Parent's Weekend Blues: Lack of Moms in Disney Films

Being an “orphan” on parents-weekend, I saw (and felt) the impact that mothers make on their children’s lives. I saw the classic ‘drop bags, run and hug’ mom. I saw moms crying because they were so happy to see their sons and daughters. I saw mom’s doing laundry and cleaning their child’s room. The overall feeling on campus was warmer than any other weekend; Everyone was happy. Since I am jealous of those who go to see their moms (and families), I thought it would be appropriate to discuss lack of mothers in Disney films.

Historically, mothers have not played large roles in Disney films. In older films like Peter Pan (1953), Mothers not mentioned. Wendy, one of the protagonist’s and Peter’s love interest, is assigned to be the “mom” of the Lost Boys. This furthers the point that children need a mother in their lives. Originally, the Lost Boys are troublemakers and unschooled, they make impulsive decisions and find themselves in bad situations. This can be attributed to their lack of a mother figure guiding them between right and wrong. When Wendy comes, she provides some supervision and they revere her as a mother. The fact that they look up to her and listen to her shows that mothers are imperative for a growing child. 

In Aladdin (1992) and Pocahontas (1995), Jasmine and Pocahontas both are being forced into an arranged marriage. Their fathers do not understand that they do not want to be married to those men; Without a material figure they have no one to turn to and therefore feel trapped without many options. They fit the rebellious daughter, “free-spirit” stereotype mainly because of their lack of guidance from a maternal figure. Disney princesses who lack strong mother figures tend to make bad choices in relation to men. Anna from Frozen’s (2013) parents died in a storm; She instantly falls in love with the villain of the film, Hans, and almost dies because of him. Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989) also makes bad choices in relation to a man. She gives her voice to villain, Ursula, to get legs so she can find the Prince on land. What a mother should have instilled in her was the fact that you need to talk to the man in order for him to fall in love with you; It is not all about looks.

When mothers are in Disney films, they are usually portrayed as evil. In Cinderella (1950), Cinderella’s stepmother takes care of her because her father died. Lady Tremaine is characterized as ugly, mean, and sneaky. She tries to sabotage Cinderella’s chances of meeting the prince and treats her like a slave. She shows obvious favoritism to her two biological daughters, Anastasia and Drizella. Since mothers are not regularly in Disney films, it generalizes that most moms are innately evil.  Lady Tremaine provides no guidance or help to Cinderella, which defeats the purpose of a mother. In a more recent film, Mother Gothel from Tangled (2010) portrays mother’s as emotionally abusive. Not only does she feed Rapunzel lies throughout her life, she belittles Rapunzel. She gives her backhanded compliments and insults Rapunzel, then acts like she is just kidding. For example, in Mother Gothel’s song “Mother Knows Best” she sings, “On your own, you won't survive, Sloppy, under-dressed, Immature, clumsy - please! They'll eat you up alive…” She also calls her a little “chubby” and says she is only telling her because she “wuv”’s her. There is no justification for saying any of those things about Rapunzeland the abusive manner in which Mother Gothel locks Rapunzel in the tower and mocks her characterizes Disney mothers as cruel.

            However, there are a couple movies that have strong, positive mother figures. In The Lion King, both Simba and Nala have mothers that genuinely care about them. They are seen cleaning and looking after their cubs. Rarely we see them become angry with their cubs, and when do it is justified. Also in Tarzan, we see Kala adopt Tarzan when she finds him alone in the jungle. She defies Terk, the gorilla pack leader, in order to keep a human baby. She protects him and raises him as if he were her biological child.

            After researching lack of mothers in Disney films, there are theories of why earlier films lack mothers. Walt’s mom died in a tragic accident. Walt bought his parents a house after he started making money from the company. Unfortunately, the house had a gas leak and his mother died. Walt, having purchased the house, felt an overwhelming sense of guilt for the rest of his life. The earlier films without mother figures can be attributed to Walt’s sadness; However, many film without mothers were created after Walt’s death. I think lack of mothers render the main characters helpless and show growth in the film.