Like the Great Prince, Like the Young Prince

"Like the Great Prince, Like the Young Prince" is the thirty-first episode of the American animated television series Bambi. It first aired on March 11, 2000, on ABC as part of Disney's One Saturday Morning.

Summary
The Great Prince gets injured trying to protect the forest, so he lets Bambi and Friend Owl team up to take over his duties until his injuries heal. It goes all well and good at first, until Bambi and Friend Owl become more recognized than The Great Prince, making him worry that he will never be able to protect the forest again. In addition, Thumper and Flower feel as if he doesn't have enough time for them anymore, so Bambi and Friend Owl decide to invite them along, only to cause more problems for them. Can Bambi and Friend Owl do their duties right with their two small friends around or will The Great Prince step up to get everyone to safety, especially Bambi, Friend Owl, and himself?

Plot
One day in the meadows, a herd of deer is fighting against each other of their kind, when The Great Prince arrives on the scene. As usual, he searches his surroundings to see if there's any danger. Suddenly, he hears a gunshot, along with a pack of bird flying in the opposite direction that the stag is facing. He rushes outside to warn the herd, and they immediately rush to find a safe place, including Bambi. However, while trying to get to a safe spot, the stag accidentally stumbles and trips on himself, spraining his legs in the process. Bambi, afraid that his father will get shot trying to protect his home, helps him get to a spot where he's safe from Man and where he can rest until his injuries heal.

Later, The Great Prince realizes that the forest will most likely never be safe from Man as long as The Great Prince can't watch over their home. This concerns Bambi, so he asks him on what he could do to help. Surprisingly, he gives him the offer to take over his duties until he can go on duty, again, and he almost accepts the offer, but realizes that he might potentially not do the job properly, so his father suggests getting Friend Owl to help the fawn watch over the forest. The fawn then accepts the offer, and goes off to Friend Owl to ask him for help on being the watcher over the forest. Although reluctant to do so, at first, as he believes he's more of a mentor than a guardian, he eventually agrees to help Bambi watch over the forest, while the stag recovers, and decides to start their new, temporary duties tomorrow.

In the meadow the next morning, Friend Owl teaches Bambi the ropes of being protectors of the forest. He doesn't really follow the protector's duties at first, but he eventually gets the hang of it with the owl's help. When it comes time for the real deal, Bambi worries that it might go wrong, but the owl reassures him that even though he's a bit young to be protector of the forest, he can do it. As they search the surroundings, they begin to sense danger, as another gunshot is heard, and signal the herd in the meadow to flee, and, although frightened at first, they eventually flee to a safe place. Once the coast is clear, Bambi and Friend Owl signal the herd that it's safe to return, and the owl asks him if he's really too scared to be protector, but Bambi declines, stating that if he can stay calm, yet brave, he can handle it.

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Production
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US

 * Bambi: Season 1, Volume 2 (DVD)

Reception
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