Single Parents | mmc6400final

Analysis of Single Parent Households

Dumbo (1941)

Issue: Dumbo strives to find happiness after his mother is taken away from him. He joins his fellow circus elephants and attempts daring stunts, but is plagued by his abnormally large ears. Dumbo, the ridiculed elephant, befriends a mouse who tries to cheer him up in any way he can. One day they happened upon a bucket filled with what they thought was water, but was actually alcohol. The pair of friends get drunk and wake up in a tree without knowing how they got there and realize that Dumbo must have used his ears as wings to flap themselves up there. Dumbo doesn’t believe the mouse’s theory and needs a fake magical feather to inspire him to attempt flight. He is successful, but attributes his ability to fly to the feather. The feather is lost, but Dumbo is able to fly. He becomes a media sensation and is reunited with his mother in the end.

Missing Parent: The movie opens with a stork delivering Mrs. Jumbo her baby. Her son Dumbo is ridiculed for his large ears and she lashes out at the tormentors. She proves her strength as a motherly figure and is locked away and labeled as crazy. Dumbo longs to reunite with his mother and is only able to live with her again once he proves his inner strength.

The Aristocats (1970)

Issue: A wealthy opera singer vows to donate all of her wealth to her beloved cats upon her death. She tells her lawyer that the money will be passed on to the butler once the last kitten passes away. The butler learns of his boss’s plan and kidnaps Duchess and her kittens. The mother and children are helpless until a male cat named O’Malley saves them.

Missing Parent: Duchess is a single mother, who is portrayed as weak and unable to protect her children. O’Malley, a stray cat who saves the mom and children from death, turns into a father figure for the children.

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Issue: Ariel, a teenage mermaid princess, is unhappy with her life under the sea and desperately wants to be a human. She is obsessed with learning more about people despite her overprotective father’s warning. She makes a deal to give her voice to the sea witch in exchange for a chance at love with a human. Ursula, the evil sea witch, steals Ariel’s voice and disguises herself as the woman Prince Eric should marry. Ariel’s naivete is used against her and becomes a bargaining chip against her father the king. Ursula takes King Triton as prisoner in place of Ariel and Ariel struggles to go after Ursula, but is almost killed in the process. Her father saves Ariel from Ursula by throwing a harpoon and Prince Eric uses the distraction to drive his ship into the sea witch, killing her.

Missing Parent: Ariel’s mother is not shown or mentioned in the film. Instead, her father King Triton is overprotective for fear of losing one of his little girls. He risks his own life to save his daughter when she is not strong enough to save herself.

Issue: A French prince is cursed to live life as a beast with enchanted household objects as caregivers. He does not live with parents and substitutes parental figures for objects in the house like Mrs. Potts. In the local village, Belle, a bookworm and nonconformist with incredible sense of self, takes care of her dopey father. One day her beloved father gets lost in the forest and comes across the Beast’s castle where he seeks shelter. He is locked in a dungeon by the uncaring beast and Belle, the concerned and loyal daughter, volunteers to take her father’s place so he can seek medical attention. She acts as a strong female character who sacrifices her freedom for her father’s safety. Lonely in the cold castle, Belle befriends Mrs. Potts who serves as a motherly figure for her and shows her warmth. After much coaxing, Beast and Belle develop a friendship and share a romantic dinner after which Belle confesses that she’s worried about her father and wants to see him. Belle sacrifices her own happiness to save her father. She returns to town and risks the Beast’s life by proving his existence to the townspeople to prove her father's sanity. Beast is killed, but Belle broke the curse and brought him back to life in human form by showing him love.

