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A review by kandicez
Bambi by Felix Salten
3.0
I want to know how Disney read this and decided it would make a good cartoon. Seriously. I need to research this and find out if it was truly him that focused on this novel for the film, or if someone else brought the idea to him.
Salten anthropomorphizes woodland animals to give us a look inside their lives. It's important to remember, reading this today in the 21st century, that it was written in 1923. There was no (or very little) eco biology. Saving the planet was not a "thing" at the time. I don't even know if people were really aware, or worried about man's effect on the environment on any kind of scale at the time. This book could be used in many college courses today. Did Salten get a lot wrong about animal behavior? Yes, I think he did, but it makes no difference. You close this book feeling like scum for being a human that infringes upon, hunts and kills animals for sport. I imagine that most hunters in the 20's ate their prey, but today I don't know how true that is, so the emotions inspired by this book are very different than they would have been reading it upon publication.
I think most adults were traumatized by Disney's Bambi at some point. Perhaps it was more traumatizing (I don't even have to say what "it" is because everyone knows!) because the movie was a cartoon. It was beautiful and lush, and delicately drawn. Children don't expect what happened in the movie and for many, this is their first hint that their parents are mortal. The book is not a beautiful cartoon and "it" happens off page, and is later mentioned and realized in an almost off-hand way that somehow lends even more tragedy to the event.
I think everyone would glean something from reading this. There is a lot to absorb, it's simply written and the words are small, but the ideas are anything but simple or small. The ideas are earth shattering.
Salten anthropomorphizes woodland animals to give us a look inside their lives. It's important to remember, reading this today in the 21st century, that it was written in 1923. There was no (or very little) eco biology. Saving the planet was not a "thing" at the time. I don't even know if people were really aware, or worried about man's effect on the environment on any kind of scale at the time. This book could be used in many college courses today. Did Salten get a lot wrong about animal behavior? Yes, I think he did, but it makes no difference. You close this book feeling like scum for being a human that infringes upon, hunts and kills animals for sport. I imagine that most hunters in the 20's ate their prey, but today I don't know how true that is, so the emotions inspired by this book are very different than they would have been reading it upon publication.
I think most adults were traumatized by Disney's Bambi at some point. Perhaps it was more traumatizing (I don't even have to say what "it" is because everyone knows!) because the movie was a cartoon. It was beautiful and lush, and delicately drawn. Children don't expect what happened in the movie and for many, this is their first hint that their parents are mortal. The book is not a beautiful cartoon and "it" happens off page, and is later mentioned and realized in an almost off-hand way that somehow lends even more tragedy to the event.
I think everyone would glean something from reading this. There is a lot to absorb, it's simply written and the words are small, but the ideas are anything but simple or small. The ideas are earth shattering.