puzzling disney tradition

[FondestBianca]

I hope this is an appropriate place to put this. Ok, first off I will say that I really have no opposition to disney or disney programming and moveis. The entertainment marketing system doesn't bother me... thats how money is made, I can understand that.

That being said, I've noticed such a weird trend in disney movies and tv programs. There is a very common theme in the parenting in disney programming. Does mr disney have something against traditional family unit and specifically, mothers??

For example from the movies:

Snow White: evil step mother, father dead
Cinderella: evil step mother, father dead
bambi: mother was killed
little mermaid: no mother
jasmine from alladin: no mother
aladin: orphan
pocahontas: no mother
lilo & stitch: single mother I believe
finding nemo: mother killed
george of the jungle: mother killed
beauty and the beast: no mother
peter pan: they're all looking for a mother!
lion king: father killed

cartoons and TV programs:

duck tales which I believe is disney: raised by their uncle
tale spin: no mother
goof troop: single father
zach and cody: single mother. there is a dad but he's a deadbeat that only makes an appearence once per season or so... he's a traveling musician
cory in the house: a spin off from the show raven. on raven their were 2 parents but on the spin off they wrote the mother out of the script with no explaination or mention
hannah montana: single father, mother died
chetah girls: one never has parents mentioned, one lives in foster care, and the other two have single mothers (one of which ends up getting engaged but, he isn't mentioned after that).
spider man: which was picked up by disney, I think he's raised by his grandparents but his grandfathers ends up being killed

the list goes on and on and on...
I'm glad they are showing something other than mother and father led families. So in a way it's a good thing BUT, when it comes to the movies (especially the princess movies) where the heck are the families with both a mother and father working together in harmony? Am I missing something here? Are they out there and I just can't think of them? and there have yet to be any gay parents... I think we're due for some of those!

[AnalogWife]

Lilo and Stitch...that's not the mother, it's her older sister.

[FondestBianca]

Originally Posted by AnalogWife

Lilo and Stitch...that's not the mother, it's her older sister.

where are the parents?

[savvybabygrace]

I've noticed this too...strange and disturbing!

[AllyRae]

There aren't very many Disney movies at all with both parents still there...I think Peter Pan and 101 Dalmations are the only ones I can think of.

ETA: In Peter Pan, Wendy and her brothers still have both parents I believe...but yeah, the Lost Boys don't.

[Ellen Griswold]

Originally Posted by FondestBianca

where are the parents?

Killed in a car crash I believe.

Does anybody know if it stems from the old fairy tales? Not many disney films are actually "original."

[Murihiku]

It's not just Disney; it's a staple of children's literature. Orphans abound. One theory is that children aren't free to have adventures when they are being lovingly nurtured and protected by their parents.

[Rosehip]

"Good" (as in the tales that really engage kids and have staying power that is measured in generations, not months) children's literature is built on themes that are real to children. Abandonment and death, and specifically losing mommy and/or daddy, are very real fears and hence fairly major themes in young children's active imagination. It think too that presenting a protagonist with only one parent amplifies the importance of the relationship with the remaining parent, and heightens the drama of their conflicts.

Grim(m) stuff (pun intended), but certainly makes for riveting stories.

[LaLaLaLa]

Originally Posted by Murihiku

It's not just Disney; it's a staple of children's literature. Orphans abound. One theory is that children aren't free to have adventures when they are being lovingly nurtured and protected by their parents.

I totally agree with this. Even in non-children's literature, it's important for characters to be able to branch out and differentiate from their parents. This is easier if the parents are dead, especially the mother, who is often characterized as the one who hovers over the children.

After all, what kind of princess story would it be if the princess had two loving parents? What harm could come to her? What would she have to rebel against that wouldn't come across as petulance? With no mother and an evil stepmother, though, the possibilities for conflict are much more open. She has something to fight against and something over which to triumph. It all makes sense to me.

Oh, and it's not a princess movie but "The Incredibles" has a nice mom-and-dad family unit going for it. Although the parents are having some marital problems that are stressful for the kids. "Mulan" has two parents, too. That's my kids' favorite.

[Daffodil]

A lot of those Disney movies were based on fairy tales that had been around for a long time before they were turned into movies, so the dead mothers weren't Disney's idea.

Consider two possible story lines:
1) Child is raised by two loving parents who provide help and support as she grows up and gradually becomes more independent.
2) Child finds herself in difficult circumstances, with no mother to help her, has to struggle to help herself, and finally finds happiness thanks to her own goodness and inner resources.

Which makes for a more compelling story?

[Oriole]

It's simply a reflection on classic literature. There is nothing "Disney" about it, imho.

Actually, the real stories are even sadder and than Disney. The cheerfulness of it all and the need to change the story-line to make everything okay bothered me.

Mind you, I love Disney.

[Murihiku]

Originally Posted by ToastyToes

"Good" (as in the tales that really engage kids and have staying power that is measured in generations, not months) children's literature is built on themes that are real to children. Abandonment and death, and specifically losing mommy and/or daddy, are very real fears and hence fairly major themes in young children's active imagination. It think too that presenting a protagonist with only one parent amplifies the importance of the relationship with the remaining parent, and heightens the drama of their conflicts.

Grim(m) stuff (pun intended), but certainly makes for riveting stories.

Yes, that too. Beautifully put!

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by Daffodil

A lot of those Disney movies were based on fairy tales that had been around for a long time before they were turned into movies, so the dead mothers weren't Disney's idea.

