Disney movies often draw inspiration from age-old source material, and in the case of “Bambi,” the source is Felix Salten’s novel “Bambi: A Life in the Woods,” first published in 1922. While the Disney adaptation is a beloved family film, the original novel takes a considerably darker and more complex approach to the story.
In Salten’s novel, the narrative includes more tragic elements than the animated movie, extending beyond the death of Bambi’s mother, and it lacks the typical Disney happy ending. The novel is often interpreted as an allegory for the persecution of Jewish people in the years leading up to World War II. Notably, the Nazis banned the book during their reign.
Jack Zipes, a professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota, provided a fresh translation of the novel for Princeton University Press. During this process, Zipes gained new insights into the relationship between the original novel and Disney’s adaptation.
Zipes expressed a critical perspective on Disney’s handling of Salten’s work, stating, “Disney mutilated the novel.” While there are limited records of Salten’s opinion on the Disney adaptation, Zipes shared that Salten offered a simple response after a showing in 1942: “Yes, it was a very fine film and I liked it.”
Despite Salten’s positive reaction, Zipes emphasizes the significant differences between the novel and the Disney film. The Disney version of “Bambi” has become a cultural phenomenon, while Salten’s original work is comparatively less known. Zipes encourages revisiting the source material to understand the history and complexity behind the story of “Bambi.” The Disney adaptation, released in 1942, was only the fifth feature film produced by Walt Disney.
