Disney = Mommy Killer

[catch22girl]

During the conversation with maverickgirl5 last night we started discussing Disney movies and how most if not all of the characters are missing a parent, usually the mom. This started with a Finding Nemo conversation and spiraled.



Because I'm bored and it's snowing I thought I'd go through a list of Disney movies and the parental units featured.

This is probably incomplete, but the most popular ones are here (mostly).

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Step-mom, can't remember if there was a dad
Pinocchio- Dad
Fantasia - N/A
Dumbo - Mom, who can ever forget the touching scene where mom rocks Dumbo on her trunk through the bars?
Bambi - Mom, who is shot. Everyone remembers that moment
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad - N/A
Cinderella - Step-mom, dad's dead
Alice in Wonderland - I can't quite remember. I think she's living with her grandmother?
Peter Pan - Both parents but they aren't really important in the story
Lady and the Tramp - N/A
Sleeping Beauty - Both parents, I think
101 Dalmatians - Mom and Dad, this was the only example I could think of where the mom and dad were both alive and an active part of the story
The Sword in the Stone -Can't remember
The Jungle Book-A bunch of animals, but does anyone remember?
The Aristocats-Another one with just a mom
Robin Hood-Orphan
The Rescuers-Cannot remember
The Fox and the Hound-Orphan, I think?
The Great Mouse Detective-Orphan?
Oliver & Company-Orphan
The Little Mermaid - Just dad
The Rescuers Down Under-No clue
Beauty and the Beast-Just dad
Aladdin -Orphan
The Lion King-Brief mom, dad's killed
Pocahontas-Only dad
The Hunchback of Notre Dame-Orphan
Hercules -Cannot for the life of me remember
Mulan-Just dad?
Tarzan -Orphan?
The Emperor's New Groove-No clue
Atlantis: The Lost Empire-No clue
Lilo and Stich-Someone told me just an older sister?
Treasure Planet-No clue
Finding Nemo-Just dad

Okay, I probably missed a film or two there. But it's kind of obvious that most disney characters either have just a dad or are entirely orphaned. Even in Bambi he 'grows up' when his mom is killed. It's an interesting thing the way that parental death impacts characters in Disney films.

Think of any I missed?

And yes. I do have other things I should be doing.

Comments

[3pipeproblem.livejournal.com]

It's so sad that I know this, but in The Great Mouse Detective her mom's dead and her dad gets kidnapped.

That is rather interesting. Then you have Monsters Inc. and Toy Story where the parents don't matter at all...maybe it's because the films are geared towards kids?

[catch22girl]

Ohhh right. I loved that movie when I was younger. I wanted a dog just like Toby. Possibly, or maybe that killing mom is a kind of fantasy. Or rather, not having a mom means you have more freedom. Hm. Something to ponder.

[shadowofdoubt.livejournal.com]

I think Hercules was adopted. I forget who his mother was, but Daddy was Zeus, obviously.

[catch22girl]

I think he was adopted too. Right, Zeus, LOL. My mind is so gone today.

[postmodernputa.livejournal.com]

it's funny how a lot of freudian themes appear in disney films too but it's too complicated an interpretation to even go there. and it's another angle, another story. hehe.

[catch22girl]

Disney probably hides a lot of issues. Enough for several or more psychology books.

[queen-kiwi.livejournal.com]

Which have been written, trust me... :)

[beautifulcynic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the lack of parent/parental tragedy thing is a long-discussed theme in Disney...

After Walt and his brother made their money, when they were newly successful, they had a house built for their parents. It was a great house, well insulated and the like. But the furnace was faulty and leaked gas. Basically, the house they built for their parents killed their mom and made their dad really sick.

Hence the issues.

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

Really? I didn't know this!

[beautifulcynic.livejournal.com]

Yes, tis true *G*

[catch22girl]

Yipes, learn something new every day. That's vaguely ironic too. It just seems like there's more mom's missing than dad's...but I don't know what that says.

[cinesister.livejournal.com]

*G* Way to educate the unwashed masses, dude. I was going to do the edumacating, but you're here ahead of me, being all smart and shit lol

[beautifulcynic.livejournal.com]

lol Yes...being smart lol it's rare so I gotta strike when I can *G*

[cinesister.livejournal.com]

LOLOL naaah. I've seen you have some glipmses in the past. *G*

[beautifulcynic.livejournal.com]

Gee, thanks lol

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

I believe a friend of mine wrote a whole essay on this topic.

