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Bambi: The Reckoning, a new British horror film from director Dan Allen and writer Rhys Warrington, is giving people a very different look at the forest. The movie reimagines the story of Bambi as a dark, violent tale of revenge. This is the fourth film in the Twisted Childhood Universe, also known as the Poohniverse, and according to critics, it might be the best one so far.

The story follows a mother and her young son who get trapped in the woods and end up being hunted by Bambi, who’s gone feral after witnessing the death of his own mother. It’s a brutal take on Felix Salten’s original novel, but one that leans all the way into horror, gore, and twisted nostalgia.

The film was first teased in late 2022, and it was later revealed that it would be part of the same shared universe as the previous...

The Twisted Childhood Universe is, in fact, twisted. Its horror versions of everyone's favorite childhood stories are not for the faint of heart. Seriously, if you love and value the adorable bedtime stories and innocent characters from your childhood, watching something like Bambi: The Reckoning might not be for you. However, if this is more your speed, then you were probably ecstatic about the movie's U.S. release on July 25, 2025. The film is the fourth installment in the Tcu, and it was directed by Dan Allen. With audiences still eager to watch it in theaters, fans want to know if a sequel is in the works for the future.

According to ScreenRant, a major Avengers-style crossover is about to take place between the characters/ films in the Tcu, which includes Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, and now Bambi. The director spoke with...

The Twisted Childhood Universe has seen the retelling of childhood classics, such as Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. The fourth installment is a retelling of Felix Salten’s Bambi, a Life in the Woods, titled Bambi: The Reckoning. Rhys Warrington penned the script (also set to write Awakening Sleeping Beauty) with Dan Allen directing.

Bambi: The Reckoning follows the story of a mother and son who get in a vicious car accident. Soon after the accident, they are hunted down by Bambi, a grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage as they seek revenge for the death of his mother. The film stars Game of Thrones actress Roxanne McKee and Tom Mulheron.

Bambi: The Reckoning Review

What does one hope and/or expect to get out of a movie like Bambi: The Reckoning? It’s a question I had to ask myself several times as I turned it on. The answer is simple: a no-nonsense,...

Producers Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey are building a cinematic universe, called the Twisted Childhood Universe, out of horror movies based on public domain family friendly stories – including Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, that film’s sequels, Pinocchio Unstrung, and Bambi: The Reckoning, which is inspired by Felix Salten’s 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods. The Bambi horror movie will be reaching theatres on July 25th, courtesy of Seismic Releasing – and with that date right around the corner, a new trailer for the film has dropped online. You can check it out in the embed above.

Jeffrey and Frake-Waterfield are producing Bambi: The Reckoning for Jagged Edge Productions. Stuart Alson and Nicole Holland serve as executive producers for ITN Studios. Roxanne McKee (Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines) leads the cast and is joined by Nicola Wright (Firenado), Tom Mulheron (Casualty), and Samira Mighty (Beauty and the Beast).

Dan Allen,...

Exploitation is one thing, but the Poohniverse has taken the concept in a whole new direction. The horror genre continues to expand thanks to the bloody and oftentimes hilarious antics of what is also known as The Twisted Childhood Universe, and the filmmaker behind Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, is at it again. Yes, Frake-Waterfield serves as writer and producer on director Dan Allen’s upcoming Bambi: The Reckoning, and fans can check out the brand-new official trailer below. The brief synopsis for the film reads as follows:

"A mutated deer terrorizes a family in the forest while a group of mercenary hunters are sent out to hunt the bloodthirsty creature."

Unlike the wholesome way Disney took the character that originally appeared in the pages of author Felix Salten’s coming-of-age story, Bambi, a Life in the Woods (1923), Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios have concocted more of...

The Twisted Childhood Universe (Tcu) is about to expand even more with the addition of Bambi: The Reckoning, a dark reimagining of the classic deer tale that transforms the gentle, doe-eyed fawn into a bloodthirsty force of vengeance. We finally have an official release date, and Bambi is set to stalk U.S. theaters this July. The exact release date is Friday, July 25, 2025, so make sure to mark your calendars. This twisted take on a childhood classic is one horror event you won’t want to miss!

Bambi: The Reckoning serves as the fourth movie in the Tcu, coming after Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, which gave the iconic storybook character a terrifying horror makeover as he abducts children and turns Neverland into a deadly nightmare. Dan Allen directed this live-action Bambi horror movie from a script written by Rhys Warrington. In addition, Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey (Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and...