Missing Parent: Belle’s mother is not mentioned or shown during the movie and instead of mourning the lack of motherly figure, Belle assumes the role of wife, mother and daughter to her father, Maurice. The father is the town’s fool, but Belle takes good care of him and risks her own happiness to make sure he’s safe. Belle makes sure her father is fed, taken care of and healthy. Here, a mother figure is not missed because Belle takes on many of those characteristics.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Issue: Aladdin, a poor orphan street rat, is convinced to retrieve a magic lamp for an evil grand vizier named Jafar. Aladdin narrowly escapes the cave and befriends a Genie who grants him wishes. Meanwhile, back in Agrabah, Jafar attempts to control the Sultan’s mind and arranges a marriage between the Sultan’s daughter Jasmine and himself so he can become the ruler. The sultan is a feeble-minded joker type character who isn’t a strong character for his daughter. Instead, Jasmine assumes the responsibility in the family and takes care of her father. Jafar’s plot is spoiled by Aladdin who takes advantage of his magical friends and exposes Jafar’s twisted plot. Jafar and Aladdin battle each other over the Genie. Jafar seals his fate by making a poor wish, and Jasmine and Aladdin are free to marry.

Missing Parent: Jasmine’s mother is never mentioned in the story. Jasmine seems lonely at the start of the story with only a male tiger for a friend. She does not have any female role models or influences in the story and must fend for herself. She seems to have a hard edge about her since she doesn’t have any softer feminine roles. Instead, like Belle, she assumes the role of responsible daughter and almost seems more like a wife to the Sultan because she must take care of him and place his needs above all else. The Sultan also doesn’t seem to know how to raise a daughter without a female by his side and at one point in frustration states, “Allah forbid you have any daughters.” Instead of her father serving a protective role, Rajah the tiger must step in and protect Jasmine from unbearable suitors.

Aladdin (1992)

Issue: Simba is born into a loving family with both a mother and father, but loses his father early in the film thanks to his uncle’s plan to seize the throne. Simba flees the kingdom because he blames himself for his father’s tragic death. When Nala, a childhood friend, finds Simba she must force him to grow up and take responsibility for the kingdom that’s rightfully his. He models himself in his father’s likeness and returns to the kingdom to defend his pridelands. Scar is banished, and Simba becomes king.

Missing Parent: Although Simba initially has both parents, his father dies early in the film while Simba is young. Instead of turning to his mother for support, he flees the kingdom and adopts a “hakuna matata” lifestyle without worries. He is forced to grow up when Nala finds him in search for food for the starving tribe. She convinces him to grow in Mufasa’s likeness and return to the kingdom. Here, Simba models himself after his deceased father and leads by his example.

The Lion King (1994)

Issue: Although never mentioned, Andy grows up without a father. All scenes with a parent show a strong single mom who juggles work, home life and raising children with ease. Andy instead turns to his best friend and toy, Woody for comfort. The story tells the story of his toys’ journey.

Missing Parent: Andy’s dad is never present in the film and instead he’s raised by a single mother. The father is neither mentioned nor pictured in any of the scenes. What happened to his father is a mystery. Instead of a traditional father figure, Woody the toy cowboy fills the role of fatherly figure. Although he’s a toy, Woody has strong parental instincts and wants what’s best for Andy in the film.

Toy Story (1995)

Issue: The film opens with a depressing and dramatic scene where Marlin and his wife had just settled into a home with their newly born children. A barracuda attacked their home, and Marlin awoke to his wife and all but one egg gone. Marlin raises Nemo on his own and becomes extremely overprotective for fear of losing his last piece of family. He embarrasses Nemo on his first school trip, and Nemo swims away. He is then captured by divers and taken away. Marlin makes it his life’s mission to find his son alive and well. He risks peril and danger as he journeys to find his long lost son.

Missing Parent: Although born into a loving family, Nemo lost his mother before he got the chance to know her. His father tries to overcompensate for the mother’s loss and smothers Nemo. The young fish breaks away to prove a point to his classmates and is captured. Marlin’s love for his son pushes him to travel the depths of the ocean in search of Nemo. At the end, the father and son are reunited, and Marlin realizes that Nemo has grown up and is able to fend for himself. Nemo grew in his father’s absence.