Thumpin' Switcheroo

"Thumpin' Switcheroo" is the twelfth episode of the second season of Bambi, and the fifty-sixth episode overall. It first aired on March 10, 2001, on ABC as part of Disney's One Saturday Morning.

Summary
Bambi and Thumper transform into each other's species thanks to a magical mishap (Bambi becomes a rabbit, while Thumper becomes a deer fawn), so they must find a way to reverse the process before they remain stuck like this forever.

Plot
Bambi and Thumper are playing with an apple that has fallen from a tree until they accidentally let go of the apple as it rolls into a cave of some sorts. Curious to see where it lands, they follow the apple inside the cave, but as they follow it, their reflections in the mirrors started sporting features from each other (Bambi has Thumper's buck teeth, while the bunny has his white tail), though they didn't take notice of that. When they find the apple, they discover that it has landed in a pond where their reflections are shown to be the opposite species (Bambi is a rabbit, while Thumper is a white-tailed deer fawn). They start playing around in the pond, failing to notice the light particles surrounding them, until they realize that it's almost time to return home, so they exit the cave, though they started to get weaker until they eventually faint.

The next morning, Bambi and Thumper both wake up to discover that they have swapped species, much to their shock and horror. They try to get back inside the cave so that they can reverse the transformation, but Bambi gets called over by the Great Prince before they could even have a chance of getting inside, leaving Thumper to follow him. However, Thumper is soon stopped by his mother and his sisters, who are looking all over for him, but are shocked to find Thumper has transformed into a deer and explains to his family how it happened. Meanwhile, the Great Prince is shocked that Bambi has transformed into a bunny, but this makes Bambi a bit happier, as now he can thump happily all he want, though he realizes that he is still the Young Prince at the end of the day, only to discover that the transformation may either be temporary... or permanent.

He goes over to Thumper to warn him about the transformation potentially being permanent, but Bambi gets mistaken for his bunny-turned-deer pal, believing that he just wanted to switch roles for one day. Thumper gets left alone as Bambi hops away from Thumper's mother and sisters, making him worry about what could potentially happen, so he rushes to The Great Prince to warn him. Before he can explain things any further, however, the Great Prince realizes that Bambi (Thumper) has buck teeth, but he tells the stag that he must've grew those buck teeth thanks to a spell, and he believes him. Thumper follows the Great Prince to the meadow, where he meets Faline, who is just as shocked as he is that Thumper is a deer, but Thumper simply states that he just wanted to trot around with her, and she, mistaking him for her love interest, decides to play around with him.

Meanwhile, Bambi is thumping to his heart's content much to Flower's enjoyment, when Edgar arrives to greet him, only to be surprised when he finds that Bambi is a rabbit, mistaking him for Thumper. After the beaver takes Bambi's "reasoning" with care, he slaps his tail on a log, as Bambi thumps along with the beaver in harmony. As they are doing that, Bambi asks him about the magic cave, and he realizes that the longer they stay in their new forms, the more likely they will stay in their new forms forever. Bambi decides to try and get Thumper to come into the cave with him, but is stopped by the rabbit's family members, and is brought over for lunch, but as they heading to a place where they can eat, Bambi stops and takes a look at his reflection, only to see that the deer in the reflection has grown buck teeth.

As Thumper plays around with Faline, he comes across a normal pond, and sees his reflection as a rabbit, making them confused, until Thumper sees his reflection's tail has changed to that of a white-tailed deer. Shocked to find that the transformation may be permanent, they decide to head to Bambi to get him to come to the magical cave, but they find that he is too busy having fun thumping with Edgar, and really wants to stay like a rabbit. Thumper, however, isn't as certain, as he believes that if there really is a Young Prince, it will have to be Bambi. After some hesitation, and the realization that his reflection is changing, too, Bambi finally decides to head with Thumper and Faline to the magical cave before it's too late.

However, by the time they finally make it to the caves, it was already too late, as their reflections have completely changed to show their actual new forms. Realizing that the trip was all for nothing, they decide to head back to their homes and get used to Bambi and Thumper's new permanent forms. However, Faline slowly passes out as the light particles start surrounding her, and she grows buck teeth. The next morning, as Bambi is eating his breakfast with Thumper's sisters and mother, he is greeted by Faline, who has now become a young rabbit, just like Bambi, and is looking all over for him, so they head to Thumper after his breakfast was finished, and the deer finally realizes that being the Young Prince might not be as easy as it looks, so he asks them if there's anything they could do to return him back to a young rabbit, to which Bambi responds that there is "one thing". Soon, Thumper is back to being a young rabbit, with Bambi and Faline staying as young rabbits for a little while longer, as they thump happily with Edgar, knowing that sometimes it's okay to just be yourself.

Production
Coming soon!

US

 * Bambi: Wild Adventures (VHS)
 * Bambi: The Complete Second Season (DVD)

Reception
Coming soon!