Portrayal of Parents in Disney Movies

There is something that was brought to my attention - almost all Disney princesses come from an unstable household. Here are some examples:

Jasmine: Mother is dead, Father is gullible
Mulan: Mother is dead, Father is over-bearing
Cinderella: Mother and Father are dead, she grows up under an evil step-mother
Belle: Mother is dead, Father is over-protective
Pocohontas: Mother is dead, Father is over-bearing
Ariel: Mother is dead, Father is over-protective and over-bearing

See a trend there? And those are only a few examples. It is interesting that the writers chose to give each leading lady such similar troubled pasts. What kind of message does it send to kids if the children, especially since the princesses go on to make their entire lives about finding true love.

I love Disney, don't get me wrong. But, I feel that the writers could have gotten a bit more creative with their writing for the sake of showing the viewers that a princess does not necessarily need to be from a broken home to have an interesting life.

This article lists all Disney movies and the roles of mothers or women in each. It shows the interesting trend in how the motherly role is portrayed in the movies.

Just a little something to think about :) Happy Halloween!