Though frequently associated with the dead
mother trope, the fact is Disney can usually be counted on to churn out a few moms every
decade and spare them from the proverbial chopping-block. Actually, though the classics might imply
otherwise, the studio does have a formidable cast of moms at its disposal, owing in part
to its extensive history and in part to the writers actively avoiding the trope in recent
years. But even in the wonderful world of Disney,
not all mothers are created equal. Iâm Kyle with WickedBinge and today, in
honor of Motherâs Day, weâre counting down the moms of Disney Moms, from (in a twist)
Worst to Best. Letâs get to it. Now, in honor of the day, we are taking a
step back from our usual formula. While in many cases, if a character is a good
mom, sheâs at least a somewhat-noble character, and vice-versa. But just as is true in the real world, this
isnât always the case; some otherwise evil characters are actually good mothers, and
likewise, the reverse is sometimes true. So today, weâre breaking down our list,
solely by how effective they are as maternal figures in the lives of their children. Weâd say âSpoilers Aboundâ from here
on out, but câmon; you probably know how these all go. Starting with the darkside, weâll be starting
with the Worst Mothers.... The worst mother in Disneyâs repertoire
is also arguably the most intriguing: Zira from the Lion King 2: Simbaâs Pride. The Swahili word zira translates to hate,
and that word encompasses our worst mother completely. Zira presents herself as an ousted radical
loyal to Scar as King; she amassed followers under this sentiment and raised her children
by it, including her favored, adopted son Kovu, who was Scarâs chosen heir. Her villain song, My Lullaby, is a Hellfire-level
of chilling in its subject matter, contrasting the brutal images of war with a lullaby, illustrating
how Zira is raising her children to be soldiers willing to kill or die for her cause of overthrowing
Simba. But notice, she never promises a better future
for their children should they succeed - she exclusively glories in prospect of the initial
conquest, the âdrums of warâ, the âmournful criesâ, and their flag flying in the middle
it all. That was her mentality that she imposed on
her children and expected them to adhere to no matter what. Gradually though, this hatred costs Zira everything
and consumes her effortlessly. Any emotional response other than rage, she
suppresses. To the end, she never expresses any regret
for the damage she does, if she acknowledges it at all. Conclusively, Zira manipulated and indoctrinated
her children into being her soldiers, and never offered them any maternal care beyond
that. Her own firstborn is killed in the line of
duty and when her remaining child, who followed her into battle moments prior, calls for an
armistice, she announces her intent to kill her without hesitation. Truly, sheâs the worst. Coming very close to the very bottom, surprising
no-one, is Tangledâs effervescent Mother Gothel. A supercentenarian literally kept young by
her daughter Rapunzel, Mother Gothel boasts a theatric flare and a charismatic demeanor
that, unfortunately, she uses to manipulate Rapunzel into subservience. Gothel boasts no magical ability of her own
in her original appearance. Instead, her power over her captive daughter
relies on gaslighting Rapunzel and instilling false ideas about the world outside the tower
where sheâs kept. Her villain song Mother Knows Best illustrates
the nature of her mind-games by showing her actually distorting the light in the tower,
effectively keeping Rapunzel in the dark and ensuring she only sees what Gothel wants her
to. When all the flash and Disneyâs gorgeous
animation is set aside, this is actually a rather brilliant metaphor for the psychological
abuse that a narcissistic, or even an overbearing, parent is capable of, one that resonates with
many people who have been in a similar situation. Gothelâs use of fear and facades extends
to her daily interactions with Rapunzel as well. She superficially presents herself as an accommodating
and positive presence in Rapunzelâs life while using guilt to dampen Rapunzelâs confidence,
thus ensuring sheâs kept helpless. And this method only gets thinner throughout
the film as Rapunzel continues to defy her. By the end, she reveals herself as a bitter,
selfish, and unflinching woman who will do anything to get what she wants. And all this is before you get to the sequel
material and learn Gothel had a biological daughter as well, whom she openly misused,
insulted, and finally abandoned in pursuit of keeping Rapunzelâs magic to herself. This shows us, Gothel doesnât really possess
any nurturing tendencies. She does not love if she doesnât have to. So, yeah. She had this coming. Following Gothel is Lady Tremaine, Cinderellaâs
wicked stepmother and more importantly - for the sake of this video - mother to the vain
and awkward Anastasia and Drizella. Of course it isnât a secret that Tremaine
is a heinous woman and a terrible stepmother, but surely she has some redeeming qualities
in the way she looks after her own daughters? Well, no. Not really. Anastasia and Drizella are obviously not up
to their motherâs standards and, for much of the original film, Tremaine uses her late
husbandâs wealth to try and make up for that. In many instances, Tremaine appears frustrated
