There have been studies over the years on how children are influenced by what they see on television, but truthfully, I never paid too much attention. Sure, I monitor what my kid’s are watching, but I never thought that the seemingly harmless, totally beloved, Disney character’s could be the reasoning behind some sinister playtime in my house lately.
I first observed my five and three year old playing with a princess castle, princesses and dinosaurs, when I heard things taking a turn for the worst.
As I peered into the room, someone had clearly been thrown from the castle and was covered in dinosaurs.
Good grief, it was a feeding frenzy.
Curious, I asked the kids which princess was attacked by dinosaurs, they both said, in unison, “No, it wasn’t a princess….the Mom is dead.”
Taken slightly aback by the Shining-esque tone in their voices, I think I said something like “that’s not nice,” and “why don’t you pretend a world where the dinosaurs and Moms are friends?”
“No, it wasn’t a princess….the Mom is dead.”
Time went on, one summer day ran into the next, but I couldn’t help but notice that whenever there was pretend play where there was a fight or a battle, the Mom kicked the bucket. It didn’t even matter what the game was or what toys were involved. If someone was going to have to go it was always dear old Mom.
What the hell?
Then, on a rainy weekend morning recently, as we started watching Finding Nemo for the 5767th time, it hit me.
Disney did it.
The Mom in their pretend play isn’t just dead.
Mama is Disney Dead.
My kids weren’t trying to off me, they were mimicking what they’ve seen on their favorite movies time and time again. Just think about it…
Finding Nemo?
Mom dead.
Bambi?
Mom Dead.
Cinderella?
Mom Dead.
Fox & the Hound?
Mom Dead.
Pocahontas?
Mom Dead.
Beauty & the Beast?
(Mom presumed dead)
Snow White?
(Mom presumed dead)
Little Mermaid?
(Mom presumed dead in the first one and in Little Mermaid II, actually kicks the bucket)
Tarzan?
You guessed it….Mom Dead.
Here’s a few examples from the last couple weeks:
I guess I feel a little relieved since my Disney revelation. I mean, I suppose now I’m choosing to believe that my three and five year old kids aren’t in the early stages of planning to off me, or that they aren’t happily pretending play in a world without mothers. No, they’re just under the influence…of Disney.
One thing is for sure though; I’ve taken quite a few films out of our regular DVD cycle. We’ll now be watching The Lion King (where for once it’s the Dad who’s pushing daisies) on loop for a while and see if that changes the balance of play and gives Mom a fighting chance in the near future….
(Oh, and for those who asked, my appearance on the Dr. Oz Show is tomorrow! Check local listings for times & see a preview here with my pink unitard & leopard leotards making a cameo!)
I have noticed the same thing with Disney movies! I sadly fast forward Nemo so my daughter doesn’t see mom biting the dust at the begining. But EVERY time we watch litlle mermaid she asks where is Ariels mom! She is only three so I keep the talk simple but it is still frustrating!!! Thanks for the post!
I get that from my three year old too…especially from Nemo. For some reason, no one cares about Bambi (but I always tear up) lol!
Oh my word, I was just watching the Little Mermaid on the weekend and I had the same thought!! ALL the moms are gone!
I never noticed before, but it’s so true, Disney hates moms! Why are there no moms in any of their movies? I wonder what Walt’s mom did to him as a kid . . . makes you wonder.
We may never know…but she sure did mess it up for the rest of us
I too have a 3 and 5 yr old who are always killing me…
Makes ya feel good, doesn’t it
I’m going to try the Lion King thing and see how that works out. I’ll let you know!
The mother is dead because most Disney films are based on fairy tales. If you read fairy tales in their original form the mother is nearly always dead, reflecting society in a time when women died in childbirth and it wasn’t uncommon for children to be raised by other family members or by a stepmother (or series of stepmothers if stepmom 1 died etc). The evil stepmother cliche is simply a reflection of the not uncommon bias, in a time of limited resources, to favor her own children.
It ain’t Disney, it’s history!
I’ve heard that before, Anne-Marie. But the “real” history of Disney movies killing the mother doesn’t make for a good joke…but then again, neither does me having to tell you this is supposed to be humor. Oh well.
Besides, the history/fairy tale logic flies out the window once you hit Bambi and Nemo. Why couldn’t Nemo have had an overprotective mother? Disney’s just determined to off us all…jk
Seriously, he could have had just as successful a movie with a helicopter Mom, rather than a Dad….I think you might be right, no one is making it out unscathed. Well, at least not the Moms!
LOL I get the humour. I have children who have killed me off too!
