Why have animated films killed off all the mothers?

Is this pattern on purpose?

Try naming an animated movie where the mother isn't dead or useless.

Following studies, it has been realised that central characters are more likely to die violently in children's cartoons than in adult films. There are the gun deaths in Bambi, Peter Pan and Pocahontas, and stabbings in Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid.

Bambi's mother gets shot, Nemo's is eaten by a barracuda. Lilo's mother is killed in a car crash and the worst example – at least for me – is seen in Ice Age, when a vicious tiger chases the mother of a human baby over a waterfall.

My point is, try naming a cartoon movie where the mother isn't gone or useless. Or a mother who lives until the very end, when the credits roll.

I have a confession; I have been watching a lot of children's movies recently and I've found the same pattern repeating itself. I've found more movies in which the mother is disposed of: 'Chicken Little', 'Aladdin', 'Pocahontas', 'Barn Yard', 'Beauty and the Beast', 'Ratatouille' and 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'. More recently, 'Despicable Me', 'Monster's University' and 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman'!

So, what about the father figures? Well, they just happen to be the heroes! When the mother is out of the way, the plot seems to focus on the paternal figure. No matter how 'bad' they are initially, they always end up 'good'. The saviour, the child's superman, he's fantastic and loving, a father and mother in one.

If it's true that of the 25% of families 'headed' by single parents, only 9% are by single fathers, why do animated movies present only the fathers of children? Is it to encourage more men to be maternal or an attempt to imagine a world without mothers?

If the mother is indeed alive in a film, she's never portrayed as the "fun parent". In 'Toy Story', there is a single mother, but she gives away the toys. There is a mother at the very end of the Lego movie, yet she is the one that cuts the father-son bonding short by announcing "Dinner's ready!" In 'Despicable Me', it was Gru's mother who led to his becoming evil in the first place.

However, there are a few movies that do contradict what I am saying. For example, 'The Incredibles'; my all-time favourite movie. Not only does the mother save the day, but the movie consists of a full family of four, with two parents, which is extremely rare. The development of the movie shows family bonding, and the reliability and trust that those in a family are able to put into one another. Both the parents and the children have powers that can help to save the world. Together, they are all equals and form a 'dream team'. I wish that more children's cartoons portrayed mothers and families in such a light.

Nowadays, children watch hours of T.V. every day. We do not know how they interpret the negative portrayal of mothers that they see on screen. And so, if I have children who believe that I am 'the spoilsport', or that the dad is obviously the "cool" parent, I believe I will understand just where this attitude has come from.

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