First of all I hate the term Mom, here in the UK its Mum or ‘Mam’. But for the purpose of the title I thought it worked best. In the UK the term of ‘Where’s me Mam?’ would be most fitting but I digress.
As we all know some of our favourite Disney Characters don’t have a full set of parents, and some of those who do may lose them at some point in the film. Hercules tends to be the lucky one as he has two full sets of parents, but have you actually ever sat back and considered how many Disney Characters don’t have a full set of parents and actually how many of these tends to be missing a mother.
Dumbo is one of those rare exceptions where the character actually has a mum but no dad, this is actually quite rare for Disney films, growing up into the real world this tends to be the case today, even in dramas if a family member is going to go, it’s the dad. Moving on 50 years from Dumbo, Simba faces a similar prospect, however the final end to his dad is shown in the actual film rather than just being left off screen.
It could be said that in the context of the two films the way a child is brought into the world is perceived in different ways. In the 1940’s Babies were delivered by a Mr. Stalk, not just any stalk but one who sounds awfully a lot like Winnie the Pooh and more scarily Kaa from the Jungle Book. However fast forward into the 1990s and we know where baby lions come from because they have a whole song dedicated to it. On top of this, Timon and Pumbaa definitely know where baby lions come from as they watch it happen whilst they sing a song about it.
Simba is not the only person to lose a parent during a film, the most famous example of this comes from the early days of Disney films. Bambi’s mum getting shot has to be the saddest movie moment of all time, it’s so personal, I don’t want my mum to die and it’s done so well. Many people believe that they remember the moment she was shot but it never appears and that’s what is so good about that moment. His father takes over and it seems he has this in common with plenty of other Disney Characters. Jasmine only has a father. Belle, Ariel, Pocahontas; only dads. Whilst most reasons why one parent is absent are often never mentioned, in Cinderella 3 – A twist in time, the king talks about how Prince Charming’s mother was the love of his life. She can never be replaced and it is a genuine touching moment when this side character has this back story.
Most of the secondary Characters never get a family of their own; most princes are literally just that a prince with no family, what happened to the Beast’s mum and dad? Surely if they were dead he would be a king not a prince, did they just forget about him? Another unusual example of not having any parent in a film is the lost boys in Peter Pan, however in this case Peter goes out to find them a mother. They leave the story without one which is probably for the best. Consider Wendy’s age when Peter tries to get her to become a parent.
Whilst others have parents but become orphans in the film, Elsa and Anna are the most recent example of this, although their parenting technique is outdated and they wouldn’t be considered fine examples of parents in this sense. Poor Mowgli not only loses his mum at the start of the film but is taken away from his adoptive parents in the first act. It would have been appropriate then to say leaving his foster parents, Baloo and Baghera, is surely a sign that this part of his life, which involves parents, is over and he is ready to go it alone.
Mowgli is quite lucky that his adoptive and foster parents are quite nice. Many get evil step parents; Quasimodo gets an awful small minded carer, who locks him up in a bell tower,
The role of step parent is taken to its extremes in Cinderella and Snow White, these are people you just don’t marrying your dad. Although how these characters inherited the crown or the house as a woman in these eras may need some consideration and going down these routes may give an enlightened view on the princesses. If we assume that the Evil Queen rightfully inherits the crown and then she marries a man who was married before, this would mean that Snow White isn’t actually a princess, unless her father was a king or prince prior to wedding the queen. Would the Evil Queen then honour the princess’s status? If she did then she would have had a heart somewhere along the line. Snow white is beautiful in looks and personality; could she have been the people’s favourite, taking over from the queen herself?
With Lady Trimane and Cinderella, she would need to be the only living relative of Cinderella’s family to inherit the house; Cinderella would also need to be under aged. This would back up why Cinderella was kept from going to the ball, it wasn’t spite but if people knew she who she was then would Cinderella claim her inheritance back?
That got a little deep and thoughtful, back to less legal matters and what better than Tangled. Another adoptive parent whose motivations are less than extemporary, compared to most parents Mother Gothal is actually very kind to Rapunzel, she is given paint and things to do as well as a safe place to live. Rapuzel is not skinny nor chained up and apart from lack of human contact she seems pretty well turned out. Mother Gothel also heads off out on a three day journey for a birthday cake. I can’t see any other parent doing that, even the good fairies in Sleeping Beauty never went that far. Plus she can never kill her adoptive daughter as the hair will die with her so on Evil parents this lass has some pretty caring attributes. Rapunzel is lucky enough to get her parents back, just like Princess Aurora, at the end of the film. Getting your parents back isn’t something that happens often in Disney films and must be seen as the exception rather than the norm. A spin on this that happens a little more is getting adopted by new parents. I have mentioned Mowgli earlier; He joins Lewis in Meet the Robinsons and Sven in Frozen. The most emotional wave of new parents comes in The Rescuers when Penny finally gets adopted, this moment affected me so much as a young child that I always knew that I would adopt a child. There was no other way for me. Many people talk about life changing moments and that was one for me. Lewis in Meet the Robinsons is also an emotional ride; it’s such a bittersweet film that gets me every time.
Getting new parents isn’t always as straight forward; Parents are part of a family. Lilo (Lilo and Stitch) had a family but its falling apart, her older sister is doing the best she can and it’s clear that she is. By the end of the film the message is pretty much your family could be anyone and that they come in all shapes and sizes and from any planet.
Families do come in all shapes and sizes and are made up of different people; Disney has been good at representing this from the very beginning, although Snow White should be an advert for Step Parents. As the stories continue the different aspects of family and parents begin to grow, Frozen and Big Hero 6 both depict siblings together and what happens when they are not there for each other, although there is an aunt in big Hero 6 for Guidance. Because parent’s absences are very rarely explained it does allow the viewer to relate should they be in the same situation. Did Ariel’s mother run away, did she die; is she just not in the film? If I was a young girl who doesn’t have a mum or a dad then I feel I could relate to that more. Growing up it really annoyed me that most families on television had a mum, a dad, 2/3 children and a dog. That wasn’t my family and I am grateful for Disney to represent the world that way.
On a sad end note, Walt himself lost his mother too early, with his new found fame and wealth Walt bought his parents a house, unfortunately there was a gas leak and she passed away. Walt never forgave himself for that and maybe this can be seen in his works. There are no films that depict every family to be perfect until his death. Even Lady and the Tramp has a family of dogs. 101 Dalmatians incorporate adoption which is healthy and the closest to a normal family however the fact that they adopt 84 puppies is the extreme. The final note I must make on this comes right at the end of Walt’s life, in fact the film was released after his death. The Aristocrats is the first film that really looks at parenting. The Duchess has a different background to Tom O’Malley and whereas you can make comparisons to Lady and the Tramp, the situation is different. The story shows the development of the characters, the kittens didn’t realise in their cushioned world that they needed another parental figure, The Duchess is developing as a mother and the biggest change comes to Thomas O’Malley. He develops into a father. The family forma perfect family even though O’Malley is a Step parent. This is a growth for films on the whole as usually step parents follow the Lady Trimane/ Evil Queen approach.
What Disney Family represents yours the most? Did you relate to any of the characters whilst growing up? Did I miss any significant Characters and you would like to go further and add to this Essay? Let me know or Join the Discussion on Facebook.