.
Continuity mistake: When Thumper is scolded for poking fun at Bambi, he places both arms behind his back and recites a quote from his father. But in the following shot where Bambi rises to his feet and walks away, Thumper's arms are now instantly out in front of him. (00:10:25)
Continuity mistake: When Bambi falls in love with Faline (both of them are grown up), her eyes are blue. In the next few scenes, her eyes are brown, then they turn back into blue once Bambi and Faline's twins are born.
Other mistake: When Bambi is walking out with his mom for the first time we see, he meets the quails and that is followed by the possums. The possums are hanging upside down. When the possums are shown hanging upside down, the mother possum is on the right-hand side of the babies. When it shows them from Bambi's perspective after he turns his head upside down, she is on their right side. This may have been an intentional decision since maintaining the correct orientation might be perceived as more jarring. (00:09:12)
Continuity mistake: When all of the animals are leaving after meeting Bambi for the first time, Thumper's mom is the same grey color as he is. Later in the film, she is a completely different color. She is the same tan/beige color as his sisters.
Factual error: When we first see Bambi as an adult, it is meant to be the same year (no revolving of the seasons or such to denote time passing). Yet the adult Bambi seems to be three years old as his antlers have two 'tines' or forks on them. In a male deer's first winter he grows two straight horn-like antlers on his head, which is the first 'tine'. After this the number of tines on the deer's antlers increase one with each year. So, counting the year when Bambi was a fawn and had no antlers, he has the body of a 3-year-old deer. Yet judging by the story's progression and the relative ages of Thumper and Flower (remember, smaller animals mature faster) Bambi is only 2 years old.
Continuity mistake: On their way to the meadow, Bambi and his mother pass by a waterfall and, at this point, he starts talking about the other deer in the forest. Once the shot changes, he switches from her left side to right. (00:20:15)
Continuity mistake: When Bambi attempts to walk for the first time, Thumper calls him "kinda wobbly." Bambi stands a few inches from Thumper in one shot, but between cuts they spread a few feet apart from one another. (00:06:50)
Answer: Probably so he would not think he is superior to the other fawns and try to lord over them. She would have told him about his father when he was older. This is also a literary plot device by setting up a dramatic reveal at a crucial time (right after Bambi's mother is killed) that Bambi learns his father is the Great Prince. This has a greater emotional punch.
raywest ★