Producers Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey are building a cinematic universe, called the Twisted Childhood Universe, out of horror movies based on public domain family friendly stories – including Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, that film’s sequels, Pinocchio Unstrung, and Bambi: The Reckoning, which is inspired by Felix Salten’s 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods. The Bambi horror movie will be released by ITN Studio and Premiere Entertainment on July 25th, and during an interview with SFX magazine, director Dan Allen said he feels the Twisted Childhood movies are more faithful to the original stories than the Disney adaptations have been.

Jeffrey and Frake-Waterfield are producing Bambi: The Reckoning for Jagged Edge Productions. Stuart Alson and Nicole Holland serve as executive producers for ITN Studios. Roxanne McKee (Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines) leads the cast and is joined by Nicola Wright (Firenado), Tom Mulheron...

The adorable fawn from Disney's canon is no more. Now he's transformed into a mutated and monstrous beast on a roaring rampage of revenge.

In the latest movie from the minds behind Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, Bambi has become a terrifyingly feral creature with no problem brutally killing people in part of his quest for vengeance after his mother is killed. Variety shared the first trailer for Bambi: The Reckoning on Wednesday. You can watch the video embedded above.

The story of Bambi didn't actually originate in the 1942 Disney film, instead coming from the Austrian novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten, which is in the public domain. Bambi: The Reckoning is one of many recently released public domain horror titles. It is also part of the Twisted Childhood Universe (Tcu) created by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Chambers.

The Tcu started with Blood and Honey, its sequel,...

Bambi: The Reckoning, the latest entry in the Poohniverse horror movie series, has received its first trailer, and you’ll never think of the children’s story the same way again. Watch the clip below ahead of the film’s release in theaters this summer.

As seen in the trailer, a grief-stricken Bambi — who has mutated to have a mouth full of sharp teeth — goes on the prowl after the death of his mother. While on the hunt, the deer goes after some unlucky folks in the woods and vacationing countryside. Using his antlers, Bambi decapitates his prey before tearing into their flesh.

“After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother,” reads the official logline.

A twisted take on Felix Salten’s 1923 story Bambi, a Life in the Woods,...

The first trailer for the next installment in the Poohniverse, officially known as The Twisted Childhood Universe (Tcu), has been released. After Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Pan, Bambi is the next beloved children's character to get the horror parody treatment from the team behind Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.

Variety debuted the official trailer for Bambi: The Reckoning, as well as the synopsis for the horror movie, which reads as follows: "In this very twisted take on the Bambi story, our deer — now not simply grief-stricken over the death of his mother but also mutated, effing enormous and sporting an array of sharp, terrifying teeth — embarks on a deadly rampage through the woods seeking revenge. He throws cars into the air with his giant antlers, charges into otherwise lovely-looking country houses and chases after holidaying families in caravans. There’s a decapitation, several maulings and plenty of blood. In short, this it...

Producers Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey are building a cinematic universe out of horror movies based on public domain family friendly stories – including Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, that film’s sequels, Pinocchio Unstrung, and Bambi: The Reckoning, which is inspired by Felix Salten’s 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods. The Bambi horror movie will be released by ITN Studio and Premiere Entertainment sometime this summer, and today a full trailer has dropped online. You can check it out in the embed above.

Jeffrey and Frake-Waterfield are producing Bambi: The Reckoning for Jagged Edge Productions. Stuart Alson and Nicole Holland serve as executive producers for ITN Studios. Roxanne McKee (Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines) leads the cast and is joined by Nicola Wright (Firenado), Tom Mulheron (Casualty), and Samira Mighty (Beauty and the Beast).

Dan Allen, whose previous credits include Mummy Reborn, It Came from Below,...

Stephen King is renowned as a horror author whose works—novels and screen adaptations—have terrified many fans of all generations. We’re familiar with Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, and Pet Sematary, but many are probably unaware of what influenced him to write these books.

Stephen King / Credits: CBS News

King had a very intriguing but mysterious childhood. He reportedly had experiences that were so macabre they laid down the path for him toward becoming a master of horror. While this might have been instrumental to his career, he credits one Disney movie for inspiring him to write his novels.

Disney’s Bambi scared the hell out of horror author Stephen King

Anyone who loves to watch Disney films knows that behind the colorful imagery and amusing storylines that end happily ever after are real-life disturbing and dark origins. Stephen King easily recognized the horror in 1942’s Bambi the...

