Bambi: The Reckoning Teaser Trailer Lets That Adorable Little Deer Pursue Sweet Revenge
The Twisted Childhood Universe, also known as the Poohniverse, is taking shape. In case you've yet to be clued into what this is all about, the cinematic universe is set to take classic childhood tales now in the public domain and give them a horror movie twist. Things kicked off with the not-so-great "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey," a film that earned bad reviews but made good money. Now the killer Pooh Bear is back with "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2," a film that's defying the odds and actually garnering good reviews.
Things aren't stopping there, though. The next film in the line-up is "Bambi: The Reckoning," a dark and twisted retelling of "Bambi." And this is a far cry from the gentle young deer seen in the classic Disney film. No, this deer is big, mean, and out for blood. The first "Bambi: The Reckoning" teaser awaits you above, and it's so dark and ominous that it made me guffaw — in a good way. You've sold me, "Bambi"! I'll be watching this.
Have you ever shot a deer?
The gloomy teaser opens with two hunters taking shots at a dead pheasant tied to a tree. "Have you ever shot a deer?" one of them asks. "No," the other replies. "Have you?" After a dramatic pause, the first hunter says: "Yeah ... once." At this point, I lost it. It's all so incredibly grim and serious that you can't help but get on board with whatever the hell is going on here. The teaser ends with the arrival of Bambi himself, who is presented as a huge stag able to flip over a car while roaring. Can deer roar? It's not important — this deer can.
Here's the film's synopsis:
We follow Xana (Roxanne McKee) and her son Benji (Tom Mulheron) who find themselves in a car wreck and soon hunted down by the vicious killing machine, Bambi.
That set-up kind of makes this sound like Stephen King's "Cujo," with a deer standing in for a rabid Saint Bernard.
Disney didn't invent "Bambi." The character originated in a 1923 novel called "Bambi, a Life in the Woods" by Felix Salten. And that's where the public domain element comes in. While this film can't use everything from the Disney adaptation, it can dip into the book for inspiration. Meanwhile, all of this is building towards a movie called "Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble," which will bring together the monstrous versions of Winnie-the-Pooh and Bambi with horror takes on Peter Pan and Pinocchio. The movies are back, baby!
As for "Bambi: The Reckoning," there doesn't seem to be an official release date in place yet, but the film is due out sometime this year. Keep an eye out and if you hear a deer roaring, run.