Disney’s Live-Action Remake Of Bambi To “Modernize” The Story?

The 1942 animated Disney classic Bambi (Based on the 1923 book of the same name) is considered to be one of Disney’s best and is loved by millions. The story of a young deer who is dealt a tragedy at a young age but is able to grow into his own and become the new “Prince of the Forrest”. The film is so loved by fans that Disney even made a direct-to-video sequel in 2006.



However, one thing that fans of this beloved film seem to dread is the upcoming Live-Action Remake of the film. Despite being called “Live Action,” it will most likely be almost entirely animated, similar to the 2019 remake of The Lion King.

The idea of a Live-Action Remake has been mocked and parodied before on shows like Saturday Night Live:

Now we have recently gotten some updates on the project from the film’s former writer, Lindsay Anderson Beer. Beer (Who also wrote the upcoming Pet Cemetery: Bloodlines and an upcoming Star Trek prequel) was originally attached to write the Bambi remake but has since left the project. In an interview with Collider, she decided to spill the beans on what she would do, and we can possibly expect from the remake.

She started off by saying:

“What’s interesting about Bambi to me is it absolutely is a classic and it’s a beautiful love poem, such artistry to it. I do think there’s an entire generation of children who have never seen the original and that’s very different from, say The Little Mermaid or Aladdin or the ‘90s heyday films that they’ve definitely already seen. I can’t tell you how many kids I’ve seen who’ve never seen Bambi, which is such a shame. The thing is, Bambi is such a gorgeous film. It’s a little bit different tempo than I think modern audiences are used to.“



However, what she said next is something that may give fans of the original something to worry about:

“Not to spoil the plot, but there’s a treatment of the mom dying that I think some kids, some parents these days are more sensitive about than they were in the past. And I think that’s one of the reasons that they haven’t shown it to their children. I do think there is a way to update Bambi and our take on it was… did give a little bit more of a scope to it. And I just think that to be able to bring it to life for kids these days in a way that maybe they relate to a little bit more would be of service to the original.“

This implies that a version of the story that she was involved with removes the death of Bambi’s mother. Removing such a key element of the story would defeat the purpose of his journey. Imagine if Mufasa in The Lion King didn’t die? The story would have stopped dead it its tracks (no pun intended).



The idea of “modernizing” their animated classics hasn’t been working that well as of late, with films like The Little Mermaid being a box office disappointment and Disney+ films like Pinocchio and Peter Pan and Wendy being critically lambasted. And let us not forget the current Snow White situation.

Hopefully, this idea will be discarded as such a deviation will definitely rub some people the wrong way. Sometimes, in stories, darker elements are necessary to help enhance the lighter moments and give us a true “happy ending”.

What do you think? Should Bambi’s Mother be spared in the remake, or should she still decorate a cabin wall? Let us know your thoughts. 

Sources: Collider, New York Post