Deadpool & Wolverine proved that Ryan Reynolds and Disney can make magic together, but it seems that not all of his ideas are welcome. While appearing on Variety’s Actors on Actors with Andrew Garfield, Reynolds revealed that he suggested making a movie that really didn’t float the boat at the House of Mouse.

Before he was able to settle on the right project to bring Deadpool into the Disney family, it seems that Reynolds had some other ideas…including an unexpected crossover with a sweet little deer. The conversation went a little like this:

Reynolds: They were incredible partners. It was meant to be, because the first pitch I had for Marvel and Kevin Feige five years ago was a Deadpool-Wolverine movie in the “Rashomon” style, which is his perspective, then mine, then an objective. And they said no. So then I pitched the most idiotic movies.

Quick Links Bambi: The Reckoning Latest News Bambi: The Reckoning Is Confirmed Bambi: The Reckoning Production Status Bambi: The Reckoning Cast Bambi: The Reckoning Story Bambi: The Reckoning Trailer Bambi: The Reckoning - Further News & Info

Another childhood icon is getting the twisted horror treatment in Bambi: The Reckoning, and there are already a ton of terrifying updates about Jagged Edge Production's next nightmarish opus. Based on the classic children's novel Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten, Bambi: The Reckoning turns the cute and cuddly deer into an instrument of destruction as he goes on a revenge-fueled rampage. The Reckoning is another installment in the burgeoning Twisted Childhood Universe that started with the surprise blockbuster smash-hit, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey back in 2022.

The basic premise of Jagged Edge's Twisted Childhood Universe is quite simple and it takes beloved children's characters that...

Bambi: The Reckoning will be the next movie to be a part of the horrifying cinematic universe that began with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. A new poster from the upcoming movie has been released (via Bloody Disgusting), giving audiences a new look at the story that will present a classic tale in a new light. The original journey written by Felix Salten follows a young deer as he attempts to find a new life after suffering a tragic loss. However, Bambi: The Reckoning will introduce a new version of the character capable of doing many violent, unpredictable, and dangerous things.

Establishing a shared cinematic universe is hard. Take Warner Bros. and DC's attempt at matching the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, for instance. Though it had some commercial successes, the DC Extended Universe ultimately disintegrated over the course of several recent box office bombs that included superheroic flop "The Flash." Then, there was Universal, with its ill-fated Dark Universe, which would have seen updated takes on classic Universal monsters inhabiting a shared timeline that would ultimately lead to some sort of monster team-up. Unfortunately, the whole thing failed almost instantly with the disappointment that was 2017's "The Mummy."

Now, with the almighty MCU even struggling to maintain its dominance amid the deluge of "content" being pumped out in its name, it seems harder than ever to construct and maintain a successful shared cinematic universe. But that won't stop horror director Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who is now threatening an entire interconnected...

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...

Producers Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey are building a cinematic universe out of horror movies based on public domain family friendly stories – including Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, that film’s sequels, Pinocchio Unstrung, and Bambi: The Reckoning, which is inspired by Felix Salten’s 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods. The Bambi horror movie started filming back in January, aiming to make its way out into the world sometime this fall, and today a teaser trailer has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.

This movie is coming to us from ITN Studios and Jagged Edge Productions. Jeffrey and Frake-Waterfield are producing for Jagged Edge Productions. Stuart Alson and Nicole Holland serve as executive producers for ITN Studios. Roxanne McKee (Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines) leads the cast and is joined by Nicola Wright (Firenado), Tom Mulheron (Casualty), and Samira Mighty...

The brand new trailer for Bambi: The Reckoning has arrived, giving a first look at the latest Poohniverse installment entry that puts a horror twist on a classic children’s property.

It follows “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’s right. There’s nothing sweet and doe-eyed about Bambi this time. See for yourself in the teaser trailer below.

Filming on Bambi: The Reckoning kicked off on January 6, 2024 in England with a planned Fall 2024 release.

Director Dan Allen (Unhinged) previews, “It’s gonna be terrifying. When people see a deer in the wild after this film they’re gonna run for the hills. This film is about the death of childhoods as much as it’s gonna ruin childhoods Expect bloodshed, tears and rabbits… and one mean killer deer.

The Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey universe will be soon expanding. With big plans for next year, the universe will grow with the standalone film starring the beloved Disney character Bambi in Bambi: The Reckoning.

