thedisneyspirit wrote:Agree with the dead mother angle. Even non-Disney animated films try to copy that formula. It comes to a point where it turns creepy this angle, considering the amount of use and how young the protagonists are. It's not really healthy to showcase so many kids that live fine and dandy without mothers.
Even if Disney is "staying true to the tale", I don't see the need since they go and change around so many other details of the films, if these films can have Genies quoting celebrities from today or talking teacups, why not a mother?
I think it's because it's hard as it is to develop one significant 'parent-child' relationship in a film without adding another one that has no real reason to be there. Even in films where both parents are present, you can see filmmakers struggled to find a meaningful role for one of the parents without just resorting to only having them stand around (
Sleeping Beauty,
Mulan;
Hercules and especially
The Lion King somehow averted this).
However, I still think missing/dead parents are neither as common nor as deliberate as people might believe ('deliberate' in the sense that Disney artificially -- i.e. by not following source material -- made a character come from a broken family as a way for audiences to better connect with said character).
Because I love making lists (
), let's recap:
(I didn't include package films / films consisting of segments)
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - mother is dead in the source material as well; her death drives the plot of the story and the film.
2. Pinocchio - no actual mother in the source material; neither her presence nor absence has any relevance to the plot (the Blue Fairy serves as a mother figure, though).
3. Dumbo - an original story; absence of Dumbo's father helps create sympathy for the underdog as he has only his mother to turn to, and she is soon locked up.
4. Bambi - mother dies in the source material as well; her death drives the plot of the story and the film.
5. Cinderella - mother is dead in the source material as well; her death drives the plot of the story and the film.
6. Alice in Wonderland - IIRC, mother is not mentioned in the book; either way, it has no influence on the plot whatsoever.
7. Peter Pan - both parents are present in the book and the film; parents are somewhat influencing the plot.
8. Lady and the Tramp - N/A
9. Sleeping Beauty - both parents are present in the book and the film; parents (father in particular) are somewhat influencing the plot.
10. 101 Dalmatians - N/A
11. The Sword in the Stone - I'm not familiar with the source material; absence of parents drives the plot of the film.
12. The Jungle Book - no parents in the book; the absence of Mowgli's (birth) parents drives the plot of the book and the film.
13. The Aristocats - N/A
14. Robin Hood - N/A
15. The Rescuers - not based on any of the Margery Sharp's books; absence of parents is relevant to the plot.
16. The Fox and the Hound - Tod's mother is killed in the book, too; her death drives the plot of both the story and the film.
17. The Black Cauldron - Taran is orphaned in the book, too; absence of his parents is somewhat relevant to the plot.
18. The Great Mouse Detective - pretty much an original story based on the books; however, like in AiW's case, absence of Olivia's mother has no influence on the plot whatsoever.
19. Oliver & Company - Oliver is an orphan in both the novel and the film; absence of his parents drives the plot.
20. The Little Mermaid - the mermaid's mother is dead in the story, too (the mermaid's grandmother serves as a mother figure). The film is true to the source material in this regard, but mother's absence also enhances the plot of the film by creating one of the main conflicts (stern, overbearing father vs. teenage daughter) that was not present in the original story.
21. The Rescuers Down Under - like the first film, it's pretty much an original story. It is not certain whether Cody comes from a broken family or not; neither his mother nor father has any relevance to the plot.
22. Beauty and the Beast - Beauty's mother is dead in the story and, because of this, she shares a special bond with her father; the film is true to its source material. The Beast's parents are mentioned in the story, but they have absolutely no relevance to the plot (other than setting the curse in motion -- the film has the Beast himself be responsible for the Enchantress' curse).
23. Aladdin - Aladdin's mother is very much alive in the story and somewhat relevant to the plot; mother's absence has no bearing on the film's plot other than helping create sympathy for the main character. (Note: In the story, Aladdin's father is dead; the [third] film reverses this by having Aladdin's father be alive.)
24. The Lion King - if we take for a fact that TLK is based on
Hamlet, then the film is very much true to its source material: both parents are alive and father's death is crucial for the plot.
25. Pocahontas - based on a historical event; I presume real Pocahontas' mother was alive, but in the film she is dead. Still, like in TLM's case, her death is used as a plot point and helps to establish a father-daughter bond.
26. The Hunchback of Notre Dame - true to its source material; Quasimodo being an orphan is relevant to the plot.
27. Hercules - this one actually has two sets of parents for the main hero; true to the source material (even though it's an original story to a degree).
28. Mulan - based on an ancient Chinese poem which makes reference to both Mulan's father and mother; again, the film is true to its source material even though only Mulan's father is somewhat relevant for the plot.
29. Tarzan - Tarzan's parents are dead in the novel and in the film; their death drives the plot.
30. Dinosaur - pretty much
Tarzan with dinosaurs; the same applies.
31. The Emperor's New Groove - an original story; absence of Kuzco's parents may help explain why he grew up to be a brat, but it doesn't have real relevance to the plot.
32. Atlantis: The Lost Empire - a (mostly) original story; Milo's grandfather is the father figure - somewhat relevant to the plot.
33. Lilo & Stitch - an original story; death of Lilo and Nani's parents is what drives the plot.
34. Treasure Planet - IIRC, both of Jim Hawkins' parents are alive in the novel; however, like in Aladdin's case, father is excised from the film (not dead, though) as a plot device, in order to create a father figure for Jim in the form of John Silver.
35. Brother Bear - an original story; parents would have no influence on the plot either way, as it's brotherly bond that is the theme of the film.
36. Home on the Range - an original story; parents or no parents -- it has no bearing on the plot.
37. Chicken Little - based on a folk tale, but still an original story; same as TLM: absence of mother helps create one of the conflicts of the movie (father vs. son).
38. Meet the Robinsons - again, I'm not familiar with the source material, but Wikipedia tells me the movie has practically zero in common with the story it's based on; absence of Lewis' parents is made to be the main plot point.
39. Bolt - another original story; the movie makes no references to Penny's (real) father -- his presence would have no bearing on the plot, either way.
40. The Princess and the Frog - I'm not familiar with the
Frog Princess part of the source material, but the
Frog Prince actually has princess' father alive instead of mother as in the film. Death of Tiana's father is relevant to the plot.
41. Tangled - both parents are alive in the story and actually put the story's events in motion; they are both alive in the movie as well, but they have no active role in the plot (other than in the deleted opening).
42. Winnie the Pooh - N/A
43. Wreck-It Ralph - an original story; neither Ralph's parents' absence nor presence would have an influence on the plot (is it possible for video game characters to even have parents?).
So there you have it. Out of 43 films, 14 films (original or adaptations) make no reference to main characters' parents nor are they relevant to plots of these films, 20 films follow parents being alive and/or dead in source material as a plot point, and only 9 films deliberately 'kill' parents as a plot point (5 original films and 4 which make changes to their source material where parents were or may have been alive –
Aladdin,
Pocahontas,
Chicken Little, and MTR).