Dumbo - Mom, who can ever forget the touching scene where mom rocks Dumbo on her trunk through the bars?

Oh my goodness, I've only seen Dumbo once or twice, and that scene made me cry!

[catch22girl]

It seems like a really good topic for an essay. Oh that scene makes me sob every time I see it, or think about it...stupid scene. There's just certain scenes like that in film.

[queen-kiwi.livejournal.com]

That's why people fall in love with films and decide to be film critics... ;)

[thekiwi.livejournal.com]

Alice in Wonderland - Trying to remember Lewis Carol... Her Aunt?
The Sword in the Stone - Wart/Arthur is an orphan...right? Then again, the Arthurian Legends have the whole mess of man with a wife desired by another man who then pretends to be the husband with the help of Merlin, sleeps with said lady, actual husband is killed just before Arthur is concieved and Merlin asks for child in return for his previous help. Yeah, that would have worked in a Disney movie. *lol*
Robin Hood-Orphan (???)
The Rescuers- Penny is an orphan, and the other two characters are mice, so...
The Fox and the Hound- The fox is orphaned, but the hound is bought
The Rescuers Down Under- Cody's father is missing I think...
Mulan-Just dad? Mom and grandma appear, they're just not large parts.
The Emperor's New Groove- Whathisname... the big guy, has a full family, but all of the main characters are individual adults, so a family isn't the main focus.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire- Kira has her father...actually I do think the mother is missing...
Lilo and Stich- Just Lilo and Nani...missing both parents. But the movie actually does deal with the fact that the two are on their own.

Man, I actually remembered all that. ; )

[catch22girl]

Wow, impressive memory girl :) You're right I couldn't remember the mom in Mulan, but she was still alive. Her aunt sounds about right for Alice...thank you for the other info!

[queen-kiwi.livejournal.com]

Arthur is a whole messed-up wacky thing on its own. In the legend (I've never seen the movie, but the original story was probably Disney-proofed) not only is Arthur the illegitimate child of Ygraine (or Igraine) and the Duke of Cornwall (like you mentioned); he ends up producing a child, Mordred, with his half-sister Morgan le Fay.

[thekiwi.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. Good old Brit Lit... ;)
But it was all terribly interesting.
Heheh.

[queen-kiwi.livejournal.com]

thekiwi! *points to username* Where have you *been* all my LJ life???

[thekiwi.livejournal.com]

Away at school. LoL. I almost made a comment the first time I saw you reply to Rachel. Hehe.

[queen-kiwi.livejournal.com]

A lot of Disney films fall into two categories:

One: based on the heroic cycle as outlined by Joseph Campbell--eg. Hercules, The Sword in the Stone, The Lion King, Aladdin, Atlantis--where the story focuses on the hero's quest and evolution from his surroundings, and the roles of the parents are minimal (unless one is cast as the mentor figure).

Two: based on a Brother Grimms tale--eg. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella--and those guys had *real* issues (strong racist and anti-Semitic viewpoints, among other things).

It's all about the cultural context which Disney takes its tales from.

[catch22girl]

Oh, good point about the heroic cycle. I keep trying to watch the channel thirteen ten hour long interview with him but have only made it up to about hour three. I must set aside more time.

Also a lot of the Brother Grimms stories are MUCH more disturbing than their counterparts. They've been sanitized greatly. As have the Hans Christian Anderson stories. I remember when I was younger and The Little Mermaid was coming out. We rented the fairy tale so we could see what the story was like, I was so horrified because she DIES at the end of the other story! Before almost killing her beloved and his new wife. So horrifying. So yeah, Disney changed it just a tad, lol.

[queen-kiwi.livejournal.com]

Well, they have to appeal to modern-day kids :)

I think a Jew getting whipped because a young prince suspects he's a thief, a woman being forced to dance in red-hot iron slippers until she falls down dead, and two sisters getting their eyes pecked out by birds wouldn't go over too well with audiences... would you?

[catch22girl]

Hey modern-day kids weren't scared by Finding Nemo...lol. Oh, yeah, I guess that stuff wouldn't really go over too well. The actual version of Cinderella is just horrifying.

[queen-kiwi.livejournal.com]

Gruesome. These guys were just... I don't know what they were on...