Bambi: The Reckoning trailer will freak out deer hunters everywhere

Bambi may be best known as the 1942 Disney animation, but the film was inspired by the Felix Salten novel 'Bambi, a Life in the Woods'. It's once again being adapted — but with quite a difference. This time, Bambi's getting nasty in a new horror film. The first trailer for movie, set to release at some point in 2025, has just dropped, offering a first look at big bad Bambi, who’s out for revenge.

According to the film's official description, Bambi is avenge his dear Ma, so he’s not taken it as well as in the animated version. On top of that, instead of being the young fawn we’ve grown accustomed to, he’s now a rage-fuelled mutated beast with absolutely massive antlers. Perish the thought what's become of Thumper.

A childs nightmare

Bambi: The Reckoning is the latest well-known, well-loved classic children’s story to be adapted into a horror film, following the studio Jagged Edge Productions' adaptation of Winnie the Pooh.

Jagged Edge Productions has already released two Winnie the Pooh films, aptly named Blood and Honey, and will also release a Peter Pan film this year before a Pinnochio film later down the line.

Despite still being a proper out-there concept, Bambi may have the best motivation of the characters adapted so far — his mum was shot and killed after all. But who knows why he would get involved with the rest of the 'kids-character-to-horror-nightmare' gang that's come to be as these classic characters have fallen out of copyright; no doubt there will be an MCU-esque end-credits scene with Pooh recruiting Bambi into the fold.

It’s all an attempt to pad out a whole universe building up to an Avenger-style team-up, but instead of it being your favourite superheroes, it’s the cartoons you grew up on transformed into vicious killing machines.