REVEALED: The tragic reason so many Disney characters are orphans

Disney fans, we’re going to be honest with you; this story could leave you heartbroken…

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

As many Disney aficionados will know, the films may be magical - but they’re also desperately, desperately sad.

Focusing on children who are separated from their parents, who are orphaned, or who watch one or both of their parents die, there are just as many tears as there are laughs in any of the films.

Think about it; there’s Tarzan’s mum and dad, who are tragically killed by a wild jaguar.

That was seriously dark, wasn’t it?

There’s also Cinderella, who loses both of her parents when she's very young. And Frozen’s Anna and Elsa, whose parents drown when their ship sinks into a stormy ocean.

Then there’s Bambi, Penny from The Rescuers, Lilo & Stitch, Mowgli from The Jungle Book, Todd in The Fox and the Hound, Snow White, Quasimodo of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, little Nemo, and Koda in Brother Bear.

And the less said about Simba from The Lion King the better.

So what’s the reason behind it all?

Doh Hahn, who worked on the likes of The Lion King and Beauty And The Beast, told Glamour: “One reason is practical because the movies are 80 or 90 minutes long, and Disney films are about growing up.

“They're about that day in your life when you have to accept responsibility.”

However the moviemaker also shared another, more tragic explanation behind all those absent parents.

At the height of his fame in 1938, Walt Disney was finally able to buy a house for his beloved mum and dad - only for tragedy to strike.

Don said: “He had the studio guys come over and fix the furnace, but when his mum and dad moved in, the furnace leaked and his mother died. The housekeeper came in the next morning and pulled his mother and father out on the front lawn.

“His father was sick and went to the hospital, but his mother died.”

Don continued: “He never spoke about that time because he personally felt responsible because he had become so successful that he said, 'Let me buy you a house.'

“It's every kid's dream to buy their parents a house and just through a strange freak of nature – through no fault of his own – the studio workers didn't know what they were doing.

“There's a theory, and I'm not a psychologist, but he was really haunted by that. That idea that he really contributed to his mum's death was really tragic.”

Has anyone else’s heart just snapped into two pieces?

Let us know how you’re feeling over on Facebook or Twitter (@CloserOnline) now.

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