Disney characters are mostly orphans because of one man's heartbreaking past

16 October 2023 , 07:00

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Bambi is a terribly sad film in parts (Image: Disney)

For many of us, Disney films will evoke a warm, fuzzy feeling thanks to the memories of our childhoods. But rewatching Disney films as adults can often be harrowing, as we realise just how sad and traumatising some of these movies actually are. In many of the franchise's films, you'll notice that the parents of the main characters are either absent or are killed during the film, causing a lot of heartbreak to watchers.

Elsa and Anna lose their parents to the sea in Frozen, Simba's dad is brutally murdered in The Lion King, and Koda's mother in Brother Bear is killed - the list of tragedies faced by our beloved main characters goes on and on. As Disney celebrates its 100th birthday today, The Mirror takes a look at the hidden meaning behind its tragic themes...

Don Hahn, who was the executive producer of Maleficent and worked on the likes of The Lion King and Beauty And The Beast, explained that there's a good reason why the main characters need to face such personal tragedies at such a young age - there just simply wouldn't be as much of a story without it in the short timeframe we spend with the characters.

There wouldn't be as much of a story without tragic personal loss (Publicity Picture)

Don told Glamour that Disney films are often about the time where you need to "accept responsibility", and often it's easier for a character to outwardly do that if their parents are no longer present. But there's also speculation that it may have been thanks to Walt Disney's own tragic personal circumstances.

Flora Disney died in the early 1940s shortly after she and her husband moved into a house that their son, Walt, bought them following the success of his early films - but things didn't go to plan. Don shared that "the furnace leaked and his mother died", and his father became sick as well.

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Don explained that Walt felt "personally responsible" for what had happened, divulging that it's every child's dream to be able to afford a house for their parents. And whilst he was financially able to do so, it came at a big personal cost. "There's a theory, and I'm not a psychologist, but he was really haunted by that", Don shared.

So that could be the real devastating reason behind all the tears you've shed over the death of a character's family members whilst watching Disney films.

Danielle Kate Wroe