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 way for various dark theories about Disney movies, and while many of them completely ruin some animated classics, others offer possible explanations for some big mysteries.
Some of those theories not only solve Disney’s biggest mysteries but do so by connecting two or more movies, making the universe of Disney’s animated movies more extensive and rich. Among those theories is one that, although dark and heartbreaking as it goes back to one of the most tragic moments in Disney’s history, puts an end to the mystery of who was the hunter that killed Bambi’s mother, as his face isn’t shown, and explains that it was none other than a classic villain: Beauty and the Beast’s Gaston.
Disney Theory Reveals Gaston Killed Bambi’s Mom
Gaston might have been Bambi’s mysterious “Man”
A theory shared on Reddit suggests that Beauty and the Beast’s Gaston is the man who killed Bambi’s mom. Disney’s 1942 animated movie Bambi is based on the 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods, by Felix Salten, and it tells the story of the title white-tailed deer. Bambi is the son of the Great Prince of the Forest and an unnamed mother, with whom he was very close. Bambi is expected to take his father’s position one day and guard the woodland creatures, but his curious nature leads to him often being warned about the dangers of the forest. One day, while out in a meadow, Bambi’s mother senses the presence of a hunter and starts running to safety with Bambi, but his mother is shot and killed while Bambi gets to a safe place.
The hunter who killed Bambi’s mother is simply credited as “Man” and his face is never shown, but that was enough to make him Disney’s most evil villain. Now, the theory places Gaston as “Man”, and another Reddit user pointed out that, although Beauty and the Beast is set in France and Bambi is an American species of deer, there’s evidence of Gaston being in America before the events of his movie. The user mentions Gaston has a bald eagle head as a hunting trophy, which can be seen at multiple points during his musical number at the tavern, meaning that, at some point before the events of the movie, he was in America, and during one of his hunting trips, he could have killed Bambi’s mother. During that same musical number, there’s a head on Gaston’s trophy wall that looks like a female deer, which could be more proof of Gaston being Bambi’s mysterious “Man”.
Unsurprisingly, what debunks the theory is the timeline within Disney’s universe. Beauty and the Beast is set in 18th-century France, while Bambi is generally accepted to be set in the 1920s. With this in mind, Gaston couldn’t have been the hunter who killed Bambi’s mother, but Bambi’s time setting can be retconned a lot easier than that of Beauty and the Beast.
This Theory Makes Gaston’s Death Better (& Ironic)
Gaston killed animals & was defeated by a beast
Gaston is one of Disney’s most memorable classic villains because of all the awful things he did and his dangerous personality. Gaston was arrogant, selfish, narcissistic, and a ruthless hunter, who refused to take “no” for an answer and would go to cruel lengths to get what he wanted. This is why he was enraged that Belle preferred a beast over him, and though he wounded the Beast during their final encounter, Gaston ended up being defeated by him and fell to his death after stabbing the Beast. If Gaston was the man who killed Bambi’s mother, his death at the end of Beauty and the Beast would now be a lot better and more satisfying as he caused a lot of pain not just by killing Bambi’s mother but by killing many other animals, and in the end, he was defeated by a beast.
How This Theory Negatively Impacts Bambi
Bambi doesn’t benefit from the theory
Leaving the timeline aside, it could be possible that Gaston killed Bambi’s mother, but while this makes Gaston’s demise better and more interesting, the same can’t be said for Bambi. The point of the hunter’s face not being shown at all is that anyone could be that ruthless “Man”, which makes the character a lot more terrifying and the scene more tragic. By putting Gaston’s face in the place of the “Man”, the hunter is less scary, as it’s known that Gaston is a dangerous man that should be avoided. This dark Disney theory builds an interesting connection between two classic animated movies, but not all parts involved benefit from it.
