Why does disney kill off parents

Only about five percent of kids will suffer the death of a guardian before reaching adulthood. Parents aren't spared in the studio's live-action movies, either, especially now that those include Marvel, Star Wars and what used to be Fox Searchlight titles.

But why is Disney obsessed with death? Walt Disney's own parents lived to see old age, but still, his mother's death is said to have affected him for the rest of his life. That trauma may have worked its way into his art. In the wake of the massive success of Snow White, Disney bought his parents a new house, but shortly thereafter, his mother died from a gas leak.

Though her death was accidental, he blamed himself -- a theme that recurs throughout the Disney canon. However, many movies that tackle that theme, like The Lion King and Frozen, weren't made until decades after Walt Disney's passing in In fact, the animation auteur was only alive long enough to shepherd 18 of Disney-branded feature films to the screen. The immense pain that five percent of children experience surely stays with them forever, and maybe Disney should be commended for helping them navigate their grief.

The vast majority of orphaned characters, especially the trademarked princesses, seem mildly bummed out to utterly nonplussed about their situation. Most of the Disney princesses have lost their parents, but it's not an event that shape their character. That makes one wonder what the point of killing parents is if not to give emotionally traumatized kids something to identify with.

To find the answer, one has to go back, not just to the start of the pantheon of Disney stories, but to the fairytales and fables upon which many of them are based. Dead and missing parents are actually an essential component of children's literature. It might seem like Charles Dickens and J. Nani and her little sister Lilo lost their parents in a car accident before the beginning of the film.

The movie explains how Ariel lost her mom. Queen Athena was crushed by a ship after saving one of her daughters and trying to reach for a music box on a rock.

Aladdin finds his father, Cassim, in the sequel. But he also found out that his mother died when he was little and was led to believe he was an orphan. For most of his life, Simba thought that it was his fault if Mufasa died. What death do you find the most heart-wrenching in a Disney Classic? Let us know in the comments! Disney Pixar. Your email address will not be published. In an interview with Glamour , Disney producer Don Hahn revealed a heartbreaking story about Walt's own past, which explains the almost total absence of the mother figure in his movies.

He told the mag the infamous film producer bought his parents a house in the early s - and tragedy struck. Don said: "He had the studio guys come over and fix the furnace, but when his mum and dad moved in, the furnace leaked and his mother died. He added of the story: "To me, it humanises Walt.