Roles of mothers in Disney media
The heroes and heroines of most Disney movies come from unstable family backgrounds;[1] most are either orphaned or have no mothers.[2] Few, if any, have only single-parent mothers. In other instances, mothers are presented as "bad surrogates" eventually "punished for their misdeeds."[3] There is much debate about the reasoning behind this phenomenon.[4] Some feminists (such as Amy Richards) believe it is to create dramatic interest in the main characters; if mothers were present to guide them, they argue, there would not be much of a plot.[5] Some entertainment journalists (such as G. Shearer) believe that it is to show that a happy family does not have to consist of a mother, father and a child and that a family can be one parent and one child, or one parent and many siblings.[6] Below is a list of some notable examples of this aspect of Disney movies and television series.[7]
Categories of mothers
No (or 'absent') parents
- Pinocchio: Pinocchio - no mother.[8] The Blue Fairy acts as a mother to Pinocchio.
- Peter Pan: The Lost Boys - no mother,[9] so they appoint Wendy as their mother.
- The Sword in the Stone: Arthur, or "Wart", has no parents.[10]
- The Rescuers: Penny - no parents, but gets adopted parents by the end.
- The Great Mouse Detective: Olivia Flaversham - no mother.
- Oliver & Company: Jenny Foxworth - Jenny Foxworth - her mother is mentioned to arrive in time for her birthday, but is not shown.
- A Goofy Movie: Goofy is a single father to his son Max. Max's mother has died and Goofy tells Max "she's up there with the stars". Her death is not explained.
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel and her 6 sisters - no mother. In the direct-to-DVD sequel The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, their mother appears early in the movie but gets killed by a pirate ship.
- The Rescuers Down Under: Cody - no father. According to Cody, he is deceased; Marahute's chicks lose their father to McLeach.
- Beauty and the Beast: Belle - no mother, died from the plague in the 2017 release.
- Aladdin: Jasmine - no mother;[8] a mother character was originally written for Aladdin's character, but was ultimately cut so he has no parents, although he finds his father in Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
- The Lion King: Simba - no father, his father Mufasa was killed in a wildebeest stampede by his brother Scar to be king.
- Pocahontas: Pocahontas - no mother[8] (mentioned only; revealed to have been dead for years).
- The Emperor's New Groove: Emperor Kuzco - no parents present, assumed dead (since "Emperor" is a hereditary role).
- Lilo & Stitch: Lilo and Nani - parents dead prior the beginning of the movie.
- Finding Nemo: Nemo - no mother. In the beginning of the movie Nemo's mother Coral and his siblings were killed and eaten by a barracuda.
- Pirates of the Caribbean (film series): Elizabeth, Jack - mother referenced as dead (Elizabeth's mother is noted by her father's ghost but never seen), Will - mother mentioned having died, father is "Bootstrap" Bill Turner.
- Ratatouille: Remy - no mother. Had a father. Linguini - mother was not shown on screen and is mentioned to have died. His father was the late master chef Auguste Gusteau.
- Tron: Legacy: Sam Flynn - no mother. No father for the majority of his life as well.
- Wreck-It Ralph: Ralph - mother was mentioned.
- Big Hero 6: Both parents dead prior to film. Brother dead at start of film. Adoptive mother figure "aunt".
Wicked stepmother
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Queen Grimhilde.
- Cinderella: Lady Tremaine.
- Enchanted: Queen Narissa.
Mother killed and/or captured
- Dumbo: Mrs. Jumbo is locked up for the majority of the movie, but is not killed.
- Bambi: Bambi - mother killed by a hunter.
- The Jungle Book: Mowgli - his mother Raksha, killed by Shere Khan.
- The Fox and the Hound: Tod - mother killed by a gunshot.
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel, Attina, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Adella and Alana - their mother Athena, killed by pirates.
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Quasimodo - mother killed by Frollo.[8]
- Tarzan: Tarzan - mother, (and as well as father), killed by Sabor.
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Princess Kida - mother killed while trying to save Atlantis from its first fate.
- Lilo & Stitch: Lilo's parents died in a car accident some time before Lilo & Stitch.
- Finding Nemo: Nemo - his mother Coral got killed and eaten by barracuda also Nemo's brothers and sisters.
- Brother Bear: Koda - mother killed by Kenai.
- Frozen: Elsa and Anna - mother (as well as father) killed in shipwreck. Kristoff - revealed to be an orphan.
