There are many common themes that run through Disney movies.
The one that stands out the most to me is that the princess (the female) always seems to be waiting for a prince (the male) to come rescue her. This theme is found in Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Snow White, Hercules, and Pocahontas, just to name a few. This sends out the message to children at a young age that the boys are supposed to grow up to be strong, brave, and in charge; while the girls learn to be more submissive. This theme still relates to me today at 19 years old because I feel like I’m still waiting for my Prince Charming to come along. The reality of it is, I’m setting my standards and expectations too high. Disney may even be linked to the increased divorce rate, because couples expect to live in “happily ever after” and not have to work on their relationship.
Another common theme is the absence of parents or authority figures in the movies. This theme is seen in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Robin Hood, and many others. There is often a death of at least one of the parents leading to a broken family. This sends the message to children that they can go out on their own adventures and don’t need their parents. It also gives a bad reputation to step-parents because oftentimes they are portrayed as evil in the movies. This doesn’t relate to reality because many step-parents are wonderful to their step children. One article I found gives a complete list of the Disney movies that have characters missing one or both parents. The link to that article is here.
Growing up, Disney was a major part of my life. My brother, sister, and I are all each about a year apart, so it was the perfect solution for entertainment. Disney produced movies that even my parents could enjoy, too. To this day, my parents still have the huge collection of Disney VHS’s that we accumulated over the years from birthday and Christmas presents. Watching a Disney movie was something affordable that the whole family could to together. I think that the majority of my peers had the same experience with Disney. In addition to providing entertainment, my sister and I were Disney princesses every Halloween. Also, after many years of saving up money we took a trip to Disney World when I was nine. It was potentially the best week of my entire childhood! The truth is, as much as Disney is put under a microscope and criticized, I couldn’t imagine my childhood without it.
