I vaguely remember seeing Bambi as a child. My kids received the movie as a gift recently and have watched it a few times since then. My son loves the part where Bambi tries to walk for the first time. He also laughs hysterically as Bambi slips and slides on the ice. I enjoyed it as well, sort of. It's cute and has its moments, but I have to say that I was horrified when Bambi's mother was killed. I honestly didn't remember that part of the film.
I found the scene heart-breaking and completely inappropriate for young children. The two survive the long frozen winter together. They trudge back and forth in the cold and the wind to find food, at one point Bambi's mother has to reach up a high tree to give Bambi the moss that will sustain him. There's so little left, and she gives what there is to her child. Finally, the spring comes, and they find the first spring grass. What a happy moment. Bam! Mommy's shot by a hunter.
Nice. Daddy Deer, who's not been around the entire film, steps in, saves the day, and never a word of Bambi's mother is mentioned again. Life goes on.
Mothers in Disney films are either non-existent or die horrible deaths. Seen Finding Nemo anyone? The touching story of a young boy and his father. His mother? Eaten by a big, scary fish two minutes into the film. Sleeping Beauty has a mother, but she doesn't even get a name. The princess, the king, the prince and his temperamental father all have names. The queen? Well, she's just the queen. Off the top of my head, the only character I can think of with a mother is Mulan, but even in that film, it's Mulan's relationship to her father that is emphasized. Snow White? Cinderella? Ariel? Belle? Jasmine? All have fathers, but no real mothers. Oh, wait. Two have step-mothers. That is, demented step-mothers from hell. The only reason you'd want a real mother is so that she's not replaced by some psychopath who tries to feed you poisoned apples.
I try not to get up-in-arms about these types of things. They are only movies after all. My kids enjoy the ones we've seen, and we snuggle on the couch together to see them. (The first time anyway. The thirtieth time, they're all on their own.) I enjoy the time with the kids, and it's often fun to revisit the classics I loved as a child. Movie nights are family time and we all enjoy them immensely. For now, that means Disney films and animated characters.
It's just a little weird to me. Disney = family. However, the Disney family rarely includes mothers. I kind of wonder if moms didn't need to lay eggs or give kingdoms heirs, would Disney's family entertainment bother with them at all?
Hmmmmmmmmm.
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6 comments:
Seriously, what is with Disney? The first time I watched Bambi with my son and the mom got shot he looked at me and asked "Where is Bambi's mom?" I asked him "What do you think happened?" He said "I think she's lost in the snow". So I took the easy way out and agreed. What are you supposed to say?
I have a problem with the beginning of Nemo too. My husband and I went to see it when it first came out (we didn;t have kids yet) and we like "Jeesh!" Pretty violent start to the movie!
Yeah, it is so strange. Growing up, I really enjoyed Cinderella (even though I thought the beginning dragged on, just get to the fairy godmother part already!) and Sleeping Beauty. I LOVED the Little Mermaid the first time I saw it, and I was a teen then. It's just rewatching Disney as an adult and a parent that I started noticing all of this stuff. We had also seen Nemo before my son was born and I totally forgot the beginning. (I must block out the scary parts of kids movies or something). So when my son wanted to watch it when he was three, I thought no problem. Thomas the Tank Engine is probably getting a little stale for him. I was a little freaked out by the beginning and worried he might have nightmares. Thankfully, he didn't. But yeah, that mother getting shot in Bambi really shocked me. That's when I started to think about the fact that I can't really think of any other films with moms in it. . .
It is so pervasive throughout the films, you have to wonder if it's deliberate.
We just watched "The Little Mermaid" with Lauren for the first time the other day (Which, incidentally, has now been dubbed "Maid"), and it was so intense and scary for her. I didn't remember it being that scary since it came out when I was an older kid. I think it gave her nightmares, and I feel like a bad mom for turning it on for her! I think we'll stick to Elmo for now.
Funny how you really don't remember the scary parts of the films. i always remember Flounder, Sebastian and the Kiss the Girl scene from "Maid," but I don't think I would have thought so much about the Octopus Lady. That can be scary. You are totally NOT a bad mom Jonathan. :) Things like that happen. My dad took me to see Alien when I was a kid. The horror film ALIEN w/ everyone being killed off by some very scary creature!! We were living overseas, so there aren't really previews or anything there. He thought it was a Star Wars kind of movie. I was scared to go to the bathroom by myself for a long time after that. I thought the Alien or whatever might come out of the toilet. We laugh now, but. . .
Hmmmmm. If my parents have anything to say about who I am today, I'll have remind them of that little incident. :)
The only notable exception to the Disney anti-momitude is Peter Pan. There the mom is portrayed as the doer of all things good and wholesome. Lady and the Tramp has a pretty good mom too although she's not much of the story. I agree with the violence though. All these movies I was so excited to share with my son, at almost four he refuses to watch any of them because he says they're too scary. The only ones he likes are the Homeward Bounds and the Toy Stories. BTW if you want to see a truly psychotic Disney mom, check out Lion King 2; just not with your kids. They actually show the process of the mom brainwashing her kid to hate someone else. Way to go Walt!
I forgot about Lady and The Tramp. The thing about that one, though, is that I remember when I watched it as a kid, I thought the mom was kind of mean for neglecting Lady. I couldn't understand how she could treat her so "badly." So a real life good mother, who doesn't neglect baby in favor of the dog, is actually portayed a little wrong in kids' eyes. BTW, Jonathan, I re-read my comment and I hope that it didn't come off like I was equating watching Little Mermaid with Alien or anything. I was just try to give you a comforting example ;) of how parents have unintentionally done far worse to their kids. Dad, if you read, sorry, but I just had to share that story! I still love you, although I still have a lingering fear of toilets!! :)
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