“My Mommy died. Now Aunt Trish is my Mommy.” I crane my neck up and over the kitchen bar to hear the Barbies converse with one another, as animated by Emme, my 6 year old. Her 4 year old sister’s doll replied with “Cool!” A lesser Mommy would have been hurt.
I’ve noticed this is a recurrent theme in the Barbie saga. My children are always killing off the Mommy. YOU HOOOOO! Who cleans your clothes? Kisses your boo-boos? Lets you eat Rice Krispies for dinner? (Don’t judge me, it’s only on rare occasions…….like Fridays). I just want to know, where do they get the idea that murdering the Mommy makes for a better story?
And then it hits me. Let’s recall some of the Disney characters that all children love, shall we? Ariel had no mother. Jasmine had no mother. Belle, again, no mother. Pinocchio? Nope. Cinderella? Dead mother replaced with wicked stepmother. Same goes for Snow White. Tarzan’s mother was killed by a wild animal. Mowgli from “Jungle Book” was motherfree. Nemo’s mother was killed off before I had eaten my second Milk Dud. Bambi? Oh the horror. I refuse to let my children watch that one. I’m still traumatized watching Bambi’s mother get blown away. Okay, so Sleeping Beauty had a mother…… who allowed 3 FAIRIES TO TAKE HER DAUGHTER AT BIRTH AND LIVE IN THE WOODS.
Makes you wonder. What kind of nightmare mother did Walt Disney have? Behind every well-adjusted kid out there, is a strong and brave, perhaps slightly bedraggled Mommy reminding him to wash-his-hands-after-using-the-bathroom. C’mon Walt, give us a break!
One of my favorite “Mommy moments” came during a time when my entire household (with the exception of me), was sick with a nasty cold. Emme looked up at me with a red nose and said in a nasal voice, “Mob, if you ged sick, we’re really godda need Jesus.” Truer words were never spoken.
{ 6 comments }
Hey this is great party conversation!! Kinda like the old if Mickey is a mouse and Donald’s a duck and pluto was Mickey’s dog what the heck was Goofy??? LOL!!
Walt for sure had some issues.
You best watch out for that girl she is wise!
Wow, I never realized what a macabre history Disney movies have! Maybe we should stick to Veggie Tales. Oh, yeah, Bob and Larry don’t have mothers, either:)
Bob and Larry also don’t have any arms. Explain THAT to a 4 year old.
you crack me up! Little David is sitting near me while I read your story and he keeps asking me “what? what? mommy , why are you laughing so much?” So, thank you!
Oh my goodness! We go on and on about that very thing in our family! Some of the stories kill off the dad, but they always have one parent! Lion King he loses his Dad, though he did run away from him mom. My kids try so hard to prove us wrong in our theory that all Disney movies have one parent.
God bless,
qtpies7
I just read this entry…and was an English major. Many of the “great books” feature orphans or characters that lost a parent. It gives us immediate empathy for the character and also opens up the plot for many out-of-the-ordinary things to happen…things that wouldn’t happen to a “normal” nuclear family. Interesting, but it makes sense. Lots of times, a parent or two has to go to make room for the plot.
Comments on this entry are closed.