In the last few weeks, the Disney Corporation has been in the press over its opposition to recent legislation passed by the Florida State government regarding limiting what Florida public schools should be teaching K-3 children about sex and gender. In the wake of this series of events a flurry of on-line comments has flooded our screens with complaints about Disney’s views on family values. But, if we’re careful observers, we shouldn’t see Disney’s opposition to this legislation as a new development.
Disney has a long history of releasing animated films that have undermined the traditional biblical family, which consists of a father, mother, and children. One on-line article documents this pattern by noting that since 1937 in 56 of Disney’s 104 animated films, one or both parents are either missing or dead. Pinocchio doesn’t have a father but only a maker, Geppetto. Peter Pan is a motherless boy. Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Jasmine (Aladdin), and Pocahontas all don’t have mothers. Simba’s father, Mufasa, dies and his mother is largely absent. Bambi’s mother is shot and killed. Nemo’s mother is killed and his father is mostly absent from Nemo during much of the movie. Elsa and Anna of Frozen have their parents die in a shipwreck. In the Toy Story franchise, Andy’s father is nowhere to be seen and is never mentioned. While some of these absentee parents can be attributed to their original sources, i.e., Grimm’s Fairy Tales, the pattern of missing parents is too prevalent to ignore. Even in movies where the protagonist has parents, they’re often absent, such as in Moana’s quest to find the heart of the sea. This trend also continues in other movies, such as in Pirates of the Caribbean, where Elizabeth’s mother is only mentioned by her father’s ghost, and Jack’s and Will’s mothers are dead. In Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord’s father is missing and eventually tries to kill him, and his mother dies in the opening of the movie. What’s the possible message? Do you really need parents? Do you really need a father? Do you really need a mother?
Some might argue that the absentee parents are simply a reflection of the sin-fallen world in which we live. This is true—we all know too well of broken families splintered by sin and tragic loss. But on the other hand, these animated movies aren’t history but rather deliberately crafted stories aimed at children. When half of the animated movies you release do not present the creational norm of a family with a mother and father, you’re sending a message that subtly shapes the minds of impressionable young children that one or more parents are optional, irrelevant, or an impediment to becoming your own person. Should Christians, therefore, not allow their children to watch Disney animated films?
This is a question that calls for wisdom. Many parents would naturally and rightly shield their children from a rated-R movie because of its immoral content, but then they unquestionably sit their children in front of a Disney animated film without giving thought to its message because it’s a cartoon—it’s supposedly harmless. Rather than naively watch or use the TV or tablet as a convenient babysitter, we should ensure that we pre-screen or watch with our children the things that they watch. We can then use these moments as springboards to discussions with our children about the messages that they’ve seen.
In this case, while Disney undoubtedly has an agenda, I believe that their message reflects biblical teaching. How so? The absence of authority figures, especially fathers, is an echo of the enmity that all fallen sinners have with their God, their Father and creator. Remember Paul’s words to the philosophers at Mars Hill: “As even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring’” (Acts 17:28b). We are all, sinner and saint alike, God’s children. And apart from salvation, we are all, “sons of disobedience” and “by nature children of wrath.” But God has been rich in his mercy and has provided a remedy to this alienation that we have with our heavenly Father—the gift of salvation that comes only through Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Only in Christ is our filial relationship with our heavenly Father restored because we have the “Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father’” (Rom. 8:15)!
We should not be surprised when the unbelieving world acts in the way that it does. Disney’s latest moves are simply a reflection of their anti-family agenda. But this anti-family agenda is only a reflection of the animosity that all fallen sinners have against God. If you watch Disney animated films, use them as an opportunity to talk with your children about the movie’s message and show them how God has overcome our sinfulness in Christ. Reinforce to them what God’s word says about the importance of mothers and fathers as his representatives in the lives of children. Take them to the book of Proverbs where such fatherly and motherly wisdom abounds. At their biblical ideal, parents aren’t an impediment to adventure or growth but are God-given blessings, guides, and sage counselors to point us to Christ. Watch with discernment and teach your children to do the same.