Why Are There No Moms in Disney Movies?

Think about it. No moms in Disney movies. The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, The Jungle Book, Oliver and Company, Pocahontas, Aladdin, Mulan? Sure, some Disney movies had moms, and there are some altogether orphans on that list, but those named above are the most famous and there's no mom in sight.

And what of the moms we have seen? Bambi's mom was tragically shot (a hysterical first movie-theater experience for me, I'm told- 3 years old and standing up in my chair bellowing a deep-hearted lament at the horror and injustice). Simba had a mom in the Lion King, but of course his father was murdered, by his own brother no less, which was blamed on Simba- resulting in years of exile during which he developed a Peter Pan complex. Speaking of which, Peter Pan ran away, so I guess that's his own fault. Sleeping Beauty had a mom, but was forced to live to adulthood without her, and Dumbo had a mom, though they were both out casted by their community. Why? Because she believed in diversity and difference, essentially.

I have often wondered, having this awareness; is it only a coincidence, or does Disney have some vendetta against the Sacred Feminine? Or could it possibly be a bold statement by Disney that we have lost the nurturing, creative, intuitive power of feminine energy in this "man's world."
Somehow, I don't feel moved to give Disney such philosophically and spiritually complex status. Then again, their very slogan is "Where Dreams Come True," despite the odds we may be up against. But whose dreams? And in what world?

I love fairy tales...maybe a little too much for a grown woman of almost thirty years. So coming from me, it's saying a lot that whatever life lessons and developmental insight might be laden in Disney films, there's a whole lot of questionable ideas being planted into our little one's heads. For the ladies listed above, there are but three qualities on which their survival and perseverance rely: unbelievable physical beauty, ignorant bliss, and generosity of spirit. The last is certainly the most encouraging, but still it has the troublesome air of one who is constantly at the disposal and service of others. Then again, when the only goal you have in life is to be rescued and then married to a prince, there's plenty of time left over for working for others- whether by choice or by force.

Of course, all these tales include the ancient path to wisdom and initiation, beginning with loss of innocence, followed by adventures in the underworld (that which seeks to destroy you)- the quest for retrieval- and culminating in return to one's true destiny. I like to think if a modern day mother were present in these films, they might tell their daughters that their destiny included much much more than a dude on a horse whose only goal in life is to find you- perhaps slaying some dragons along the way so that you will be even more inclined to be tirelessly in his service for eternity.

And maybe if those same modern moms were there for the princes, they would explain to them that women want much more than to be of service to them, that they have suffered wounds and neglect by the culture (often depicted, of course, as an evil, ego-maniacal woman) that you may not understand, but which indeed wage battle on their souls at times as they try to reconcile their sacredness with their global second-class status.

Perhaps the absence of moms- or parents at all- can remind us of the importance of presence and thoughtfulness in the lives of children, particularly in what they watch. The hero's journey is not meant to be easy, but many indigenous tales, for example, are a whole lot less sexist. As much as these days a lot is changing in this regard, and despite my own sweet memories of escaping into Disney-fantasy-trance-land, shame on Disney for being so rich in resources and yet so multi-dimensionally impoverished.