# A common theme in Disney movies...
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 2, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923 "2003-04-02T08:22:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@reoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reoch)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/1 "2003-04-02T08:22:06Z")
I was having a discussion with my friend a couple of minutes ago and she brought up an an interesting point about Disney films. We actually go into an argument about why in almost ALL of the Disney movies, the charaters are from a single parent, or no mention of one of the parents.
Some examples can be uh…Dumbo, Poccahontas, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, etc.
Just wondering your thoughts on why Disney would repeatedly do this…was it not important enough to get into or something else?..just curious I guess
:rolleyes: Reoch
---
### Author:  [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/2 "2003-04-02T08:31:36Z")
I think in Sleeping Beauty she had both parents when she went to sleep. Anyway we did do a thread about this a few months ago. Maybe someone can dig it up and link to it.
Incidently most Final Fantasy stories have the same thing. Not just the main character but most of the characters. And not just the main series but the gameboy series as well.
Why? It’s just a useful and interesting theme for writers to use for heroes and villians. A handicap for the hero to overcome and a reason for the villian to descend into depravity.
---
### Author:  [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/3 "2003-04-02T08:35:31Z")
Here’s the [Disney mother thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=154156&highlight=little+mermaid+aladdin)
---
### Author:  [@reoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reoch)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/4 "2003-04-02T10:32:18Z")
Thanx for the link…should’ve checked first ei?
---
### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/5 "2003-04-02T10:55:24Z")
All the movies you listed are animated children’s movies. Are you saying it’s true of all Disney movies, or just those? I’ve gotten the impression that most kids’ movies are like that. I never really did a count, though. On [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)’s top 10 children’s movies list, five are by Disney. I’ve only seen one of the other five, _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_, and the main character is an orphan in that. Can someone who’s seen a lot of kid’s movies say something about this?
---
### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/6 "2003-04-02T13:55:30Z")
Plus, the main character tends to have a totally lame and incompetent friend.
---
### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/7 "2003-04-02T14:07:19Z")
The Wife refers to these as “Dead Parent Movies.” Where really cool stuff and adventures happen to kids who have lost one or more parents.
We prefer films where the parents die and the kid’s lives become a living hell. It’s cathartic.
---
### Author:  [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/8 "2003-04-02T14:15:41Z")
Because it scares the children in the audience, thereby helping to create a sense of dramatic tension.
---
### Author:  [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/9 "2003-04-02T14:21:08Z")
All of those posts of psycho-babble and “story depth” rationalization and no one hops on the obvious. It’s the money. Animation is expensive. You can’t just find an actor, you have to create her from scratch, and each character model has to be paid for. If they can get away with one less character being rendered, they will; it would be too expensive not to. _Alladin_ worked without parents, and so it was produced without parents. The father in _The Little Mermaid_ controlled Ariel’s life all by himself. What would be the purpose of adding a mother? And where, exactly, would a mother fit in _Beauty and the Beast_? All this talk about a character being stronger by overcoming their parent’s absense or pandering to a child’s fear of orphanage really works for the story after the movie is made, but the initial reason is the cost.
---
### Author:  [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/10 "2003-04-02T14:23:19Z")
Is that also why the 1-parent theme is carried over in their live-action movies, as well?
---
### Author:  [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/11 "2003-04-02T14:42:44Z")
…such as? What are some single-parented Disney live-action movies? As far as I know dual-parented homes far out-number single-parented in their live action features. There’s _Mary Poppins_, _The Santa Clause_, _Max Keeble_, eh… I can’t think of anymore. The only single parent one I could think of is _Bedknobs and Broomsticks_, and that’s because the father and the witch had to end up together at the end.
---
### Author:  [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/12 "2003-04-02T14:45:09Z")
There’s also _Honey, I Shrunk the Kids_ and _Spy Kids_, but I didn’t mention those because dual-parentage is integral to the title and the plot, respectivley.
---
### Author:  [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/13 "2003-04-02T15:04:43Z")
Well, going down the list in Disney’s Animated Classics:
**Missing Parents**
Snow White
Dumbo (where’s his father? - although it’s not an issue in the film. In any event, his mother is taken away during the film.)
Bambi
Cinderella
Peter Pan (from Peter’s perspective)
The Jungle Book (Mowgli may have had parents, but, if so, he was obviously seperated from them for years)
The Rescuers
The Black Cauldron (the main character’s parents aren’t mentioned, but he’s living with a mentor, so let’s put him here).