Umbrella Entertainment has just released the first look at the "vicious killing machine," Bambi. The short teaser, which is only one minute long, is filled with suspense and features only two scenes. One shows two men in the woods, hunting. As one of them tries to hit a bird tied to a tree and misses, the other asks if he ever shot a deer, before reminiscing that he did, once. The suspenseful teaser turns into a different scene, giving the first look at the villainous character as it attacks a car, perhaps the one the two hunters were driving.

Related Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 Debuts With Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score Early...

Ready for another horrorific take on a childhood favourite character? Watch the first Bambi: The Reckoning trailer here.

We recently reported that not only was Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 3 in the works, but there was a larger cinematic universe, including a team-up movie, on the way. Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will hit cinemas in 2025, but before that, we’ll get Bambi: The Reckoning.

That’s right, everyone’s favourite fawn, Bambi, is also getting the horror treatment and we now have our first look at the upcoming horror film.

Take a look at the Bambi: The Reckoning trailer below.

Granted, it’s only a 61-second teaser and only gives us a brief look at the film, but we do get a shot of the monstrous deer flipping a car over with its antlers. Say less, we’re in.

Here’s the short description that accompanies the film’s trailer...

The trailer has arrived for the horror movie Bambi: The Reckoning. The film follows two characters threatened by a vengeful and bloodthirsty Bambi after a car accident. The movie is part of the Twisted Childhood Universe that also includes Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.

The first trailer for Bambi: The Reckoning has arrived. The new movie is a horror take on the classic 1923 Felix Salten novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods, which was the inspiration for the iconic 1942 Disney movie Bambi. The movie is part of the Twisted Childhood Universe, an interconnected franchise which kicked off with 2023's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its 2024 sequel, comprising horror versions of various public domain childhood characters, also including Peter Pan and Pinocchio, which will unite in the upcoming Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.

Umbrella Entertainment has now unveiled the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Bambi: The Reckoning. Check it out below:

The...

Sarah Polley is no longer attached to direct the live-action remake of “Bambi” for Disney, IndieWire has learned. The remake of Disney’s 1942 animated classic is still in development at the studio, even after the recent exit of live-action film head Sean Bailey. An individual with knowledge of Polley’s exit said there’s no drama in the split but simply said things didn’t work out.

TheWrap first broke the news in an analysis of Bailey’s exit. Bailey, in his 15-year tenure at Walt Disney Studios, had pioneered and greenlit virtually all of Disney’s streak of live-action remakes of animated classics, some mega hits like “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” and some like the recent “The Little Mermaid,” “Haunted Mansion,” and others that underwhelmed at the box office. Some of Bailey’s lingering projects include live-action takes on “Moana,” “Lilo & Stitch,” and “Mufasa: The Lion King.

Horror fans, heads up, a new Bambi-inspired feature, Bampire is on the way. Not to be confused with, Bambi: The Reckoning, which is part of the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey universe, per Bloody Disgusting, Bampire will be a gory horror-comedy paying tribute to the iconic slasher movies of the ’80s and ’90s. The announcement comes as Bambi, the character created by author Felix Salten for his novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods, entered the public domain this year.

In addition to Bambi: The Reckoning, which is part of the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey universe, another upcoming Bambi horror movie has been announced this week.

A gory horror-comedy that pays tribute to the slasher movies of the ’80s and ’90s, Bambi horror movie Bampire was just launched on Indiegogo, and we’ve got your first look.

Directed by Taylor Morden (The Last Blockbuster) and written by Zoë Wassman, the indie film is said to feature “heart-wrenching live action performances, hand-drawn animation by Josh Stifter (A24 and Kevin Smith’s Tusk), practical gore by award-winning fx artist Trysta Kelley, a claymation sequence from effects supervisor Webster Colcord, and even diegetic VHS footage from an in-world camera.”

Writer Zoë Wassman teases, “Picture Evil Dead 2 meets Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”

Bampire (produced by Path Films and Popmotion Pictures) features appearances by Diane Franklin, Greg Sestero, and Troma’s own Lloyd Kaufman...

Producers Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey are building a cinematic universe out of horror movies based on public domain family friendly stories – including Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, that film’s sequel… and Bambi: The Reckoning, which is inspired by Felix Salten’s 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods. The Bambi horror film is set to start filming on January 6, 2024 in England, and Bloody Disgusting hears that the film is going to be directed by Dan Allen, whose previous credits include Mummy Reborn, It Came from Below, and the 2017 version of Unhinged. Roxanne McKee (Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines) leads the cast and is joined by Nicola Wright (Firenado), Tom Mulheron (Casualty), and Samira Mighty (Beauty and the Beast).

