I often hear the complaint that the moms in Disney movies are often dead, missing, or evil.
And it’s true, there are a lot of cruel or long-gone mothers in the Disney franchise.
Here’s a non-comprehensive list:
- In Bambi, Bambi’s mother is killed by hunters
- In Tarzan, Tarzan’s mother and father are killed by a leopard
- In Lilo & Stitch, Lilo’s mother was killed in a car accident, and she is raised by her father and her sister Nani
- In Frozen, Anna and Elsa’s mother and father died at sea
- In Show White and the Seven Dwarves, Snow White’s mother has dead. Her stepmother is the evil queen.
- In Cinderella, Cinderella’s mother died when she was young, and her father remarried Lady Tremaine, who became her evil stepmother.
- In The Little Mermaid, Ariel’s mother is not present. We later learn that she was killed by a ship when Ariel was a young mermaid.
- In Beauty and the Beast, Belle’s mother died when she was a young child.
Why Are Moms Missing in Disney Movies?
Importantly, this trend didn’t start with Disney movies.
There are people who think that Walt Disney’s grief over his own mother’s death led him to avoid having loving, living mothers in his movies. But there are some problems with this theory.
- Walt Disney never implied that this was true.
- Many of the movies were based on classic fairy tales from hundreds of years earlier — and those characters were already dead long before Walt Disney got involved.
- Moms are often dead in children’s literature because it allows kids to realistically go off on a dangerous adventure.
In storytelling, kids with healthy, loving, present moms have a barrier to a big, dangerous adventure: their mom! This is one of the main reasons why they tend to have already passed in stories with child protagonists.
Some Great Moms You May Have Forgotten About in Disney Movies
If you thought that Disney movie moms are usually dead, you may have forgotten about some of these great Disney moms who survive past the ending of the movie:
- Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan. She is the mother of Wendy, John, and Michael, and she is depicted as both kind and loving. She also supports her kids’ imagination and their playfulness.
- Kala in Tarzan. She may not be a human mother, but she is an incredible mother nonetheless! Kala is the gorilla who raises Tarzan as her own son after finding him abandoned in the jungle. She is fiercely protective of Tarzan and loves him unconditionally, despite the fact that he is not a gorilla.
- Sarabi in The Lion King. Simba’s mother Sarabi is known for her wisdom and strength. She is deeply loyal to her pride, and she worries about her son.
- Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast. – Mrs. Potts is the mother to Chip, the adorable little teacup in the movie. She has all the best attributes of an archetypical mom character: kind, warm, and nurturing. Her maternal behaviors also make Belle feel safe.
- Mrs. Jumbo in Dumbo. -This is Dumbo’s mother, who is fiercely protective of her son. She is shown to be very loving and affectionate towards Dumbo, and of course, she is devastated when he is separated from her! “Baby of Mine” is one of the sweetest songs in the Disney songbook.
- Helen Parr/Elastigirl in The Incredibles. She is a superhero and a great mother who uses her powers to protect her family. Oh, and she’s funny, too!
- Fa Li in Mulan. Fa Li is protective of her daughter and wants only the best of her. She wants to keep her family safe.
- Rapunzel’s mother, the Queen in Tangled. The Queen is Rapunzel’s mother who worries about her daughter and desperately wants her back.
- Queen Elinor in Brave. As the mother of Princess Merida, Queen Elinor wants her free-spirited daughter to conform to expectations, but it doesn’t go her way. She ultimately learns to love and accept Merida’s unique self.
- Perdita in 101 Dalmatians. Perdita and Pongo are the parents of the 15 missing puppies. She does everything she can to save her babies — and the other stolen Dalmatians — from Cruella De Vil.