Oliver and Company (Oliver is alone and separated from his parents and family).
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
The Lion King (I’ll put Simba here since Mufasa dies halfway through the movie)
Mulan (she’s missing a parent, right? It’s been a while since I saw this movie)
Tarzan
Lilo and Stitch
**Intact Families**
Sleeping Beauty
101 Dalmatians (from the puppies’ perspective)
Herclues (even though he’s separated from his divine parents, he does grow up with two perfectly good human parents).
**Family not relevant**
Pinocchio (unless you count Gepatto, in which case he’s in an intact family)
Fantasia
Saludos Amigos
The Three Caballeros
Make Mine Music
Fun and Fancy Free
Melody Time
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Alice in Wonderland (she has an older sister, but her parents are not relevant to the story. Indeed, we don’t know if she has them or not).
Lady and the Tramp
The Sword in the Stone
The Aristocats
Robin Hood
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (who knows if C.R. has parents – it doesn’t matter for the story)
The Fox and the Hound
Fantasia 2000
The Emporer’s New Groove
Atlantis
**Not sure about** (because I haven’t seen the movie)
Great Mouse Detective
The Rescuers Down Under
Pocahantas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Treasure Planet.
So, based on my highly unscientific method, there were 16 films where there was a missing parent (or parents), 3 films where the main characters had a fairly intact family and 18 where the family life didn’t make a difference in the story.
Note: This list only includes those films that are on the Disney’s Animated Classics list. It does not include Live Action movies (The Absent Minded Professor, Parent Trap, etc.), Pixar releases (Monsters Inc, Toy Story, etc.) or mixed animated/live action movies (Mary Poppins. Pete’s Dragon, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, etc.)
Zev Steinhardt
---
### Author:  [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/14 "2003-04-02T15:07:38Z")
_The Santa Clause_ is a dual-parent movie? I guess it’s how you interpret it; the father is divorced, but the mother has a small but significant role also. Still, the whole movie centers on a kid going on an adventure with his one, unhindered parent.
(and the plot of the sequel hinges on the “my dad has no wife” concept)
Ah well. However you look at it, Disney made up for it with _Hercules_, where you could argue the kid had a total of four parents altogether.
---
### Author:  [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/15 "2003-04-02T15:16:29Z")
I think Gepetto would be a single parent.
---
### Author:  [@Elvis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvis)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/16 "2003-04-02T15:26:23Z")
In _Toy Story_, I have noticed, there is no mention made of the missing parent, but you never see Andy’s dad, only his mom…
---
### Author:  [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/17 "2003-04-02T15:36:49Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \*
> \*\*Well, going down the list in Disney’s Animated Classics:
>
> **Not sure about** (because I haven’t seen the movie)
> Great Mouse Detective
> The Rescuers Down Under
> Pocahantas
> The Hunchback of Notre Dame
> Treasure Planet.
> \*\*
**The Great Mouse Detective**
The child mouse whose father is kidnapped has no mother.
\*\* The Rescuers Down Under\*\*
The boy has only a mother.
**Pocahantas**
Her mother has died sometime before the story begins
**The Hunchback of Notre Dame**
Quasi’s mother is killed by the bad guy
**Treasure Planet**
The hero has only a mother.
So these would all fall into the missing parent column.
---
### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/18 "2003-04-02T15:45:36Z")
Rescuers Down Under doesn’t count. It’s if the protagonist is missing a parent, not just any character from the story. And though I haven’t seen The Great Mouse Detective, I think the same would apply.
---
### Author:  [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/19 "2003-04-02T15:46:44Z")
Just a few Disney live-action movies with 1-or-0 parents:
The Parent Trap
Pollyanna
Mighty Joe Young
Annie
Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book
The Light in the Forest
Kidnapped
Summer Magic
Into the West
Cinderella (Wide World of Disney 1997)
Johnny Tremain
The Moon Spinners
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken
The Journey of Natty Gann
The Shaggy Dog
Heidi (1993)
Anne of Avonlea
Escape to Witch Mountain
Oliver Twist (1997)
Flash
So Dear to My Heart
No Deposit, No Return
Treasure Island
There are, no doubt, more. I just got bored with scrolling through synopses looking for words like “orphan.”
---
### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/20 "2003-04-02T16:05:48Z")
Plus, what’s with all that damn singing?
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923.md?page=2)