While a new film Bambi has been announced, we learn that the feature film is causing controversy a few weeks before its release, to the point that some Internet users are asking for it to be canceled. We tell you everything!
Bambi: controversy over animal abuse
Released in 1942 as the world experienced the horror of World War II, Bambi is one of the most beloved animated classics from the Disney group. Fifth feature film from the studio headed at the time by Walt Disney, Bambi is the last film of his first golden age which began with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Even today, the poetry of this masterpiece makes it an extremely popular film with audiences.
Like many Disney classics, Bambi is the adaptation of a novel, in this case a book intended for young people Bambi, the story of a life in the woods by the Austrian writer Felix Salten. PPublished in 1923, the novel fell into the public domain last year. While Disney is working on a live-action adaptation, already at the heart of a controversy, the studios ITN Studios and Jagged Edge Productions are working on a horror version of the adventures of the young fawn, in line with the film Winnie l’ourson. To discover the teaser, click here.
Today, it is another much more advanced project that is causing controversy. Indeed, expected on October 16, 2024 and told by the singer Mylène Farmer, Bambi, the story of a life in the woods is the new feature film by French filmmaker Michel Fessierclose collaborator of Luc Jacquet, with whom he wrote March of the Penguins in 2004. The film has come under fire after animal protection group PAZ (Project Animals Zoopolis) accused the production of using “wild animal trainers“ :
This film used wild animal trainers. For a few minutes on screen, the animals are deprived of freedom for their entire lives and undergo the violence of training. Even though there are technical alternatives to represent animals on screen (computer-generated images, animatronics, video clips from image banks, etc.).
The association launched a petition that has collected more than 9,800 signatures at the time of writing, calling for its removal from the Montreux Film FestivalThe signatories also explain that the feature film, through its use of captive wild animals, goes against the convictions of the writer Felix Salten, who published Captive beasts in 1931, a novel strongly committed against zoos.
For his part, Jean-Pierre Bailly, producer of the film Bambi, the story of a life in the woodsrefutes these “dishonest accusations“. Claiming that no animals were harmed during the filming of the movie, he said he witnessed “animal ethics” in charge of wild animals. He also states: “I feel like we’re on the same side when it comes to animal protection.” As for the management of the Montreux Film Festival, it has given a firm refusal to the signatories of the petition, asserting its ambition to screen the film at the festival. “Our DNA is debate. Since people want to argue about this film, it seems even more justified to us to program it.“.
What do you think about this controversy? Feel free to tell us in the comments section.
Source: hitek.fr
