Blogging Baby Size Six: Disney movies where mom dies

We joke about this all the time!
Don't forget Lilo & Stitch- no mom and possibly and unfit sister- nothing like scaring slightly older adopted kids about being taken away from their caregiver!

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Yeah - I started the same list on the post yesterday. Ariel - I don't remember her mama anyplace; just her father the king who trashed her bedroom and drove her straight into the clutches of the horrible octupus and eels.

There's Lion King of course but Disney still had to kill off that least one parent to allow for the sequel. Simba had to get to be King somehow.

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It's nice to see that someone else has noticed the propaganda. You might be interested in two other articles that comment on this issue:

http://www.petersnet.net/research/retrieve.cfm?RecNum=4306
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/5974/101505

Quote from thie first one:

"The single most overwhelming feature of parenthood in Disney nouveau is the almost total absence of the mothers. They are absent in far greater numbers than either renaissance fathers or mothers of the pre-Mermaid era. In fact, with only a single exception (Mulan), every single relevant major character in Disney's recent major releases either loses his or her mother in infancy, or is permanently separated from her during or before childhood, or simply has no onscreen mother at all."

liz

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And Dumbo -- mom isn't dead, just tortured and separated from Dumbo in a traumatic opening scene. I don't think I've ever seen the entire movie -- when I was younger, both Dumbo and Bambi's opening scenes made me cry so violently that my mom graciously took me out of the theatre. And then we left. Is there anything more terrifying to a small child than the idea of a losing a parent? especially a mother? I just couldn't handle it, and I'm glad my mom and I left.

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I noticed it is a common theme in a lot of movies for kids, not just Disney. Japanese films Panda Go Panda (both parents dead) and My Neighbor Totoro (dying mom in hospital all film) have it too. I think it is used as a plot device because it is a concept most young kids can wrap their heads around.

While a kid may not be able to ponder "how would I feel if one of my parents lost their job or if we lost our house in a tornado?" they sure know how they'd feel if their mom was gone, forever.

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Since we seem to be starting over, the other thing I mentioned yesterday was Disney's treatment of dads.

Think back - why were the wicked stepmothers allowed to abuse the kids? Where was daddy?Where was Bambi's father most of the time? Not raising Bambi. Even brave Mulan's parents tried to force her into "typical" feminine behaviour.

Even the loving fathers (Beauty and the Beast) were largely ineffectual.

My kids saw all the Disney movies of their time and weren't permanently scarred although my 49 year old still weeps over Bambi. It wasn't until I started watching them as a much older adult with the three little girls that I really started thinking about it. By now, of course, they've seen them all. We get too soon old and too late smart.

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I know it's not Disney, but Ice Age also starts with the mother drowning....

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Years ago, I worked in the movie industry. We called it the "Disney Joke." It's pretty much every Disney movie out there, save one or two.

Main plot char has one parent (usually maternal) either deceased prior to the start of the movie, dies during, or is an outright orphan.

It's all about making a better plot hero(ine). Whatever the conflict or adversity in the plot that the hero has to overcome, it becomes an even greater task to overcome when the hero does so minus one or both parents.

It's basic plot-writing 101 stuff and Disney cashes in on it every time.

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I forgot to add...

It's also no coincidence that every Disney film is a "coming of age" story.

Given their target audience, why wouldn't any child love a story about growing up and solving all their worldly problems in 90 minutes or less? All before they hit the teen years to boot.

And they lived happily ever after...

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I've noticed this and commented on it with my family and friends. Standard plot device to elevate the drama, make the hero/ine more sympathetic and give them something to overcome to meet their goal.

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Dont forget Aladdin. The little princess has a father, a tiger, even a genie but no mom.

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Don't forget The Little Mermaid? Ariel is raised by her dad...

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I agree w/ Wood. "Dumbo" is so sad for me, I can't even read the book aloud to my daughter without breaking up. We don't own the DVD.

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Charlene - see comment #2

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I thought the mom was alive during Sleeping Beauty? Other than that..I totally agree with you. Why does the mom always die?

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Pathetic! This is what you are getting so excited about? Who cares! Walt Disney has provided wonderful entertainment for the world for years, and you're concerned about 6 or 7 seven of his movies? I enjoyed these movies as a child, and continue to enjoy them as an adult. My daughter also enjoys them, and will continue to do so. Can you think of a better way to explain death to a child? After having to explain it to my daughter, after losing a child of ours, Lion King sure helped a lot. To all critics out there - get a life! Until you've experienced real pain, don't cry to me with your sob story of how Dumbo hurt your poor little feelings- get over it and move on with your life!

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