Live-Action “Bambi’ Writer Explains Why New Film Will Be More Kid-Friendly
Disney has had lots of success turning its animated classic films into live-action versions, with “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, and “The Lion King” all being huge box office hits.
So it’s not a huge surprise to see Disney is looking at turning some of its other classic films into live-action versions, and one of those new projects is “Bambi”. Development on a live-action version of “Bambi” has been underway since 2020, and recently, it was revealed that Sarah Polley, is in talks to direct the film, She recently won Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for “Women Talking”. The film will be produced by Depth of Field, which Chris and Paul Weitz run. Recently, it was revealed that Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster had written the most recent draft of the script. Though with the writer’s strike in place, it’s unknown how far along the project is right now. This new film is set to feature music from six-time Grammy-winning country star Kacey Musgraves.
Much like “The Lion King” and “The Jungle Book”, this movie will use photo-realistic CGI to create the animals. Bambi’s tale unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns about life, love, and friends.
During a recent interview with Collider, to promote the new Paramount+ film, “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines”, Lindsey Anderson Beer was asked about her work on the “Bambi” live-action film. She was brought onto the project in 2020, but due to a clash of schedules with her new film, “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines”, she stepped away from the project.
Lindsey explained why making live-action versions of classic animated films helps reach a new audience.
“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 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.”
Lindsey also explained how “Bambi” hasn’t been seen by as many people when compared to other animated films, because of the topic of dealing with the death of a parent.
“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.”
With the ongoing budget and creative changes at Disney, it’s unknown if this project is going to continue, or if it’s going to be a theatrical release like “The Little Mermaid” and “Cinderella”, or if it will be a straight-to-Disney+ release like “Lady And The Tramp” or “Peter Pan & Wendy”.
In the meantime, you can watch the original 1942 classic film on Disney+ now.
Do you want a live-action version of “Bambi”? Let us know on social media!
Roger Palmer
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