Disney’s plans to give “Bambi” a modern twist — possibly downplaying the tragic death of his mom — has sparked backlash against the company’s woke crusade to meddle with its classic films.
Writer Lindsey Anderson Beer recently told “Collider” that she is working on a script to update the animated 1942 film into a live-action remake for a more modern audience.
“I 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.
While light on details on how she would modernize “Bambi” to make it more “relatable” to kids today, she did say that she is looking at how the film dealt with the death 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. And I think that’s one of the reasons that they haven’t shown it to their children,” she said.
Disney has come under fire for its recent updates to animated classics, which included casting black actress Halle Bailey to play Ariel in live-action version of “The Little Mermaid.”
The Mouse House’s upcoming “Snow White” replaces the seven dwarfs with “magical creatures” of all sizes and genders.
Anderson Beer’s plans to update “Bambi” set of off another deluge of criticism.
“A modernized Bambi? Pretty sure that story would still work today, just as it is?” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Another questioned: “I wonder what this means ‘modernized retelling’? They gonna change Bambi to be a moose instead?”
“How exactly do you ‘modernize’ something that took place in the middle of the forest,” tweeted JWCartoonist. “There was nothing about Bambi’s original story that screamed ‘this was made in the 40s.'”
Disney has already put advisories on older shows and movies on its streaming service, Disney+, warning of potentially “offensive content” and even putting age limits on classics such as “Dumbo,” “Peter Pan” and “The Aristocats.”
A recent poll from Redfield and Wilton Strategies found that the majority of respondents preferred if Disney created new stories rather than plunder its archive for remakes, according to Newsweek.
“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 via X. “You’re meant to be a creative company, stop rehashing and go create!”
