WHY do all Disney films have to have a dead/absent mother in them? (or father, occasionally)

[emkana]

It's so emotional! So far I've been crying at the Lion King with dd (5), and at Ice Age (okay, not Disney) - now I'm trying to get the courage together to watch Bambi... not sure if I can face it.

Worst one is when dd asks me in a small voice afterwards "It would never happen in real life, would it Mum? You or Daddy would never die young?"

SOB

finding nemo too

Cinderella & Snow white too.

I wonder if Walts mum left home/died when he was little?

lilo & stitch

mhh it is a bit of a repeating theme.

I think all the princess ones have missing parent(s).

Cinderella - both parents dead; in hands of stepmother
Snow White - no mother; step mother hates her
Beauty and the Beast - no mother
Aladdin - Jasmine had no mother; Aladdin has no parents
Pochohuntus - no mother
Little Mermaid - no mother

However, Sleeping Beauty has both parents.

it's a classic theme in children's literature not just Disney. the truth is that not much interesting happens in happy families
the Wicked Stepmother is a key figure, leaving the children vulnerable.
ditto the absent parent