This movie is coming to us from ITN Studios and Jagged Edge Productions. Jeffrey and Frake-Waterfield are producing for Jagged Edge Productions. Stuart Alson and Nicole Holland...

From the team behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey comes Bambi: The Reckoning, another upcoming movie that will put a horror twist on a classic children’s property.

Bloody Disgusting has exclusively learned this week that Roxanne McKee (Wrong Turn 5) will star in Bambi: The Reckoning, alongside Nicola Wright and Tom Mulheron.

Samira Mighty (Beauty and the Beast) will also appear in the upcoming horror movie.

Filming begins on January 6, 2024 in England with a planned Fall 2024 release.

The film follows 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.

Bambi will destroy anyone in its path.

Director Dan Allen (Unhinged) previews, “It’s gonna be terrifying. When people see a deer in the wild after this film they’re gonna run for the hills. This film is about the death of childhoods...

A dark theory suggests that Gaston from Beauty and the Beast is the mysterious hunter who killed Bambi's mother, adding a layer of depth to Disney's animated universe. While the theory connects the two movies and makes Gaston's death more satisfying, it takes away the terrifying and tragic nature of the hunter being an unknown figure. The timeline discrepancy between the two films suggests that Gaston couldn't have been the killer, but the theory still adds an interesting twist to Disney's lore.

A dark Disney theory puts an end to the mystery of who was the hunter that killed Bambi's mother by explaining it was the villain from one of the Mouse House's animated classics. Although Disney's animated movies are mostly cheerful and heartwarming stories, they all have a layer of drama and tragedy, which makes the heroes’ journey more satisfying and the villains more terrifying. This has also made...

The team behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey are working on low-budget horror sequels, including Bambi: The Reckoning and Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare. The upcoming horror movies will be interconnected in a cinematic universe, teasing future projects and Easter eggs. Bambi: The Reckoning will be an incredibly dark retelling of the beloved story, featuring a vicious, rabid version of the young deer.

Once upon a time… That phrase was once associated with many fairy stories and cute, cuddly children’s tales, but in the last year the stories that used to be prefixed with that four word phrase have found a new audience in the world of low-budget horror movies. Following on from the success of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, the team behind the massacre at the Hundred Acre Wood have now given an update on their next projects: Bambi and Peter Pan.

While the wheels are...

Disney's most evil villain is "Man", the hunter who kills Bambi's mother, traumatizing viewers and sending a strong message against animal cruelty. Disney villains without powers, like Cruella DeVille and Clayton, show the coldness of their hearts and the lengths they will go to hurt others. "Man", being never clearly seen, adds to his terrifying nature as anyone could be capable of such horrific actions.

Disney has had a bunch of iconic villains, some more evil and powerful than others, but the most evil of all has been around for eight decades, and curiously, it’s one that has never been directly seen. Disney continues to be a powerhouse in the world of animation, and it began its reign in 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which introduced the Mouse House’s first big-screen, animated villain with the Evil Queen. Since then, Disney villains have been humans, animals, and mythological creatures,...

Ruth Beckermann’s documentary centres around a fake audition in which men read aloud from a once scandalous 1906 novel, revealing the grotesque and humorous nature of male fantasy

Here is a strange, stark documentary from Austrian film-maker Ruth Beckermann, first presented at last year’s Berlin film festival: somewhere between a lab experiment and a practical joke, featuring the kind of non-professional performers who could easily crop up in a movie by Ulrich Seidl, that renowned Austrian chronicler of male grotesqueness.

The film’s purpose is to challenge the gendered nature of erotica and pornography through the simple but effective expedient of making men the object of the porn gaze. Beckermann puts men on camera as they read aloud – at various levels of excruciating discomfort – the female narrative voice from Josephine Mutzenbacher, a once-scandalous Viennese novel that contains the fictional confessions of a prostitute, published anonymously in 1906 and now thought...

Since its launch in 1983, Disney Channel has become one of the biggest and most popular networks, home to some of the most successful franchises and films. Though Disney is most famous for its animation division, films and series, Disney has released some of the best live-action films to date -- especially during the 2000s.

Despite having prior success, Disney found its stride during the 2000s, pumping out an arsenal of films that would later become classics. Whether TV show spin-off films based on Hannah Montana, musicals, or original stories, every movie features a unique cast of characters and a heartfelt story.

