Why were so many of Walt Disney’s princesses motherless?

I never realized it until I was older, but many of the Disney shows I grew up watching on Sunday night or at the theatres had beautiful Disney princesses who were motherless.

I found that several Disney movies have no mother figure. I only became aware of this trend when my children watched Brave and there was an actual mother. She turned into a bear for part of the show, but that’s another story.

 

Here are some motherless Disney movies that I found, who lack the mother figure:

1. Snow White
2. Pinocchio
3. Cinderella
4. The Jungle Book
5. The Little Mermaid
6. Aladdin
7. Pocahontas
8. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
9. Tarzan
10. Atlantis
11. Lilo & Stitch
12. The Rescuers
13. The Black Caldron
14. The Great Mouse Detective
15. Bambi
16. The Fox and the Hound
17. Dinosaur
18. Finding Nemo
19. Beauty and the Beast
20. Frozen

As I researched this to ensure I had my facts right, I found this great blog called “Katy by the Fireplace”. In her blog, she goes deep and lists all of the Disney movies, making a case for ‘missing moms’ being a myth and that there are so many more fathers missing than mothers. You can click on her blog to see the extensive chart she created. I think she has a point, but it doesn’t negate that many Disney princesses lack a mother. Either their mother has died, or is absent for some reason.

 

The Myth of the Missing Mom – Disney’s (and Pixar’s) Canon (1937-2013)

 

However, if we look at the famous Disney Princesses that all little girls fascinate themselves with, there appears to be a more even mix, with 6 movies I counted of princesses having parents with 7 movies I counted not having parents.

So why are the mothers/parents either deceased or absent?

 

I believe it is for a variety of reasons, mostly plot development. It’s much harder for a motherless young girl to tackle large monsters and challenges without the protection and help of her mother. If the female protagonist (princess) makes a lot of mistakes in her quest for something, it makes for a better storyline. And imagine how her character rises to meet the challenges and reach the goals! Not to mention the added drama and interest if you add a cruel stepmother to block her progress.

 

So?

 

For a young girl to lose her mother to death or circumstance, is tragic. Mothers are our first protectors and we typically spend more time with our mothers at a young age, than our fathers. So when our first, most powerful bond is destroyed, we have a harder time rising to mee the challenges of life. And as for character development, a motherless girl is often one we sympathize with, she is the underdog and most readers want to cheer for the underdog.

 

Hope

If young, motherless girls have examples, even in cartoon form, of other girls succeeding in life despite not having their mother present, it gives them an example or encouragement that they can succeed, too. Perhaps these motherless girls must overcome unfair rules, learn to become independent, learn to take reasonable risks, learn new skills, create their own supportive communities, adapt new identities to help other people, or outsmart charming and insincere suitors. Either way, it gives them hope that it is possible to navigate this sometimes cruel world without a mother. It reminds me of a fabulous quote by Brene Brown:

“One day you will tell your story about how you overcame what you went through and it’ll be someone else’s survival guide.” (Brene Brown)

 

But this quote reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the Bible:

“. . . God comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

These Disney stories, I believe, were written to encourage girls who had lost their mothers to overcome their hardships and trials. Seeing beautiful and determined ‘princesses’ succeed despite a lack of mother could encourage them. Children need to know it’s possible to triumph over challenges, and seeing a movie portray it happen, albeit fictional cartoons, is ultimately helpful.