Roles of mothers in Disney media

The heroes and heroines of most Disney movies come from unstable family backgrounds;^[1] most are either orphaned or have no mothers.^[2] Few, if any, have only single-parent mothers. In other instances, mothers are presented as "bad surrogates" eventually "punished for their misdeeds."^[3] There is much debate about the reasoning behind this phenomenon.^[4] Some feminists (such as Amy Richards) believe it is to create dramatic interest in the main characters; if mothers were present to guide them, they argue, there would not be much of a plot.^[5] Some entertainment journalists (such as G. Shearer) believe that it is to show that a happy family does not have to consist of a mother, father and a child and that a family can be one parent and one child, or one parent and many siblings.^[6] Below is a list of some notable examples of this aspect of Disney movies and television series.^[7]

Categories of mothers

No (or 'absent') parents

Pinocchio: Pinocchio - no mother.^[8] The Blue Fairy acts as a mother to Pinocchio.
Peter Pan: The Lost Boys - no mother,^[9] so they appoint Wendy as their mother.
The Sword in the Stone: Arthur, or "Wart", has no parents.^[10]
The Rescuers: Penny - no parents, but gets adopted parents by the end.
The Great Mouse Detective: Olivia Flaversham - no mother.
The Lion King: Sarabi is a single mother to Simba after his father Mufasa was killed by Scar in a wildebeest stampede.
Oliver & Company: Jenny Foxworth - Jenny Foxworth - her mother is mentioned to arrive in time for her birthday, but is not shown.
A Goofy Movie: Goofy is a single father to his son Max. Max's mother has died and Goofy tells Max "she's up there with the stars". Her death is not explained.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel and her 6 sisters - no mother. In the direct-to-DVD sequel The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, their mother appears early in the movie but gets killed by a pirate ship.
The Rescuers Down Under: Cody - no father present; Marahute's chicks lose their father to McLeach.
Beauty and the Beast: Belle - no mother.
Aladdin: Jasmine - no mother;^[8] a mother character was originally written for Aladdin's character, but was ultimately cut so he has no parents, although he finds his father in Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
Pocahontas: Pocahontas - no mother^[8] (mentioned only; revealed to have been dead for years).
The Emperor's New Groove: Emperor Kuzco - no parents present, assumed dead (since "Emperor" is a hereditary role).
Lilo & Stitch: Lilo and Nani - parents dead prior the beginning of the movie.
Pirates of the Caribbean (film series): Elizabeth, Jack - mother referenced as dead (Elizabeth's mother is noted by her father's ghost but never seen), Will - mother mentioned having died, father is "Bootstrap" Bill Turner.
Ratatouille: Remy - no mother. Had a father. Linguini - mother was not shown on screen and is mentioned to have died. His father was the late master chef Auguste Gusteau.
Tron: Legacy: Sam Flynn - no mother. No father for the majority of his life as well.
Wreck-It Ralph: Ralph - mother was mentioned.
Big Hero 6: Both parents dead prior to film. Brother dead at start of film. Adoptive mother figure "aunt".

Wicked stepmother

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Queen Grimhilde.
Cinderella: Lady Tremaine.
Enchanted: Queen Narissa.

Mother killed and/or captured

Dumbo: Mrs. Jumbo is locked up for the majority of the movie, but is not killed.
Bambi: Bambi - mother killed by a gunshot.
The Jungle Book: Mowgli - his mother Raksha, killed by Shere Khan.
The Fox and the Hound: Tod - mother killed by a gunshot.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel, Attina, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Adella and Alana - their mother Athena, killed by pirates.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Quasimodo - mother killed by Frollo.^[8]
Tarzan: Tarzan - mother, (and as well as father), killed by Sabor.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Princess Kida - mother killed while trying to save Atlantis from its first fate.
Lilo & Stitch: Lilo's parents died in a car accident some time before Lilo & Stitch.
Finding Nemo: Nemo - mother not got killed by barracuda also Nemos's brothers and sisters .
Brother Bear: Koda - mother killed by Kenai.
Frozen: Elsa and Anna - mother (as well as father) killed in shipwreck. Kristoff - revealed to be an orphan.

