Bambi Remake to Change Key Scene to Avoid Kids' Trauma – But Is It Even Bambi Without It?

In recent years, Disney seems to have been on a live-action reboot frenzy, bringing their classic stories back to the big screen. Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, even Snow White have all received new installments in the past decade. Now, it seems, another Disney classic is getting a live-action reboot.

Originally released in 1942, Bambi has been a staple of Disney's projects, beloved by multiple generations of viewers around the world. Following the titular fawn as he grows up in a forest without his mother, who has been viciously hunted by humans, the animated film delivers a poignant yet very educational message about love, family and friendship. However, the live-action version of the film may lack this fundamental storyline.

Bambi Modernization

Over the past decade, Disney has been at the forefront of promoting modern values to its audiences. This year's aforementioned premiere, The Little Mermaid, is perhaps the most well-known example of this, casting a wide range of ethnic actors as the beloved characters that were predominantly white in the original film.

The upcoming Bambi reboot is also said to be 'updated'. This will make it more suitable for today's generation of kids, who may not react well to the off-screen killing of Bambi's mother.

'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,' Lindsay Anderson Beer who worked on the Bambi reboot said in an interview.

'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,' she continued. '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.'

Is It Worth It?

With no word yet on how the studio approached their latest live-action reboot, we'll have to wait until Bambi hits theaters to make a clearer judgment. Still, it seems that the classic story would be missing its most important component if the grief that follows the death of Bambi's mother were removed. After all, it was a teachable moment that made many of us think about a very adult subject.

Source: YouTube.