Disney to traumatize a new generation with photorealistic Bambi remake

Disney is expanding its live-action menagerie: Now that the studio has brought lions and tigers and flying elephants to the big screen, it's turning its attentions to deer.

EW has confirmed that Disney is developing a Bambi remake, hiring Captain Marvel's Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Chaos Walking's Lindsey Beer to write the script.

BAMBI, Bambi, Flower, 1942. © Walt Disney / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Everett Collection

According to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news, the studio is envisioning its new Bambi as something similar to The Jungle Book and The Lion King — a photorealistic style, with animals that aren't real but are made to look as if they are.

The original 1942 Bambi is a gorgeous classic, of course, earning three Oscar nominations upon its release, though it's not the most obvious choice for Disney to revisit. It doesn't have the earworm songs of other recent remakes like The Lion King or Aladdin, nor does it have the grand, epic plot of something like the upcoming Mulan. The thing Bambi is perhaps best known for is the deeply traumatizing death of our hoofed hero's mother, which should be even more horrifying when rendered realistically. Fun!

The Bambi remake joins a slew of other planned Disney adaptations, including Cruella with Emma Stone and The Little Mermaid with Halle Bailey. In the meantime, we'll be sitting here quietly waiting for Disney to announce the live-action adaptations we most want to see: Hercules and Treasure Planet. Should be any day now. We can wait.

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