The Negative Portrayal of Mothers in Disney Films :: Movies

The Negative Portrayal of Mothers in Disney Films Why is it that in Disney created films, the motherly figures and role models are completely diminished whereas the fatherly roles are extravagant? Why does mainly a woman play the role of the vilan? If you notice, you will find that in just about every classic Disney film, the mother is portrayed in a horrible and questionable fashion. But, there is always a fatherly or male figure that everyone boasts about. First, let us start with the films where the main character fails to have a mother mentioned or seen at all: The classic movie of Aladdin; neither Aladdin nor Princess Jasmine had a motherly figure. But, Aladdin did have the Genie, who was male, and Jasmine had her father, who was also male. Beauty and the Beast is another Disney film where there is a male figure and yet again, the loss of a female role model. Belle is raised by only her father, and there is no word about where her mother is or what happened to her. Another favorite of the Disney Classic films is that of The Little Mermaid. In this film, Ariel is raised by her extremely dominant father, and all of her friends are male. So, whatever did happen to her mother, and did she ever know her? Pinnocchio is another great film, yet he gains a new father but never a new mother. He is raised by Gepeto, the craftsman, and is then adopted by Gepeto.