Biological mothers
- Dumbo: Mrs. Jumbo, single mother.
- Bambi: Faline - mother of twins Gurri and Geno.
- One Hundred and One Dalmatians: Perdita - only to the original litter of 15 puppies.
- The Rescuers Down Under: Cody's mother (name not mentioned) - single.
- Bolt: Penny's mother (name not mentioned) - single.
- The Lion King: Sarabi - mother of Simba; Sarafina - mother of Nala; -Nala - mother of Kiara.
- The Lion King II: Simba's Pride: Nala - Kiara's mother; Zira - mother of Nuka, Vitani, and Kovu.
- The Lion King 1½: Ma - Timon's mother.
- The Aristocats: Duchess, mother of Toulouse, Marie, and Berlioz.
- Beauty and the Beast: Mrs. Potts, single mother.
- Mulan: Fa Li, Mulan's mother.
- The Princess and the Frog: Eudora, Tiana's mother.
- Tangled: Queen of Corona, Rapunzel's mother.
- Brave: Queen Elinor, mother of Merida.
- Lady and the Tramp: Lady - mother of Scamp, Annette, Collette and Danielle. Jane Brown - mother of James Brown Junior.
- Toy Story (franchise): Andy's mother (name not mentioned)
- Treasure Planet: Sarah Hawkins, single mother.
- The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea: Princess Ariel - Melody's mother.
- Peter Pan: Mary Darling - Wendy, John, and Michael's mother.
- Return to Never Land: Wendy - Jane and Danny's mother.
- Sleeping Beauty: Queen Leah, Aurora's mother.
- Hercules: Hera.
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame II: Esmerelda - Zephyr's mother.
- The Emperor's New Groove: Chicha - mother of Chaca, Tipo, Yupi
- The Incredibles: Helen Parr/Elastigirl - mother of Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack Parr.
- Meet the Robinsons: Lewis's mother (name not mentioned) - single. Franny Robinson - mother of Wilbur Robinson; Petunia Robinson - mother of Laszlo and Tallulah Robinson.
- Honey, I Shrunk the Kids trilogy: Diane Szalinski, mother of Nick, Amy, and Adam Szalinski.
- Zootopia: Bonnie Hopps, mother of Judy Hopps.
Adoptive mothers
- One Hundred and One Dalmatians: Perdita - only to the other 84 puppies.
- Tarzan: Kala - Tarzan's adoptive mother.
- The Jungle Book 2: Messua - Mowgli's adoptive mother.
- Bambi II: Mena - Bambi's adoptive mother.
- Meet the Robinsons: Lucille - Lewis' adoptive mother.
- Tangled: Mother Gothel - An example of an evil adoptive mother.
See also
- List of Walt Disney TV series
- List of Disney Channel series
- List of Disney theatrical feature films
- List of Disney made for TV movies
- List of Disney Channel Original Movies
- Parental portrayals in the media
References
- ↑ Henry A. Giroux, Fugitive Cultures: Race, Violence, and Youth (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 1996).
- ↑ Lynn H. Collins, Joan C. Chrisler, and Michelle R. Dunlap, Charting a New Course for Feminist Psychology (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002), 94.
- ↑ Stephen M. Fjellman, Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America (Westview Press, 1992), 263.
- ↑ Snopes.com, Disney Movie Mothers - Walt Disney - My Mother The Scar.
- ↑ Ask Amy
- ↑ Geoff Shearer, "Disney keeps killing movie mothers: DISNEY is continuing its tradition of being G-rated entertainment's biggest mother flickers," Courier Mail (March 07, 2008).
- ↑ Paul Loukides and Linda K. Fuller, Beyond the Stars: Themes and Ideologies in American Popular Film (Popular Press, 1993), 8.
- 1 2 3 4 Sara Munson Deats and Lagretta Tallent Lenker, Aging and Identity: A Humanities Perspective (Greenwood Publishing Group), 210.
- ↑ Geronimi, Clyde; Jackson, Wilfred; Luske, Hamilton; Kinney, Jack (1953-02-05), Peter Pan, retrieved 2016-04-05
- ↑ Stock, Lorraine K. (2015-01-01). "Reinventing an Iconic Arthurian Moment: The Sword in the Stone in Films and Television". Arthuriana. 25 (4): 66–83. ISSN 1934-1539. doi:10.1353/art.2015.0047.