Disney Parents

I’ve been watching a lot of The Little Mermaid TV series today, and it occurred to me a few episodes in that King Triton doesn’t really do much.

Here he is, king of the sea, single father of seven daughters, and all he seems to do is yell at Ariel for whatever thing she’s done that episode, occasionally rescue her when she gets in trouble (not every episode though), and sit on his throne. That’s pretty much the gist of his role in the entire series, as much as I can tell.

This is apparently what is required to rule Atlantica.

And then I got thinking about his role in the movie vs. the TV show; and from there about the role that other Disney parents play (you know, those Disney parents that aren’t dead). Hence, this list of the most active Disney parents. And by ‘active’, I mean those that help their children the most throughout the movie.

Then of course, we go to the most inactive Disney parents. You know, those that do nothing. I’m just making this list from animated Disney movies. Counting Pixar and sequels. I listed every alive Disney parent I could think of, and then ordered them most active to least.

Mufasa (Lion King)

Mufasa wins because he dies to save Simba, ok? And his death still gets me every time. But even before the saddest moment ever, Mufasa proves that he is the most awesome dad ever. He gets up at the crack of dawn to show his son the kingdom and teach him about the circle of life; would clearly rather teach Simba to pounce than listen to Zazu’s morning report (although that could be more about Zazu); rescues Simba and Nala from the hyenas; and even when he has to lecture Simba and parent, he still makes it clear that he loves his son, and works in more life lessons (with the whole stars thing). Plus, did I mention that he dies saving Simba from a stampede?! Ok, it was Scar’s fault that he died, but it still counts. Mufasa is the greatest. RIP (sob).

Marlin (Finding Nemo)

Marlin comes a very close second, just because he lived. But let’s face it, there is no Finding Nemo without Marlin to actually find Nemo. For a clownfish who wouldn’t leave his anemone, he goes to facing sharks and jellyfish and really creepy fish; just to bring his son home. He gets swallowed (well, almost) by a whale, surfs the EAC and jumps in a pelican’s mouth, all for Nemo. I think that’s totally awesome.

Pongo and Perdita (101 Dalmatians)

I debated whether Pongo and Perdita were deserving of spot #2 or #3 on this list. In the end, Marlin edged them out, because he had to face sharks and all those sea creatures. Whilst Pongo and Perdita were totally all over finding their puppies, the scariest thing they faced was Cruella de Vil. And don’t get me wrong, she’s scary, but not as scary as sharks.

But they organised all the Twilight Bark, and then went searching for their children. And didn’t hesitate to adopt and rescue the other 84 puppies that had been kidnapped (dognapped? Puppynapped?) by Cruella.

Maurice (Beauty and the Beast)

Ah, Maurice. When Gaston and all the townspeople laughed at him and called him crazy for claiming his daughter had been taken by a Beast; he simply packed up his supplies and headed off into the middle of the forest trying to find the castle to rescue her. This is a Beast who he thought was a complete monster and was about three times his size.

And he’s old too, he’s not exactly fit and healthy. Even with his health, he was determined to rescue Belle. He would have died for her if he had to, I just know it.

Ariel (The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea)

From the second Ariel discovered her daughter was in danger, she cut herself off from the sea- her home and her favourite place, and her family to try and protect Melody. And when Melody ran away, Ariel and Eric went searching for her and Ariel even got herself transformed back into a mermaid.

I think that’s pretty awesome parenting. We’ll just ignore the fact that it probably would have been better if Ariel and Eric had just told Melody the truth (or some version of the truth), and this probably never would have happened.  Hey, but then we have no movie.

Simba (Lion King II: Simba’s Pride)

So Simba is a tad overprotective of his daughter. However, I find that adorable. And it’s obvious he adores Kiara, and he tries so hard to impart all the wisdom Mufasa told him as a child to her. He loses a few points for having Timon and Pumbaa look out for her instead of doing it directly, but I assume he’s doing important pride leader stuff, ok? And he’d give his life for her, just as Mufasa did for him. Above all, he just wants to keep Kiara safe.