Biological mothers

Dumbo: Mrs. Jumbo, single mother.
Bambi: Faline - mother of twins Gurri and Geno.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians: Perdita - only to the original litter of 15 puppies.
The Rescuers Down Under: Cody's mother (name not mentioned) - single.
Bolt: Penny's mother (name not mentioned) - single.
The Lion King: Sarabi - mother of Simba; Sarafina - mother of Nala; -Nala - mother of Kiara.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride: Nala - Kiara's mother; Zira - mother of Nuka, Vitani, and Kovu.
The Lion King 1½: Ma - Timon's mother.
The Aristocats: Duchess, mother of Toulouse, Marie, and Berlioz.
Beauty and the Beast: Mrs. Potts, single mother.
Mulan: Fa Li, Mulan's mother.
The Princess and the Frog: Eudora, Tiana's mother.
Tangled: Queen of Corona, Rapunzel's mother.
Brave: Queen Elinor, mother of Merida, .
Lady and the Tramp: Lady - mother of Scamp, Annette, Collette and Danielle. Jane Brown - mother of James Brown Junior.
Toy Story (franchise): Andy's mother (name not mentioned) - single [it has been theorized that Andy's mother is divorced from/divorcing his father because of the family moving to a smaller house (Toy Story) and selling extra items in a yard sale (Toy Story 2)].
Treasure Planet: Sarah Hawkins, single mother.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea: Princess Ariel - Melody's mother.
Peter Pan: Mary Darling - Wendy, John, and Michael's mother.
Return to Never Land: Wendy - Jane and Danny's mother.
Sleeping Beauty: Queen Leah, Aurora's mother.
Hercules: Hera.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame II: Esmerelda - Zephyr's mother.
The Emperor's New Groove: Chicha - mother of Chaca, Tipo, Yupi; Azma - mother of Yzma.
The Incredibles: Helen Parr/Elastigirl - mother of Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack Parr.
Meet the Robinsons: Lewis's mother (name not mentioned) - single. Franny Robinson - mother of Wilbur Robinson; Petunia Robinson - mother of Laszlo and Tallulah Robinson.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids trilogy: Diane Szalinski, mother of Nick, Amy, and Adam Szalinski.
Zootopia: Bonnie Hopps, mother of Judy Hopps.

Adoptive mothers

One Hundred and One Dalmatians: Perdita - only to the other 84 puppies.
Tarzan: Kala - Tarzan's adoptive mother.
The Jungle Book 2: Messua - Mowgli's adoptive mother.
Bambi II: Mena - Bambi's adoptive mother.
Meet the Robinsons: Lucille - Lewis' adoptive mother.
Tangled: Mother Gothel - An example of an evil adoptive mother.
Lady and the Tramp II: Lady - Adoptive mother of Angel.

References

↑ Henry A. Giroux, Fugitive Cultures: Race, Violence, and Youth (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 1996).
↑ Lynn H. Collins, Joan C. Chrisler, and Michelle R. Dunlap, Charting a New Course for Feminist Psychology (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002), 94.
↑ Stephen M. Fjellman, Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America (Westview Press, 1992), 263.
↑ Snopes.com, Disney Movie Mothers - Walt Disney - My Mother The Scar.
↑ Ask Amy
↑ Geoff Shearer, "Disney keeps killing movie mothers: DISNEY is continuing its tradition of being G-rated entertainment's biggest mother flickers," Courier Mail (March 07, 2008).
↑ Paul Loukides and Linda K. Fuller, Beyond the Stars: Themes and Ideologies in American Popular Film (Popular Press, 1993), 8.
1 2 3 4 Sara Munson Deats and Lagretta Tallent Lenker, Aging and Identity: A Humanities Perspective (Greenwood Publishing Group), 210.
↑ Geronimi, Clyde; Jackson, Wilfred; Luske, Hamilton; Kinney, Jack (1953-02-05), Peter Pan, retrieved 2016-04-05
↑ Stock, Lorraine K. (2015-01-01). "Reinventing an Iconic Arthurian Moment: The Sword in the Stone in Films and Television". Arthuriana. 25 (4): 66–83. doi:10.1353/art.2015.0047. ISSN 1934-1539.

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