Does Disney have something against me.....or just Mom's in general?

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Permalink Reply by mama's got moxie on December 2, 2008 at 12:02pm

i never noticed that either.

@www.mamasgotmoxie.com

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Permalink Reply by vegasmiss on December 3, 2008 at 9:16am

When I went to ASU, in one of our psychology classes, this was a major topic of discussion at one point. From what I remember, Walt Disney himself had lost his mother early on when he was a child and had major emotional issues because of it. When he began to work on the movies, he used the movies as a way to express his pain and hurt from the the lack of a mother figure. As the Disney movie empire grew, this became a growing component of all the movies, as there was/is no greater way to emotionally engage a child than to think of the loss of a parent. I personally think it's horrible a trend that needs to stop. Mothers are the backbones of so many families, and I think it would be great to see a strong Mommy in a Disney animation movie.

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Permalink Reply by Rugbymom on December 4, 2008 at 8:48am

Wow! I had no idea. ASU? Appy State?

vegasmiss said:

When I went to ASU, in one of our psychology classes, this was a major topic of discussion at one point. From what I remember, Walt Disney himself had lost his mother early on when he was a child and had major emotional issues because of it. When he began to work on the movies, he used the movies as a way to express his pain and hurt from the the lack of a mother figure. As the Disney movie empire grew, this became a growing component of all the movies, as there was/is no greater way to emotionally engage a child than to think of the loss of a parent. I personally think it's horrible a trend that needs to stop. Mothers are the backbones of so many families, and I think it would be great to see a strong Mommy in a Disney animation movie.

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Permalink Reply by jazzy on December 4, 2008 at 11:17am

I did a study on this in college, almost every, single animated film that Disney has put out is missing a parental figure, usually resulting in death. I am not sure what the deal is with that, but then again, they have always been good at making a woman look 'weak' and 'needing the help from a man'.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa Mashburn on December 4, 2008 at 3:38pm

You know what, I noticed that a couple of years ago (when my kids watched the young Disney movies). How strange (whether it's accidental or intentional) that there are not any great mother figures in those movies. Even in Mary Poppins (one of my all time favs) the mom was a bit of a ditz. Thankfully there was Mary there. (sorry, I digress)

Great thoughts!
Melissa aka Mel's World

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Permalink Reply by Barb Jacobucci on December 4, 2008 at 4:18pm

PerkyNihilist said:

When my three boys asked me about the lack of moms in Disney movies I asked them for their theory. They said you need to get the mom out of the way to have an adventure. With your mom around you'll have to wear a coat, eat your veggies and buckle up. I laughed my head off.

This comment wins the prize! Love it!

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Permalink Reply by Annette Holland on December 4, 2008 at 4:19pm

1. Keep in mind that a lot of Disney movies come from Fairy Tales (Grimm) that have no mother figure in them either. Usually the women in these tales were on their way to spinsterhood taking care of their fathers, or their fathers married "the evil stepmother" so that there would be a woman to take care of the maternally orphaned daughter. A girl needs her mom you know =)

Off the top of my head here a few with loving mother figures, not all are animated:
The Lion King
Freaky Friday (and subsequent remakes)
Toy Story 1 & 2
Princess Diaries
The Incredibles
Shaggy Dog (the remake with Tim Allen)
Bambi has a mom who he looks up to until she is shot so I don't think that counts. He had adventures with Thumper prior to her death
Meet The Robinsons (the orphanage lady and later his wife are quite maternal)
Lilo and Stitch (big sister is maternal figure)
Mulan (it's about the heroine, but her mother is supportive)
Lady and the Tramp (the human and Lady)
The Aristocats (no that's a homeschooling mama kitty)
Sleeping Beauty
Peter Pan (the mom is not prominent but she's there, and Wendy has a maternal role)
Swiss Family Robinson
Old Yeller
The Santa Clause movies

I am a huge fairy tale fan, so the lack of a maternal figure hasn't bothered me since the classic Disney movies are based on stories that are hundreds of years old. I have more a problem when Disney re-writes history/literature as in the case of The Jungle Book, Hunchback of Notre Dame and Pocahontas.

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Permalink Reply by Brea on December 4, 2008 at 4:55pm

What I've bolded says all.

vegasmiss said:

Mothers are the backbones of so many families, and I think it would be great to see a strong Mommy in a Disney animation movie.

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Permalink Reply by Rebecca on December 4, 2008 at 6:42pm

I guess that goes along with all of Disney's subliminal messaging.

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Permalink Reply by Donna Cope Sams on December 4, 2008 at 6:45pm

Thanks so much for all of your replies, everyone! They have been helpful! I'm just really glad I'm not the only one who noticed.

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Permalink Reply by Kristina on December 4, 2008 at 8:13pm

Ha, I never noticed that! I think part of it is because in fairy tales the protagonist just always has to seem "alone" in the world to make the audience more sympathetic to them. At least with Disney, it does always seem to work.

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Permalink Reply by Denise Mestanza-Taylor on December 5, 2008 at 2:42am

Kristina said:

Ha, I never noticed that! I think part of it is because in fairy tales the protagonist just always has to seem "alone" in the world to make the audience more sympathetic to them. At least with Disney, it does always seem to work.

Yes, that it!

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