King Triton (The Little Mermaid)

Like I said earlier, King Triton doesn’t do much in the TV series. And he doesn’t do much more in the movie. However, he is so high on this list, because when he does something, he goes big. Yes, when Ariel originally goes missing, he doesn’t search for her himself. He just lets no one in his kingdom sleep while they do all the looking. However, then he takes Ariel’s place in her contract with Ursula and is willing to become a... shrimp thingy to save her. And then lets her go be with the man she loves. And while I’m not sure if I’d like Triton to be my father (he yells a lot), I think he is a pretty good dad. Although he clearly plays favourites with Ariel, which is just mean.

Lady and Tramp (Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure)

Just like Pongo and Perdita, Tramp and Lady (as well as Jim Dear and Darling) are really active in the search when Scamp runs away. Not as active as their Dalmatian counterparts, but Scamp really didn’t go as far as the Dalmatian puppies did, he was still in the neighbourhood. And really, Tramp was more active than Lady. The difference is that 101 Dalmatians was in a way more about the parents than the puppies; whereas Lady and the Tramp II was more about Scamp than Lady and Tramp. But they get points for looking so hard for Scamp.

Bambi’s parents (Bambi)

Again, Bambi’s mother gets points because she dies, one of Disney’s saddest moments. (I’m pretty sure when people talk sad moments in Disney films, the winners are Mufasa’s death, Bambi’s mother and Up, apparently- which I still haven’t seen somehow...). Bambi’s mother still made sure to teach him all about life and the forest; and when she realises hunters are nearby, her priority is getting Bambi to safety.

As for Bambi’s father, it’s pretty much stated that he has nothing to do with his fawns. But when Bambi’s mother dies, he steps up. Which earns points. Even though, I’m pretty sure he scared me when I watched the movie when I was a kid.

Duchess (Aristocats)

Duchess is different because she was missing with her kittens, so she was in just as much trouble as they were. However, she tried to keep them safe and keep their hopes up that they were going to get home and everything was ok.  And she managed to get them a stepfather while she was at it, haha.

Powhatan (Pocahontas)

So Powhatan starts off  by setting up his daughter with Kocoum, who I get is a respected warrior in the tribe and all; but he’s the complete opposite of Pocahontas. And a lot of his motivation for wanting to destroy John Smith and the Englishmen is to protect her. And he saves Smith at the end to make his daughter happy, which is always a lovely gesture.

Geppetto (Pinocchio)

To be honest, I don’t really like Pinocchio. I never did. I like it more than I used to, but I still don’t love it. So, it took me a while to remember what Geppetto actually did when Pinocchio went missing. And then I remembered the whole “swallowed by a whale” thing, so I had to give points for that. But we don’t have much more to go on than that.

Sultan (Aladdin)

The Sultan doesn’t really do much. He changes a law to allow Jasmine and Aladdin to marry; and he gets mad and yells at Jafar, but other than that... he does nothing. He’s just under Jafar’s power. I quite like the Sultan, but despite being the Sultan, he can’t help save his daughter when she’s in trouble. But then again, this is Aladdin’s story, so we want Aladdin to save Jasmine.

Fa Zhou (Mulan)

Mulan’s father is difficult to place on this list. Simply because he can’t help Mulan, in fact, he is helping her by not helping her. Because, as he tells his wife, if he exposes Mulan as a woman, she’ll be killed.

So all they can do is hope that she’s not killed during the war or exposed and killed. It’s a super tough spot to be in.

Zeus (Hercules)

Zeus was tricky, because even in Greek mythology, the Godly parents don’t help their mortal children much. If you go by the Percy Jackson series, this is because the Fates (and Zeus) don’t really let them interfere with their children’s fates and quests. In the Disney film, Zeus at least does tell Hercules’ what he has to do in order to rejoin his parents- albeit really vaguely. And when Hercules’ is in his most trouble, Zeus and the gods are busy fighting the Titans, so he’s not really in a position to help. But still.

Rapunzel’s Parents (Tangled)

Yeah, Rapunzel’s parents don’t do much. I mean, Flynn tells us that “the kingdom searched high and low” when Rapunzel first went missing; but other than that.... all they do is release a lot of lanterns once a year. And I really feel for them, but compared to some of the other parents on this list, its’ nothing.