Looking back, he's probably the first ever fictional character I was able to relate to and empathise with. I had friends who could be very assertive and would insist on showing me things and teaching me new things (like how Thumper is with Bambi very early on in the movie). I was also very shy and didn't have the best social skills, so when someone very friendly and playful would approach me, I'd get confused and nervous and hide behind my mum (just like Bambi does when he first meets Faline). There was definitely something very "real" about him that I could identify with, and I loved being able to do that with a cartoon character. :)

He was badass at fighting dogs and a rapist stag as an adult, but of course Disney just uses the child version.