Up until recently, I had no idea that this movie:
was based on this book:
Don't get me wrong, I still love the Disney movie. It will always be one of my all-time favorites, but this book...this book...it just blows my mind. It takes subjects that were only touched on in the movie (The Circle of Life, dealing with loss, growing up in a dangerous world, Survival of the Fittest, Nature Red in Tooth & claw, Man's role in Nature), and cranks them all the way up to eleven.
It also cranks up the violence and tragedy factor quite a bit. If you thought the death of Bambi's mom in the movie was depressing, just wait 'till you read the novel. I'm telling you, the death of Bambi's mom is
only the beginning. Bambi was originally intended to be a novel for adults, until Disney made it into a relatively tame animated film, so now you always see copies of this book in the children's sections in libraries and bookstores.
Fun Fact: this book was burned by the Nazi Party when it was first published because the relationship between the poachers and the deer was seen as a commentary on the relationship between the Nazis and the Jews. And Felix Salten was Jewish, so that was just another reason to burn it. This is why first edition German copies are ridiculously hard to find.
So anyway...this book needs more fans. It is a beautiful piece of literature that everyone ought to read at least once in their lifetime.
You can read the entire ebook here:
http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/Bambi/ and discover the awesomeness that is Bambi for yourself!