The New Ambassador of Terror - Bambi
Just in time for Halloween, Time Magazine’s Top 25 Horror Films list comes out. And while I agree with most of it, I was surprised to see BAMBI on that list at #5. Bambi!!
CinemaFusion says:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo all exploited childhood traumas. Parents disappear or die; stepmothers plot the murder of their charges; a boy skips school and turns into a donkey. Kids were so frightened by these films that they wet themselves in terror.
If you think about it, many of the Fairy Tales we were exposed to as kids were pretty horrific. Hansel and Gretel are almost eaten by the witch in the candy house. Little Red Riding Hood was lured into potential tragedy long before pedophiles stalked AOL chat rooms. And even lullabies told stories of babies in swings waiting for the “bow to break, and the baby will fall, down will go baby, cradle and all.” Who thought that would put you to SLEEP???
Holy crap! Why am I not scarred horribly!!
Well in the immortal words of Bart Simpson watching violent cartoons with his squeemish sister, “Lisa, don’t look away. How else will our minds become desensitized to violence?”
1. frankwolftown replies at 30th October 2007, 7:56 pm :
What about Golem from the LOTR animated movie? That was the first cartoon that freaked me out. Golem was worse than the boogie man.
2. Kristina replies at 30th October 2007, 8:30 pm :
The Lion King scarred me for life. Mufasa’s death was so goddamn traumatic for me as a little kid, I couldn’t stop crying.
3. DarkKinger replies at 30th October 2007, 9:04 pm :
See, that’s what seperates the animated kids movies from the teen-horror movies; they scared the living SH*T out of ya!
You know what, most of them were from Disney films. I remember a lot of cartoons that scared me, and I RE-WATCHED them! Makes you wonder why Runaway Brain got parents FREAKED in the first place. WE NEED MORE OF THEM! Viva la’ scary animated movies!
Hell, I’m sure Campea couldn’t sleep over Transformers: The Animated Movie. I bet he thought Arcee was going to treat him like a squash! ZING!
4. Kristina replies at 30th October 2007, 11:06 pm :
Oh man, I watched that Death of Optimus scene on Youtube a while ago just to see what the supposed trauma was all about. That thing was pretty damn brutal. At least Mufasa didn’t lie there for minutes on end, slowly dying and turning friggin’ BLACK. Yikes!
5. Tarmac replies at 31st October 2007, 5:30 am :
Huh…come to think of it. The idea of a wolf creeping into a defenseless old lady’s house and tearing her to shreds isn’t all that comforting.
6. Darren J Seeley replies at 31st October 2007, 5:49 am :
The original Brothers Grimm (the real Brothers Grimm, not the Gilliam film) story of Cinderella was more gruesome before the Disney translation. But yeah, Disney does have this tradition of making characters orphans..and on a psychological level, I suppose Bambi’s mother biting the dust offscreen would be very horrific to some.
But…come on…
now love for the Wicked Witch in Sleeping Beauty? Especially when the antagonist turned into the dragon?
7. tobor68 replies at 31st October 2007, 8:17 am :
if i remember correctly, Disney was criticized for taming down the violence and horror elements of said fairy tales. now he’s getting criticized for having too violent cartoons.
we are a nation of pussys.
8. frankwolftown replies at 31st October 2007, 10:48 am :
Ya please everybody man. Besides it’s important to remember why Disney comes out with movies the way the do. To make sure they’re the most COMMERCIALLY VIABLE.
9. Dylan replies at 31st October 2007, 12:35 pm :
on Phantom Of The Opera:
“This film was remade many times, most recently as V for Vendetta.”
huh?
10. CW05 replies at 31st October 2007, 5:10 pm :
Don’t forget about Bambi’s cohort, that crazy rabbit on speed.
11. vargas replies at 31st October 2007, 7:04 pm :
When I was a kid my mom bought me and my sister the complete Grimm’s fairy tales. And it was just about the most gruesome collection of stories you’d ever want to read. Many of the images they created in my mind stay with me until this day.
For instance, Snow Whites evil queen stepmother being forced to dance in hot iron shoes until she died at Snow White’s wedding, and a little boy whose step mother tricked him into looking into a chest and slammed the lid on top of his head, decapitating it, and so on.
Children’s stuff.
12. Kristina replies at 1st November 2007, 10:31 am :
@Dylan
V For Vendetta DOES have a lot in common with Phantom of the Opera: a disfigured guy who’s not quite sane takes a young woman underground to his lair and uses red flowers as his calling card.
13. Dylan replies at 1st November 2007, 12:08 pm :
@ Kristina
There are commonalities, but it’s hardly a remake.
14. Kristina replies at 1st November 2007, 3:08 pm :
@Dylan
True dat.