Damn fairy tales!
I thougth what Anne-Marie said about history and all that non-humerous stuff. That said, I totally laughed. And shared on FB. Lion King may have the mama around, but the dad gets killed off! I would say I’m sticking to Toy Story, but my daughters kept asking where the dad was in that one too! Can’t catch a break, lol. When my daughters watched Bambi for the first time I intended to watch it with them and carefully monitor the situation. Yeah, right! They popped it in when I was otherwise engaged (they were about 6,7,9 at the time). At the end they came to tell me all about it. Not even mentioning the mom. I started asking questions, wondering if they didn’t understand. “Did something sad happen near the end?” Girls “well, Bambi’s mom was killed. It was very sad. I’m sure Bambi will miss her a lot. But it’s going to be okay, Mom.” Sheesh! My kids are clearly more emotionally balanced than me!
At least your kids are balanced! Mine clearly don’t get the scope of it yet…or at least i hope they don’t
Can’t turn to other cartoons though either…don’t get me started on Max & Ruby. Do they have parents? Where the hell are they? Those kids are just running wild 
I kind of hate Max and Ruby. I just want to slap the Jesus out of max..tmi?
OMG!!! I never realized, but you are absolutely right! Lol!!! I may need to do the same and get them some pro-mom movies!
I agree, and all I want to know is where the hell are Max and Ruby’s parents..
No wonder my eldest hates movies! She can’t bear the thought of being without either parent; cries & can’t sleep if we’re not all together~ she’s 12, still hates sleep away camp & barely ever does sleep-overs!
well when my 5 year old tells me she wants a new mom, i am quick to remind her that snow white and cinderella got new moms and that didn’t work out too well for them. she then resorts back to accepting i’m her mom for keeps.
I too have always noticed this and wondered “Why is it always the mother? Why can’t Disney make a movie with a healthy, thriving, happy family for once?” And typically when there is a mother figure involved, she is the wicked step-mother. I come from a blended family and not one member has ever been wicked. Perhaps Disney didn’t have the best relationship with his mother.
My sister noticed this when her daughter was younger. She always pretended she was an orphan.
I never really thought about the motherless-ness of Disney movies before. But has anyone noticed the “long fall to death” that so many of the characters go through?
Mufasa in LK, Scar in LK (although I think that was more poetic justice), the wicked queen in SW, Lucifer in Cinderella, etc.
So glad I saw this before the show is coming on! I also wanted to say that I noticed this Disney thing before I had kids and did some research on it. I’m not sure if anyone already said this, but the theory is that Walt Disney has guilt over his mom dying in a house he built for her that burnt down. Supposedly, the mom complained about gas smell, and he said he would get to it next week, but she died before then. I googled this type of shit before I had kids when clearly I had too much time. Also, fun fact – I have the original Little Mermaid VHS with the dildo drawn into the cover hahaha – Disney you dirty bastard!
I’m glad your kiddos aren’t planning to off you. We’d have to have words. Then the whole vendetta thing. Your kids might convince my spawn the world is better when the mamas are Disney dead.
Can’t wait for the Dr. Oz!!!!
I won’t let my daughter watch Bambi for this exact reason! How horrible! But… She has watched The Lion King, I sure hope I’m not sending her subliminal messages!
Oh wow you’re so right! I tend to ‘bend’ the truth a bit with my 3 year old and tell her that the Mummy in Bambi has gone to the shops etc, she seems happy with that for now!
Seems like Disney is a lot like Shakespeare!!! Oh tragedy!
Seriously, however, it seems there also is a lot of folks out there who seem to place animals on the same plane as humans… could it be from watching so many cartoons with animals as people?????
I was so thrilled to see in Brave that the mom just played a short stint as bear!
I’m no Disney defender but I am a failed literature major (lucrative!!) and feel the need to point out that the mothers of most literary heroines are dead before the books even start. Dead mothers are a major plot point.
The mom dying creates a lot of sympathy for the main characters right away.Mothers are nurturing, (most of the time.) Babies are more bonded to their mothers,.so it makes us feel very sad for the child or animal. That is probably why they kill off the mother.
Thank you! I have always noticed that Disney hates mommas. Boo! Throw Shrek into your rotation. Ellen
Son of a bitch! You’re right! All the moms die. WTF? Does the dad ever die? Seriously?
[...] and again she has these posts with pictures of things her spawn have done with their toys. These pictures are the inspiration for my post [...]
Put on Lady and the Tramp. Not only is there not a dead mom, but Darling gets pregnant and has a baby. Much more nurturing.