Consider two possible story lines:
1) Child is raised by two loving parents who provide help and support as she grows up and gradually becomes more independent.
2) Child finds herself in difficult circumstances, with no mother to help her, has to struggle to help herself, and finally finds happiness thanks to her own goodness and inner resources.

Which makes for a more compelling story?

Everybody made pretty much the same points, but this particular post is almost exactly what I was going to say. If you take a story like Cinderella, the mother pretty much has to be missing (or evil) for anything to actually happen. If the characters are going to overcome something in the course of the story, there needs to be something to overcome...and knocking out the foundation of a loving mother makes that a lot more likely.


Spider-Man has been picked up by Disney? Really? How bizarre.

Spidey was raised by his aunt and uncle, and it was his uncle's death that launched his career as a superhero. Batman also became a costumed hero because of the death of his parents. Superman took on the role of protector of his adopted planet. At least one of the X-Men (Cyclops) is an orphan, and I believe that Storm is, as well. Wolverine is, for all practical purposes, as he lacks/lacked much of his own memory and past. (I'm pretty sure some others are, too, but my in-depth knowledge of their history is a little weak these days.) Daredevil became a costumed avenger when his father was murdered. It's a very common theme for superheroes.

[FondestBianca]

Originally Posted by Storm Bride

Everybody made pretty much the same points, but this particular post is almost exactly what I was going to say. If you take a story like Cinderella, the mother pretty much has to be missing (or evil) for anything to actually happen. If the characters are going to overcome something in the course of the story, there needs to be something to overcome...and knocking out the foundation of a loving mother makes that a lot more likely.


Spider-Man has been picked up by Disney? Really? How bizarre.

Spidey was raised by his aunt and uncle, and it was his uncle's death that launched his career as a superhero. Batman also became a costumed hero because of the death of his parents. Superman took on the role of protector of his adopted planet. At least one of the X-Men (Cyclops) is an orphan, and I believe that Storm is, as well. Wolverine is, for all practical purposes, as he lacks/lacked much of his own memory and past. (I'm pretty sure some others are, too, but my in-depth knowledge of their history is a little weak these days.) Daredevil became a costumed avenger when his father was murdered. It's a very common theme for superheroes.

by picked up i simply mean that the cartoon runs on the disney channel

[FondestBianca]

Originally Posted by LaLaLaLa

I totally agree with this. Even in non-children's literature, it's important for characters to be able to branch out and differentiate from their parents. This is easier if the parents are dead, especially the mother, who is often characterized as the one who hovers over the children.

After all, what kind of princess story would it be if the princess had two loving parents? What harm could come to her? What would she have to rebel against that wouldn't come across as petulance? With no mother and an evil stepmother, though, the possibilities for conflict are much more open. She has something to fight against and something over which to triumph. It all makes sense to me.

Oh, and it's not a princess movie but "The Incredibles" has a nice mom-and-dad family unit going for it. Although the parents are having some marital problems that are stressful for the kids. "Mulan" has two parents, too. That's my kids' favorite.

not exactly true. That is to say that real life children who have both parents don't go through troubles, delima, and struggle. Seems like plenty of troubles brews for children with both parents IRL. The overuse of dead and absent parents in kids shows and movies seems REALLY unorigional and a lazy way to make a story line to me.

[FondestBianca]

Originally Posted by Daffodil

A lot of those Disney movies were based on fairy tales that had been around for a long time before they were turned into movies, so the dead mothers weren't Disney's idea.

Consider two possible story lines:
1) Child is raised by two loving parents who provide help and support as she grows up and gradually becomes more independent.
2) Child finds herself in difficult circumstances, with no mother to help her, has to struggle to help herself, and finally finds happiness thanks to her own goodness and inner resources.

Which makes for a more compelling story?

it's boring, it's overdone, it's too easy. why can't they use decent parenting as backdrop every now and then? Not perfect parenting, just your basic, average loving but sometimes misguided parenting. I really see no point to running back to the same storyline over and over again. There are plenty of realistic and exaggerated struggles a child of 2 parents could go through.

[Sarah W]

Originally Posted by Murihiku

It's not just Disney; it's a staple of children's literature. Orphans abound. One theory is that children aren't free to have adventures when they are being lovingly nurtured and protected by their parents.

Yep. Mothers especially are seen as "restraining" so they're often left out. It's not only a Disney thing.

[FondestBianca]

Originally Posted by Oriole

It's simply a reflection on classic literature. There is nothing "Disney" about it, imho.

my questioning was, why has disney seemed to hone in on this theme so frequently. Not only is it somewhat distrurbing (there seeming obsession with it) but, it isn't creative and has numbed the audience to the point that it's expected and ignored as part of the plot.

[Nosy]

Whenever we see the Disney Channel on, DH & I always joke to each other about which parent will be dead this time. You're not the only one that's noticed this! I get that abandonment is a common childhood fear, but I think this particular theme is overdone on Disney.

[St. Margaret]

I found Women Who Run With the Wolves to have some great things to say about this. Estes talks about (I think mostly in her commentary on "Vasalisa the Wise") the mythic tradition of having to have the "too nice" mother die, but also the mother passing along something to her daughter. It's supposed to be psychically symbolic of that breaking away from traditional female roles. That's why there are still witches and fairy godmothers and the like in Disney movies-- they are in the myths, too, as representations of other forms of female power the female protagonist needed to go interact with and explore and try out.

It made me feel a bit better about this tradition's popping up in Disney movies. It would be nice if there was any mention of a mother's passing anything along to Belle or whomever.

I seriously recommend this book to MDC mamas. I'm reading it for research for the YA novel I'm writing, but it is amazing and empowering and wonderful