Related: Every Best Picture Winner Of The 2000s, Ranked

The Shaggy Dog (2006)

Directed by Brian Robbins, a powerhouse and the current CEO and president of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, The Shaggy Dog is a science-fiction comedy loosely based on Felix Salten's The Hound of Florence. The film stars Tim Allen,...

Sarah Polley is in talks to direct a live-action remake of Walt Disney’s “Bambi,” TheWrap has learned. Details on the project are scarce, but she will work off a recent screenplay draft penned by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster and the film will be a musical featuring music from Kacey Musgraves.

The news comes as Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is lighting up the box office and could follow in the footsteps of the photoreal CG-filled “The Lion King” and “The Jungle Book.” While those films were blockbusters, it has not been confirmed as to whether this seemingly less epic offering will be intended for theaters or, as we saw with “Pinocchio,” “Lady and the Tramp” and “Peter Pan and Wendy,” Disney+.

Sarah Polley is coming off an Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay for the critically acclaimed “Women Talking,” which was her first directorial effort in over a...

The gears are turning on a live-action Bambi movie at Disney, as a director is getting locked down for the project. Deadline reports that Sarah Polley, who won an Oscar this year for her Women Talking screenplay, is now in talks to direct the Bambi remake. Disney previously addressed plans to give Bambi the live-action treatment, and it would seem that the project is finally making some traction with these new plans to place Polley in the director's chair. Back in 2020, it was reported that Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Lindsey Beer would be co-writing the screenplay, but given the passage of time and the ongoing writers strike, it's unclear if they're still on board.

Before writing and directing Women Talking, Polley had also helmed the feature film Away from Her, which was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars in 2008. She also wrote and directed Take This Waltz and Stories We Tell,...

Academy Award winner Sarah Polley is in talks to direct a live-action adaptation of the Disney animated classic Bambi. The project is in early development at the House of Mouse, with Polley poised to roll cameras for her most significant undertaking yet. Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Lindsey Beer were named the project’s writers in 2020, but that was a while ago, and the ongoing WGA writers’ strike could hamper their participation.

Released in 1942 as the fifth feature film from Walt Disney Productions, Bambi tells the story of a fawn who makes friends with other animals in a serene yet dangerous forest. When Bambi’s mother is shot and killed by a human hunter, Bambi depends on his friends to carry him through the pain of loss and help him become the leader his mother always intended. Disney’s version adapts Felix Salten’s 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods.

Directed...

It seems like Sarah Polley is ready to focus on Disney animals talking.

The “Women Talking” writer-director is currently in early talks to helm the live-action adaptation of Disney’s “Bambi,” IndieWire has confirmed. Polley won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for her 2022 feminist film “Women Talking.” The news was first reported by Deadline.

Disney first announced a live-action “Bambi” adaptation in 2020, with Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Lindsey Beer set to write the script. Depth of Field production company was attached to produce. As of now it is unclear if all parties are still behind the project, which is still in the early stages of development.

“Bambi” was the fifth animated feature film to ever be released by Disney. The 1942 movie was an adaptation of Felix Salten’s novel about a young, motherless deer who befriends fellow woodland creatures. Disney’s “Bambi” earned Oscar nominations for Best Sound, Best Song,...

Exclusive: After winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Women Talking, Sarah Polley is on to the most epic undertaking of her filmmaking career thus far, as Deadline understands that the filmmaker is in talks to helm a live-action take on Bambi in very early development at Disney.

Multiple sources tell Deadline that the project is a musical to feature music from six-time Grammy-winning country star Kacey Musgraves. Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster (Transparent) wrote the most recent draft of the script, and Chris and Paul Weitz’s Depth of Field will produce.

The studio first signaled its intention to adapt Bambi for live-action back in early 2020, bringing Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Lindsey Beer aboard as writers and Depth of Field to produce in January of that year. No word yet on when the project might be put in motion, given unpredictable strike conditions, for starters.

The film is of course the coming-of-age story of Bambi,...

A couple days ago, we shared the news that writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield has secured distribution in multiple territories for a sequel to his horror twist on a beloved children’s story, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. But that’s not the only project Frake-Waterfield has in the works. He’s planning to build a cinematic universe out of horror movies based on public domain family friendly stories – including Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare and Bambi: The Reckoning. Now The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Bambi: The Reckoning has also secured distribution in multiple territories.

Inspired by Felix Salten’s 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods, this movie is coming to us from ITN Studios and Jagged Edge Productions. Scott Jeffrey will be directing, and is also producing with Frake-Waterfield for Jagged Edge Productions. Stuart Alson and Nicole Holland serve as executive producers for ITN Studios.

