# Disney and the Nuclear Family
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 28, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020 "2005-11-28T06:02:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/1 "2005-11-28T06:02:02Z")
I had heard an interesting stat that there are only 3 Disney movies where:
1. Both of the main character’s parents are shown
2. Both parents survive the entire movie
A few groundrules - they much be actual Disney movies (no Touchstone Pictures) and must have had a theatrical release (no direct-to-video sequels).
Off-hand I can think of one: 101 Dalmatians (Bongo & Perdita)
What are the others?
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### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/2 "2005-11-28T06:13:39Z")
Tommy Kirk had two parents (Fred McMurray and Jean Hagen) who survive the film in [The Shaggy Dog](http://imdb.com/title/tt0053271/).
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### Author:  [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/3 "2005-11-28T06:14:08Z")
Peter Pan.
Lady and the Tramp.
Mary Poppins.
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### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/4 "2005-11-28T06:14:44Z")
Oh… and both parents were alive in _Mary Poppins_.
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### Author:  [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/5 "2005-11-28T06:19:35Z")
_Hercules_ had Zeus and Alcmene.
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### Author:  [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/6 "2005-11-28T06:22:47Z")
[Mulan](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/)
[Hercules](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119282/), I guess
[Flight of the Navigator?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091059/)
[The Ugly Dachshund](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061135/)
Zowie, there’s a lot of things on [the list](http://www.imdb.com/company/co0008970/) that I’ve never seen–and don’t want to!
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### Author:  [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/7 "2005-11-28T06:31:46Z")
Forgot Song of the South.
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### Author:  [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/8 "2005-11-28T06:36:07Z")
Didn’t the parents of Sleeping Beauty survive the movie?
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### Author:  [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/9 "2005-11-28T06:37:30Z")
_The Parent Trap_
Yes, the two were divorced throughout most of the movie, but they did get back together before THE END.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/10 "2005-11-28T06:38:09Z")
I had heard this stat in the mid-90s so Mulan and Hercules would have to be added to the “list of 3”
So we’re up to 9 out of all of the Disney films. Any more?
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### Author:  [@BigDummy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDummy)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/11 "2005-11-28T06:43:20Z")
[Swiss Family Robinson](http://imdb.com/title/tt0054357/combined)?
And although the dad’s not in most of the movie, I’m pretty sure he’s alive at the end of [Old Yeller](http://imdb.com/title/tt0050798/combined). Unless you count the dog and not the boy as the main character, then I guess not so much.
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### Author:  [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/12 "2005-11-28T06:47:59Z")
> [@Fern Forest](#):
>
> Didn’t the parents of Sleeping Beauty survive the movie?
Yes.
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### Author:  [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/13 "2005-11-28T07:22:01Z")
Even in many of the ones mentioned, at least one of the parents are emotionally distant. **Peter Pan** – father doesn’t understand the children, and wants to make Wendy leave the nursery. **Mary Poppins** – dad’s a proper Edwardian gent who won’t have anything to do with his runny-nosed offspring…until Mary Poppins teaches him how to fly a kite. **Song of the South** – I _think_ the parents are getting a divorce, and the little boy has to hang out with Uncle Remus because no one else will take care of him. **Lady and the Tramp** – don’t even remember parents there, unless you count the people who owned Lady, and they weren’t really relevant.
The parents in **101 Dalmations** and **Swiss Family Robinson** were not only both alive and well, but they were also relevant to the plot, loved their children, and were involved in their children’s lives. _That’s_ rare for a Disney movie.
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### Author:  [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/14 "2005-11-28T10:12:39Z")
Lady and the Tramp have puppies that they love very much.
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### Author:  [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/15 "2005-11-28T12:44:47Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#):
>
> The parents in **101 Dalmations** and **Swiss Family Robinson** were not only both alive and well, but they were also relevant to the plot, loved their children, and were involved in their children’s lives. _That’s_ rare for a Disney movie.
I daresay that’s rare for any kind of movie. Or any TV show, for that matter.
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### Author:  [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/16 "2005-11-28T13:16:59Z")
Rare for children’s literature.
Children’s lit in particular is fond of orphans (Anne Shirley and Tom Sawyer) and widows/widowers. The source material for a lot of fairy tales (which is what Disney based a lot of their material from) lacks a mother or father. There is a theory that this has to do with empowering the kids to be able to act without the protective arm of parents and that you need to take the parents away to create permission for adventures. Harry Potter does it, the parents are absent in the Narnia books.
Then when you translate something into film, you often cut characters out in the interest of cost and/or storyline. Which means when you have two parents, you can usually make them one just fine.
Disney gets slammed for this one a lot - few whole families - particularly in their animated pictures - but its more a characteristic of children’s literature than Disney films.
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### Author:  [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/17 "2005-11-28T14:56:20Z")
Exactly.
Plus the missing parent or emotionally distant parent are the major force driving the plot. This underscores how important parents are. If the parents were both alive and loving and liked what the kid was doing, that would be boring.
Name family movies by other film companies that have the loving parents.
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### Author:  [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/18 "2005-11-28T15:05:30Z")
The thing about these lists is that most times when people say “only three movies” or somesuch, they’re really talking about famous memorable movies that Disney has made. How many dozens have been made and instantly forgotten, as opposed to classics like **The Parent Trap** , **Old Yeller** , etc.?
I would imagine if one slogged his way through every single movie Disney has released theatrically, the number would go somewhat higher.
Wouldn’t it?
Sir Rhosis
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### Author:  [@ImaginalDisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ImaginalDisc)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/19 "2005-11-28T15:10:41Z")
In “The Emperor’s New Grove” there’s a classic neuclear family. However, the mother is barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen mostly, so make of it what you will.
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### Author:  [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-and-the-nuclear-family/333020/20 "2005-11-28T16:06:57Z")
**The Incredibles** , I believe, qualifies.
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