Disney's Bambi is getting a live-action remake, over 80 years since the animated version hit screens. Like the company's other classic cartoons to get the treatment, the news has divided fans of the entertainment giant—and they have taken to social media to express their dissent.
In an interview with Collider on September 26, writer Lindsey Anderson Beer shared her approach to the remake. "Not to spoil the plot, but there's a treatment of the mom dying that I think 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. But I do think there is a way to update Bambi, and our take on it... 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," she said.
A recent poll conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek found that 50 percent of American adults were happy for Disney to update its older content to align with modern values—although the majority of respondents wished Disney would create new stories rather than remake its archive.
However, fans are unhappy with the idea of modernizing Bambi, which was released in 1942 and was Walt Disney's fifth feature-length animation.
"How exactly do you 'modernize' something that took place in the middle of the forest," wrote JWCartoonist on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. "There was nothing about Bambi's original story that screamed 'this was made in the 40s.'"
"Bambi is literally a universally-understood story," posted The Abbey Roadie. "It's a coming of age tale told with animals in a timeless forest, full of moments of joy, loss, danger, and love - all facets of not only the human experience, but of life itself. There is zero need to 'modernize' it!"
Slim agreed, writing: "It's a film that is legitimately timeless and can't be modernized because there's nothing about it that's been made irrelevant or outdated."
"Dragging out classics from the graves & putting on shiny new clothes to squeeze more money out of them is disrespectful to their legacy," commented Mani Artist. "You're meant to be a creative company, stop rehashing and go create!"
Like other recent live-action remakes—such as The Little Mermaid and the upcoming Snow White—some users accused the studio of "going woke" by modernizing the original story.
"They'll make the hunter an evil White man, Bambi's mom will be a message about incel rage and Bambi will also be black," wrote @NintendoFan729.
"I can't WAIT for the powerful scene when Bambi and Thumper learn a TikTok dance!" posted Brooksie C. Fontaine.
In the interview with Collider, Beer expressed her admiration for the original film, describing it as a "beautiful love poem."
"I do think there's an entire generation of children who have never seen the original and that's very different from, say, Little Mermaid or Aladdin or the '90s heyday films that they've definitely already seen," Beer said.
"I can't tell you how many kids I've seen who've never seen Bambi, which is such a shame," she added.
Beer said the original animation is a "different tempo" to what modern audiences are accustomed to, highlighting the scene where Bambi's mom is shot and killed by a hunter as a reason why parents might not have shown the Disney classic to their kids.
Disney has released a spate of live-action remakes of its animated classics in recent years. Although some of these films—including The Lion King and The Little Mermaid—performed well at the box office, the decision to overhaul its classic cartoons has split fans, while attempts to make older stories more politically correct has angered conservatives.
After black actress Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in the live-action version of The Little Mermaid, the 23-year-old became the target of abuse online. Rachel Zegler, who is playing Snow White in the upcoming remake, was also attacked by social-media trolls for calling the 1937 film "outdated."
Like Bailey, the 22-year-old star's race (Zegler is of Colombian and Polish descent), caused outrage among white supremacists, while her comments about the original storyline sparked uproar among conservatives.
"The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so," Zegler said in an interview with Extra TV. "There's a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. So we didn't do that this time."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more