Plot details are being kept under wraps,...

A low-budget, X-rated cinematic universe of bloody adaptations of beloved childhood stories is taking (twisted) shape.

Bambi: The Reckoning, from the producers of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (which grossed more than $6 million globally after going viral), has sold to a number of international territories, with hopes that it can achieve a similar success to their first microbudget slasher sensation. The plot is set to involve a mutated killer deer in the vein of Cujo.

Premiere Entertainment has licensed rights involving theatrical components to the creature feature in Mexico and Latin America (Cinemex), Germany and Italy (Plaion), France (Crome Films), Benelux (Movie Company), Scandinavia (Njuta Films), Russia/Cis (Voxell Films), Australia and New Zealand (Umbrella), Japan (Hark), Taiwan (Av-Jet), Middle East (Eagle Films), Turkey (Bg Film), Pakistan (Cine Entertainment), India and airlines (PictureWorks).

Bambi: The Reckoning is based on the title character created by Felix Salten in his 1923 coming-of-age novel Bambi,...

Rhys Frake-Waterfield's new horror film "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey" takes the toddler-like characters from A.A. Milne's beloved 1926 children's novel, and transforms them into lumbering, human-hating, bloodthirsty serial killers. If you ever wanted to see Christopher Robin's little yellow Pooh bear as Leatherface from "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," then "Blood and Honey" is for you.

The central gag of Frake-Waterfield's film is, of course, the juxtaposition of Milne's childlike innocence with the violent crassness of your average slasher movie. One might ostensibly get a certain lascivious thrill from seeing well-known childhood imagery blended with adult material. A similar approach was used in Danishka Esterhazy's 2019 film "The Banana Splits Movie" which saw the stars of the 1968 children's TV show turned into murderous robots, as well as any number of horror fairy tales.

Because most of the above stories are now in the public domain ("The Banana Splits...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Armageddon Time (James Gray)

Armageddon Time is the sort of film usually invoked as a “portrait of the nation” or “state of the union address,” something taking the temperature of a country—most likely the United States—at a particular time in history. But it’s also a work that makes self-consciousness a virtue: its wonderful writer-director, James Gray, is informed up to his eyes about the virtues and pitfalls of films like these, and here makes something so idiosyncratically his own but that audiences and critics might still mislabel with one of those aforementioned ideas. – David K. (full review)

Where to Stream: Peacock

The Civil Dead (Clay Tatum)

For Clay, the man at the center of The Civil Dead, there isn’t much happening in life.

Thanks to the insatiable appetite of horror fans for the twisted and depraved, the independent film scene has seen some recent microbudget box office hits, from “Terrifier 2” to “Skinamarink.” The next one may come from the Hundred Acre Wood with “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.”

Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, “Blood and Honey” reimagines Winnie the Pooh and Piglet as bloodthirsty slasher villains bent on revenge against Christopher Robin after he left them behind upon reaching adulthood. The film’s first trailer was a viral hit after it was released this past August, and now event film distributor Fathom Events will be bringing “Blood and Honey” to approximately 1,500 theaters starting February 15 for a nine-day limited engagement.

“There are so many films with the usual horror monsters, like werewolves and ghosts, and we want to make something that really stood out,” Frake-Waterfield told TheWrap. “I thought that maybe if we were lucky,...

The Hundred Acre Wood has seen some pretty unsettling things over the years. A honey jar shortage. Rather blustery days. The omnipresent threat of a Heffalump.

But in “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” a new microbudget R-rated horror film, Pooh wades into far darker territory than even Eeyore could have ever imagined. After 95 years of saying things like “A hug is always the right size,” Pooh — newly freed from copyright — is now violently terrorizing a remote house of young women.

Countless cherished characters have passed into public domain before, but perhaps never so abruptly and savagely as Pooh.

Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Eeyore and Christopher Robin all became public domain on January 1 last year when the copyright on A.A. Milne’s 1926 book, “Winnie-the-Pooh,” with illustrations by E.H. Shepard, expired. Just a year later, Pooh and Piglet can now be found on a murderous rampage in nationwide movie theaters...

