# A common theme in Disney movies... **URL:** \ **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:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/41 "2003-04-03T17:12:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Threadkiller \* > \*\*[The Emperor’s New Grove](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120917) is a bit different. > > The Emperor Kuzco has no parents mentioned (His father and mother are presumably dead since a) he _is_ the Emperor and b) Yzma was his “mother figure.”) > > There \* is\* however possibly the strongest “traditional” family ever shown by Disney in the Pacha clan. There is a loving mother and father two (third on the way) loving and active kids. \*\* True. But neither of the two main characters’ parents fit into the film in any way, I put it in the “not relevant” category. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/42 "2003-04-03T20:56:56Z")
Heck, _The Emperor’s New Groove_ was so far removed from the Disney formula, it should have been a Warner Bros. movie! 😃 If Chuck Jones had ever done a Disney movie, he would have done _Groove._ ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/43 "2003-04-03T21:00:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\* > If Chuck Jones had ever done a Disney movie, he would have done _Groove._ \*\* Agreed. That was my first thought when I saw TENG as well. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Phelan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Phelan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phelan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/44 "2003-04-03T21:51:52Z")
I’m pretty sure that you can add the movie _Something Wicked This Way Comes,_ to the single parent list for Disney films. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/45 "2003-04-04T00:19:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by reoch \* > \*\*ISome 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 \*\* I have no idea where this idiocy (not you **Reoch** , the urban legend you’re quoting) came from. Um. Sleeping Beauty had both parents. Sorry. So you’re down to 4 examples. And remember, the argument isn’t “Why don’t the parents take an active role and remain deeply relevant to the story?” (answer: because, in kidlit, at least the non-dreary stuff like Judy Blume, the main goal is to get the kids _away_ from the parents so they can have adventures), it’s “Why are there no two-parent families?” Let’s look at some others: 1. 101 Dalmations. Both parents are around. 2. The Jungle Book: No parents (but if you count Baghera and Baloo as parents, Mowgli had two…they were the same gender, but let’s not quibble, shall we?) 3. The Resucers: None, then two surrogate parents (Bianca and the other mouse) then two real parents in the end. 4. Peter Pan: John, Michael and Wendy had two parents, at the end, so did the lost boys (and if you count Peter, his parents aren’t dead, unless it’s through old age: his ‘origin’ was that 5. Princess Aurora (in Sleeping Beauty) had both parents 6. I’m pretty sure Hercules had two mortal (and two immortal) parents. 7. Mulan (I think) had two parents. 8. Alice Liddle did, in fact, have two parents, but they didn’t show up in the movie (or the book, IIRC) 9. Pinnochio could be counted either way: Gepetto as father and Blue Fairy as mother (she brought him to life after all) or not counting the blue fairy. 10. Tarzan had no parents at all (not counting the apes) or two (at least in the books, IIRC) counting the apes. 11. Mary Poppins: two parents 12. Bedknobs and Broomsticks: No parents, or, counting Emelius and Eglantine, two parents. 13. Lady and the Tramp: they’re adults, so it doesn’t matter, but at the end, all assorted babies of either species has two parents. And that’s off the top of my head. There’s only a very few Disney movies with one parent. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/46 "2003-04-04T02:56:55Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Peter Pan: John, Michael and Wendy had two parents, at the end, so did the lost boys (and if you count Peter, his parents aren’t dead, unless it’s through old age: his ‘origin’ was that) I think you’re missing the point here. Peter has no parental influences in his life; we don’t know whether his mom and dad are alive or dead, but either way they aren’t around. Ditto for the Lost Boys. Pinnochio is a special case, as is Hercules. I’m inclined to count Geppetto as a single father, and put Hercules in the “Two Parents” family. (although in the original myth, it would be a single mother situation, since Zeus doesn’t stick around after boinking Herc’s mom.) Also, in _The Rescuers Down Under,_ not only does the boy have no father, but the giant eagle is a single parent as well. (The bad guy shot the eagle’s mate.) ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/47 "2003-04-04T11:48:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pizzabrat \* > \*\*Why are you arguing with me when obviously you don’t know what you’re talking about? What “plot device”? Ariel’s motherlessness was not a “plot device”. It didn’t affect the story in any way. Her presence was just unnecessary, so they didn’t draw her. Same with Beauty & the Beast. How was Belle’s motherlessness plot device? You don’t know anything about the economy of filmmaking. Studios don’t produce anything they wish, they produce what they NEED to. Writers don’t write whatever they want, they write what’s important to the piece. This goes doubly so for animated films because they’re so much more expensive. It’s not just a “nifty idea” of mine, it’s fact. Why Disney makes so many live-action movies with broken homes is another discussion, but the animated movie question has been answered. \*\* So, let’s get this straight. Are you saying that Charles Perrault, Collodi, H.C. Andersen, Charles Dickens, J.M. Barrie, Victor Hugo, Rudyard Kipling, A.A. Milne, Lewis Carroll, Sir Thomas Mallory, Ward Greene, Kenneth Grahame, Washington Irving, the German folk tale writers, the French folk tale writers, the English folk historians, an unknown oriental author and numerous others, all left parents out of their stories to save Disney some money or that Disney picked those stories to save the cost of animating a couple of extra characters? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/48 "2003-04-04T12:03:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diceman \* > \*\*I think you’re missing the point here. Peter has no parental influences in his life; we don’t know whether his mom and dad are alive or dead, but either way they aren’t around. Ditto for the Lost Boys. \*\* But the story of Peter Pan was about Wendy, Michael and John. Peter and the Lost Boys were the backdrop. Wendy (and to a much lesser degree) Michael and John are the viewpoint characters and they have two parents (and a dog). > [@](#): > > \*\*Also, in _The Rescuers Down Under,_ not only does the boy have no father, but the giant eagle is a single parent as well. (The bad guy shot the eagle’s mate.) \*\* Heh. Fair enough 🙂 I’d forgotten that one. ---
**Author:** ![ryoushi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@ryoushi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryoushi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/49 "2003-04-04T12:24:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > \*\*So, let’s get this straight. > > Are you saying that Charles Perrault, Collodi, H.C. Andersen, Charles Dickens, J.M. Barrie, Victor Hugo, Rudyard Kipling, A.A. Milne, Lewis Carroll, Sir Thomas Mallory, Ward Greene, Kenneth Grahame, Washington Irving, the German folk tale writers, the French folk tale writers, the English folk historians, an unknown oriental author and numerous others, all left parents out of their stories to save Disney some money or that Disney picked those stories to save the cost of animating a couple of extra characters? \*\* I’d guess Disney picked those stories because they were well-known and/or to save on royalties (especially in the case of stuff like Cinderella and Aladdin). ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/50 "2003-04-04T14:35:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \* > \*\*Well, going down the list in Disney’s Animated Classics: > > **Family not relevant** > The Sword in the Stone\*\* It’s been a while, but I seem to recall family (or lack thereof) being particularly relevant to this story. The young Arthur is an orphan entrusted into the care of relatives, who are at worst hostile (Sir Kay) and at best indifferent (Sir What’s-his-name-with-the-moustache). I think this film should go under the “Missing Parents” category. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/51 "2003-04-04T14:45:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ryoushi \* > \*\*I’d guess Disney picked those stories because they were well-known and/or to save on royalties (especially in the case of stuff like Cinderella and Aladdin). \*\* I’m sure that’s right. The point is that many of Disney’s animated movies are based on existing stories that were not written for the screen, so the characters included were not influenced by animation costs. In fact Disney often added characters that weren’t in the original books. Perhaps there is a false assumption in the OP that parentless characters are typical in Disney films. As other people have said, there are several films where the central characters are adults that have not been orphaned abnormally, or characters that have parents that don’t appear in the plot. But where children in the audience (or young readers) are expected to identify with the central character, taking that character’s parents away is likely to provide dramatic tension and problems to overcome. Many written stories are also centred on children whose parents are absent or non-existent. Obviously giving children a central role, or peculiar parent substitutes, or magic powers, or scary adversaries are all ways to make a story more exciting than to set them in a secure world where mum and dad can step in to take control at any moment. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923/52 "2003-05-14T05:55:55Z")
On the Disney Channel, most of the original series, both animated and live action, (Lizzie McGuire, The Proud Family, Kim Possible, Even Stevens, That’s So Raven) have protagonists living in happy, functional, intact families. The reruns of Disney produced shows from other networks or syndication (Boy Meets World, Sister, Sister, Smart Guy, Honey I Shrunk the Kids) tend to focus on intact families. In one case, (Boy Meets World), many storylines had at their core the contrast between the protagonist’s intact, functional family and his best friend’s broken home. The original movies tend to be much more likely than not to focus on characters from intact, functional families. On the Disney Channel, at least, the message seems to generally be very pro-family. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-common-theme-in-disney-movies/165923.md?page=2)