The funny (and scary) thing about disney movies?!
Question: has anyone else ever noticed that in every single disney movie to date (to my knowlegde) has death in it? someone dies or is dying or has already died. example: lion king-mufsa and scar, lion king 2- nuka and sirza, beauty and the beast- gaston, cinderlla - her dad and mom died, sleeping beauty- the evil witch, snow white- the evil witch. is it just me that has caught on to this. does anyone know of a disney movie where someone hasn't died???
Answers: has anyone else ever noticed that in every single disney movie to date (to my knowlegde) has death in it? someone dies or is dying or has already died. example: lion king-mufsa and scar, lion king 2- nuka and sirza, beauty and the beast- gaston, cinderlla - her dad and mom died, sleeping beauty- the evil witch, snow white- the evil witch. is it just me that has caught on to this. does anyone know of a disney movie where someone hasn't died???
Death is a very real part of life. Disney has doen an excellent job over the years with using tragic or successful deaths in their films to really give the plot some life. The Lion King was a truly powerful film because of the betrayal and death of Mufasa. Without that death, the movie is just a bunch of kitties playing in an African field.
One of the most tragic deaths in all of cinema was the death of Bambi's mother. But again, it was necessary for plot development.
101 Dalamatians also protrays death but not up front like some of the other movies. The movie implys that the main protagonist kills puppies and makes them into coats. Thats just brutal. Few movies, and none that come to mind, by Disney do not feature some sort of death as death is one of the most powerful emotional tools in movies.
Disney has done an excellent job portraying death in childrens movies in a way that a child can truly understand. Few deaths have ever been unnecessary, and most are crucial for the movie to contain any sort of plot feeling wether the victorious feeling after the bad guy dies, or the tragic death of one of the main heroes.
Almost all the cartoon clasic disney movies feature death, but the newer Pixar films, the Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Toy Story, etc all do not. Perhaps this is a sign that times have changed. In my opinion, kids are better off for having seen the tragic Disney movies rather than the new feel good movies.
Toy story maybe
101 dalmations.........
(the little mermaid??)
Yea in Toy Story no toy succumbed to death...disembowelment maybe as done by Sid...but no death.
And I don't think anyone in Fantasia died.
Shrek 1, maybe...I haven't seen it in a while though.
alice in wonderland
I suggest letting your child see the mild death scenes in those movies, however, and decide for him/herself what s/he thinks about it. Watch them with him/her and discuss it openly, to avoid his/her confusion on the subject. The other alternative is to skirt around the issue until you're pressed into an awkward question about death at a later time, possibly confusing your child and sending him/her mixed signals about how honest you are to him/her in general. This is a self-serving attitude more and more parents are taking on these days and it does NOT help the kids in any way, nor will it help your relationship w/him/her.
Ratatouille and Monsters Inc. (a Disney/Pixar collaboration) come to mind. I don't think most disney movies have death. Maybe a lot of the classic ones and the ones people associate with disney do, but they make a lot of movies every year.
Scott D., I couldn't have said it better myself. I am a huge fan of all things Disney, and I will tell you that the Disney movies, especially the classics, are some of the few things I don't worry about my kids (who are 12 and 7 now) watching at all. Disney is masterful at storytelling. Also, imagine if they told the stories in their original format. For example I believe in the original story of the Little Mermaid she dies at the end. Snow White has a pretty brutal original story that was changed. Most of the original tales that Disney used to make their movies have some sort of death. It is a very easy way for kids to learn about death and how you have to cope with it. The Lion King is an excellent example. My kids love the movie and watch it often, and sometimes they have questions, especially my son who is very emotional when it comes to stuff like this. I answer his questions and we watch how Simba is able to use the experience as a lesson.
Oh, and you want a Disney movie with no death in it? I am pretty sure that The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh has no death, but Christopher Robin does have to go away to school. Still a loss, but at least no death.