For decades, was an awkward film for Disney. It was not a princess movie. It did not have a happy-go-lucky hero. It was a box office disappointment in 1942 due to World War II cutting off the European market. Critics were mixed, unsure of how to categorize a film so beautiful yet so bleak.
Walt Disney was at the height of his powers when he tackled Bambi. Following the successes of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio , Disney wanted to push the boundaries of realism. He famously told his animators, "Fellows, this isn't Snow White . This is real. You’ve got to believe it." For decades, was an awkward film for Disney
Crucially, Salten’s work is a thinly veiled allegory for the treatment of Jews in Europe during the early 20th century. As a Jewish journalist in Vienna, Salten understood the vulnerability of being prey in a society dominated by "hunters." The "He" (the human hunter) in the book is a terrifying, omnipresent force, representing an arbitrary and cruel authority. The novel paints a picture of a world where safety is fleeting and paranoia is a survival instinct. It was a box office disappointment in 1942