Sarah Polley wants to break the hearts of another generation of Disney kids.
Deadline reports that Polley is currently attached to helm a live-action Bambi, which is in very early development at Disney.
Little is known about the project, but there are reports the film is a musical with music from the Grammy-winning country star Kacey Musgraves.
Deadline notes, “Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster have penned the most recent draft of the script, and Chris and Paul Weitz’s Depth of Field will produce.”
Sarah Polley is fresh off her first-ever Oscar, winning the Best Adapted Screenplay award for Women Talking. Polley has a long list of acting credits but made her directorial debut in 2006 with Away From Her. Shortly after, she’d fully transitioned to a career in writing and directing.
The original film followed a young deer named Bambi, who joins his new friends, a rabbit named Thumper, and a skunk named Flower, in exploring his forest home. As a boy, he learns from his doting mother and father, The Great Prince of the Forest, that there are dangers in the open meadows where hunters can spot the animals, and he meets a beautiful young doe named Faline. As Bambi grows up, he learns that there is a tragedy as well as beauty and joy in his forest world and on the path to adulthood.
The 1942 Bambi was released during World War II and did not perform as well as hoped, but it would find success later due to rereleases and the home video market. It was nominated for three Academy Awards and even won Walt Disney a Special Achievement award at that year’s Golden Globe.
At the time of writing, no actors are yet attached to the project.
