Live Action “Bambi” Separates the Hunters From the Gatherers

Inga Locmele / shutterstock.com
Inga Locmele / shutterstock.com

When news broke that Disney would be making a live-action version of the famed classic film, many immediately found themselves nostalgic for the old cartoon, in all of its glory. Now that we are getting closer to its release, it appears that the studio is no longer a hunter, but they have instead regressed to being gatherers.

Lindsey Anderson Beer is a screenwriter who had worked on the adaptation but has since moved on. She recently sat down with Collider about the movie. Needless to say, much like every other film they have made modernized, it certainly is much more kid and vegetarian-friendly from the interview.

“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.” Despite it being a classic, she believes this edition has “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.”

While audiences took to The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty & The Beast positively, not every film has hit the mark. The Little Mermaid tanked with both audiences and critics, Pinocchio scored so badly (even with Tom Hanks) that it went straight to Disney +. The Jungle Book impressed people who had never seen the original cartoon edition. When shown its roots, most people preferred the original.

Maybe that’s the ticket, and Disney just doesn’t have the Fast Pass; stop remaking classic movies to make them more in time with 2023. Let the classics stand on their own; even when the messages don’t age as well as they were expected to.