Hmmm, let’s do the math:
1. Snow White: Mother dead, father remarries to wicked stepmother.
2. Pinocchio: No parents to be killed, foster father swallowed by whale.
3. Fantasia: No plot structure to speak of.
4. Dumbo: Mother taken captive, Dumbo reunited at the end.
5. Bambi: Mother killed, father takes responsibility when made aware.
6. Saludos Amigos: Anthology, no parents killed.
7. Three Caballeros: No parents in the film, buddy picture.
8. Make Mine Music: Anthology, no plot structure to speak of.
9. Fun and Fancy Free: 2 stories, no parents in Mickey & the Bean Stalk or Bongo.
10. Melody Time: Anthology, no plot structure to speak of.
11. The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad: 2 stories, Sleepy Hollow and Mr. Toad. Characters are adults, no parents.
12. Cinderella: Mother dead, father remarried to wicked stepmother.
13. Alice in Wonderland: No parents in the story, but traditional family assumed.
14. Peter Pan: Parents alive and well and children return to them.
15. Lady and the Tramp” Married couple with baby adopt 2 dogs. Very Republican.
16. Sleeping Beauty: All parents alive and well.
17. 101 Dalmatians: Both human parents and dog parents alive and well.
18. The Sword in the Stone: Father figure present, wise, and loving.
19. The Jungle Book: Lost in jungle, adopted by loving, gender-neutral surrogates.
20. The Aristocats: Happy ending wedding.
21. Robin Hood: Happy ending wedding.
22. Winnie the Pooh: Traditional family assumed (if British).
23. The Rescuers: Kidnapped child reunited with family.
24. Fox & the Hound: Buddy picture, no parents present.
25. The Black Cauldron: Adoptive family present and loving.
26. Great Mouse Detective: Adult characters.
27. Oliver & Company: Based on Dickens, finds happy family at the end.
28. The Little Mermaid: Loving father present, mother assumed.
29. Rescuers Down Under: Single mother.
30. Beauty and the Beast: Mother dead, father rescued by loving daughter, happy ending wedding. Even the teacup has a mom.
31. Aladdin: Loving father present for princess, Aladdin is an orphan, but strong and moral.
32. The Lion King: Loosely based on “Hamlet.” Father killed by scheming brother, mother present.
33. Pocahontas: Family present.
34. Hunchback: Adult characters, mother present at the begining, but is killed.
35. Hercules: Adult characters, greek gods for parents plus adoptive parents present.
36. Mulan: Parents present, as well as many ancestors.
37. Tarzan: Parents killed, loving surrogate parents provided.
38. Fantasia 2000: Anthology, no real plot.
39. Emperor’s New Groove: Traditional family present.
40. Atlantis: Adult characters.
41. Lilo & Stitch: Parents dead, loving sister raising Lilo.
42. Treasure Planet: Mother present, father absent.
43. Brother Bear: Parents not in story, it’s about brotherhood.
44. Home on the Range: Adult characters.
45. Chicken Little: Father present, mother not mentioned.
OK, let’s see the stats:
45 films. 5 dead moms. 1 dead dad, 2 absent dads. 4 films with both dead, all of which provide the character with a loving foster family, so I don’t think those can be counted. None of the films with dead moms (Cinderella, Snow White, Bambi, Hunchback, and Beauty & the Beast) were Disney originals, but were adaptations of already existing stories, as is the dead dad film. (Lion King, based on Shakespeare's "Hamlet.") Of the 2 absent dad films (Treasure Planet and Rescuers Down Under), one is based on Stevenson's novel and the other is a Disney original.
So out of 45 films ONE has an original story by Disney in which a parent is deliberately absent. There are no original stories by Disney that kill parents.
The loss of a parent is a powerful and common story element to find in children’s stories. It’s relevant and fascinating to kids, so it’s not surprising it turns up so often in the genre. But you can’t accuse Disney of milking this.