For many movie fans who watched "Bambi" at a tender age, the Disney movie may seem as horrifying as it is cute. After all, before the sweet yearling at the heart of the classic 1942 film has a chance to so much as finish gulping down his first taste of spring grass, his mother is shot by hunters. Bambi's mother's death may be mild by adult standards, but for a kid, it's a harrowing introduction to the world of Disney. But at least in the world of Walt Disney, Bambi has a happy ending. The same can't be promised for "Bambi: The Reckoning," an upcoming horror film that Bloody Disgusting reports is in the works from the director of "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey."

That's right: the future prince of the forest is the latest lovable childhood icon to get the slasher treatment from Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the filmmaker who's already...

The viral success of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, coming to theaters on February 15, 2023, has led director Rhys Frake-Waterfield down a path of putting his own horror movie twist on other iconic children’s properties that have slipped into the public domain, with Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare currently in the works for a future release from his team.

And that’s not all, as Dread Central has scored the exclusive word that Rhys Frake-Waterfield is also planning a Bambi horror movie that’s currently titled Bambi: The Reckoning.

From ITN Studios and Jagged Edge Productions, Bambi: The Reckoning is set to be directed by Scott Jeffrey with Frake-Waterfield producing the “dark retelling” of the classic tale.

Jeffrey tells Dread, “The film will be an incredibly dark retelling of the 1928 story we all know and love. Finding inspiration from the design used in Netflix’s The Ritual, Bambi will be...

Rhys Frake-Waterfield is on a streak of taking public domain children’s book characters that have previously been given the Disney treatment and turning them into something terrifying. His movie Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is set to receive a U.S. theatrical release through Fathom Events on February 15th, he’s developing a horror twist on Peter Pan that will be called Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare, there’s a chance of a Blood and Honey sequel, and now the folks at Dread Central have broken the news that Frake-Waterfield will also be producing a horror movie inspired by Felix Salten’s 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods. The horror take on Bambi is called Bambi: The Reckoning.

Coming to us from ITN Studios and Jagged Edge Productions, Bambi: The Reckoning is set to begin filming in January with Scott Jeffrey (The Curse of Humpty Dumpty) at the helm.

Directors of The Curse of Humpty Dumpty and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey to team up for new take on bereaved deer

Many childhoods have already been traumatised by Bambi, the classic Disney animation about a young fawn whose mother is murdered. Now, two film-makers are seeking to continue the upset for adults, with a sinister remake which rethinks Bambi as a “vicious killing machine”.

Scott Jeffrey, the director responsible for work such as The Curse of Humpty Dumpty and The Bad Nun, has said he will team up with Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who wrote and directed forthcoming slasher film Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, for a new version of Felix Salten’s novel.

I've heard of just about every kind of killer animal movie in my time, from hordes of ravenous rats to the mutton monsters of "Black Sheep," but a killer deer is a new one. According to Dread Central, the team behind the demented "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" are tackling the beloved story of "Bambi," but with their signature sickening twist. ITN Studios and Jagged Eye Productions will be making "Bambi: The Reckoning," giving the story of the fawn who loses his mother a horror update. 

"Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" saw Winnie the Pooh and Piglet going feral and turning into murderous beasts because Christopher Robin forgot to feed them when he went off to college, so just about anything is possible with the team's Bambi retelling. There's a revenge story baked into the movie already with Bambi's poor dead mom, so it wouldn't be a huge...

When the trailer for the upcoming “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” dropped this summer, many Disney fans were horrified to see beloved childhood characters like Winnie the Pooh and Piglet appearing in a gory slasher flick. But, as the film’s producers made very clear, the upcoming B-movie has no connection to the Disney franchise. As A.A. Milne’s original “Winnie the Pooh” books have entered the public domain, artists and filmmakers of all stripes are now free to do whatever they want with the material.

And what director Rhys Frake-Waterfield wanted to do was get very, very bloody. In an interview, he explained that his take on the beloved children’s literary characters is not going to pull any punches. According to him, “Blood and Honey” is a revenge-driven film that sees the anthropomorphic animals taking revenge after Christopher Robbin grows up and abandons them.

“They get enraged when they see him,...

Festival programmes tribute to Mantas Kvedaravicius, filmmaker killed in Ukraine.

New films from Martin Scorsese, Patricio Guzman, Gianfranco Rosi and Ruth Beckermann are among the Masters selection for the 35th International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).

Scorsese and David Tedeschi’s music film Personality Crisis: One Night Only will have its international premiere at IDFA, following a world debut at New York Film Festival in October. The film shows a set from US singer-songwriter David Johansen at New York’s Café Carlyle from January 2020.

The festival will also play Gianfranco Rosi’s first archive-based film In viaggio, which considers the human...