For many fans, Disney is synonymous with magic. The company has brought fantasy to life in several features over the years, from classic fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty to re-imaginings of Shakespeare’s work, such as TheLion King.
But it’s not all magic. Behind the scenes, there’s a lot that goes on at Disney that fans remain unaware of. Along with rumors of celebrities being bullied into contract negotiations by Disney, the company also has a few secrets when it comes to its creative process.
While Disney has opened up about recycling animation sequences to cut costs, the company has left fans wondering about the true intentions behind the concept of motherless characters. Over the years, many viewers have noted that characters losing their mothers seems to be a recurring theme in the Disney universe. But why?
There are a few explanations for this, finally confirmed by a Disney executive himself. Read on to find out why so many Disney characters are orphans.
Which Disney Characters Have Parents?
Fans have noticed over the years that there is a pattern in Disney animated features that’s hard to miss: many main characters are missing their parents, or more specifically, their mothers.
Just a few of the iconic Disney characters who either don’t have mothers, or whose mothers pass away over the course of the story includes Snow White, whose voice actress Adriana Caselotti was reportedly blacklisted from Hollywood by Disney.
Other characters who were famously motherless include Pinocchio, Bambi, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Aladdin, Lilo, and Anna and Elsa. Fans theorize that this was an intentional inclusion by Disney. But why?
Walt Disney’s Real-Life Experience
The most common theory as to why Disney always includes characters that lose their parents is because Walt Disney lost his own mother unexpectedly.
It is thought by some that he had his famous characters also lose their mothers because it mirrored his own experience.
How Walt Disney Lost His Mother
E! News reports that in the late 1930s, Disney and his brother Roy bought a house for their parents to live in. Walt had his own employees go over to the house and fix the furnace. However, when his parents moved in, the furnace leaked. Unfortunately, his mother died as a result; her death was attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Although Disney never spoke of the incident with his employees, some believe that this is what prompted him to begin the pattern of his characters losing their mothers. It is said to have been the most haunting event of his life and was something he was never able to talk openly about, even with his own children.
In the months following the death of his mother, Walt regularly visited her gravesite with his brother Roy.
Did Walt Disney Feel Responsible For His Mother’s Death?
Walt Disney not only grieved the loss of his mother, but he also reportedly felt responsible for her death. This is because he bought the house with the furnace that broke, and he also sent over people from his studio to fix it, which ended tragically.
Feeling responsible may have further encouraged him to add this element into the films he created.
Did Walt Disney Make His Characters Orphans?
While the theory that Disney was inspired and haunted by the events that happened in his real life is convincing, not everyone agrees with it. Save Our Snopes published an article refuting the theory, pointing out that Disney characters started losing their mothers before Flora Disney died in 1938.
The article also explains that “the motherless child” aspect was already present in many of the fairy tales that Disney adapted, and he did not create it himself. For example, Snow White’s mother died in the original Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale.
Similarly, Disney did not invent the characters of Pinocchio, Peter Pan, or other characters who were motherless in their Disney adaptations.
Disney Character Development Relies On Tragic Events
Disney executive producer, Don Hahn, who worked on the film Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, offered another reason as to why so many Disney characters are motherless.
“One reason is practical because the movies are 80 or 90 minutes long, and Disney films are about growing up,” Hahn told Glamour.
“They're about that day in your life when you have to accept responsibility. Simba ran away from home but had to come back. In shorthand, it's much quicker to have characters grow up when you bump off their parents.”
Hahn explained that the impact of losing a parent forces a character to grow up and drives the plot forward while also developing their character arc. This may be the real reason why so many Disney characters are motherless.
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