by, but at least sympathetic, to her own children and saves the real animosity for Cinderella. But while Tremaine can overlook incompetence,
defiance is another story completely. In fact, by the Cinderella direct-to-video
sequels, Lady Tremaine reveals herself as completely selfish in her motivations and
wonât hesitate to dispose of anyone, including her daughters, if they threaten her carefully-laid
plans. She merits this out onto both of them; to
Anastasia, who begins to cotton on to what a terrible woman Tremaine is, and even Drizella,
who never questions her motherâs authority. Her actions here imply that she only values
her daughters for their status as eligible noblewomen, and thus instruments of elevating
her own status. Be it by blood or by marriage, this woman
really doesnât need any daughters, or anyone to hold power over. Our next entry places on a technicality and,
itâs Queen Grimhilde, better known as the Evil Queen from Snow White. The Queen is not known to have any biological
children and only assumes motherhood of Snow White through marriage. Thus, unlike Tremaine and Gothel, we can only
judge her by her interactions with her stepchild. And what horrible actions these are. In the vein of all wicked stepmothers, the
Queen reduces Snow White to a scullery maid in hopes of keeping her beauty in check, but
when her worst nightmare comes true and Snow White succeeds her as the Fairest of Them
All, she plots to have her stepdaughter killed. This ultimately fails, but it doesnât deter
the vainglorious Queen, and she takes the attempt in to her own hands, sacrificing her
all-important beauty in the process. This detail in particular indicates the Queenâs
actions are less motivated by her ambition and more by her hatred of potential challengers. This makes the fact that her only view of
Snow White is as a challenger, rather than a daughter, all the more depraved. With the worst moms out of the way, we now
enter The Grey Area In a surprisingly neutral spot, we have everyoneâs
favorite sea witch, Ursula, who arguably serves as a mother figure to her slippery henchmen
Flotsam and Jetsam. The twin eels are notably very competent for
Disney underlings, and Ursula is appropriately cordial, if not genuinely maternal, with them. She treats them more like beloved pets than
actual children, but, you gotta hand it to her: the eels donât fear her and enjoy being
close to her, she praises them for their accomplishments, isnât shy with physical affection, and even
genuinely mourns them before turning her rage on Ariel. While technically, sheâs the reason they
die, at least she cares. Thatâs more than we can say for our last
few. Interestingly, it might be argued that Ursula,
for all her faults, actually has a good sense of maternity, possibly due to the caring,
if somewhat indulgent, relationship she had with her own mother, something her sister
Morgana comments on. In the center of our list, we have our perfect
neutral in the form of Lewisâ Mother from Meet the Robinsons. Now, we only see Lewisâ Mother for a few
seconds in the film, but Lewisâ one brief memory of her is a major point of the film. Eventually it serves as his primary motivation
to join Wilbur on their adventure, so that he can meet her. The thing about this character though, is
that sheâs basically Schrodingerâs mom - while the director of the orphanage suggests
she wasnât ready to care for him, we never learn for sure what her motivation was. Equally, we never learn the potential consequences
of her not leaving him there, since he doesnât take the chance he gets to speak with her. Why can only go by guesswork and implication
in placing this character, which would be unfair, so we can only go on her brief appearance. She protects her baby from the rain, hugs
him goodbye, and then leaves his life for good. For better or worse, sheâs definitely a
mother, and that earns her a spot here. Inching our way up to the more wholesome entrees
on our list, our next entrant isnât ranked because of her character, rather the minor
role she plays in her daughterâs struggles: Queen Leah from Sleeping Beauty. Leah does appear to be a dedicated mother
to Aurora in the time she does appear, hosting a extravagant christening in her honor and
even consenting to letting her daughter be raised by the Good Fairies for her protection. But afterwards, she has no significant interaction
with Aurora and is even ignorant of, literally asleep during, the filmâs major conflict. Of course, the latter could be said for Aurora
as well. Finally, we arrive at the pure⌠The are The Good Moms⌠Fortunately our category for good animated
moms more or less dominates the list, beginning it is Queen Athena, mother of Ariel and her
six elder sisters. Again, more a victim of minimal screen time
- not even appearing in the original 1988 film - Athenaâs absence in the kingdom following
her death is felt by everyone. Athena was a beloved queen and mother to her
daughters, evident by the fact that all seven adopted her love of music and fought to have
it restored to the kingdom. Due to the nature of their loss, Tritonâs
prejudice against the human world is established as well. Athena is an unfortunate case - we get the
sense of how much she loved, and was loved, solely by how deeply sheâs missed. Moving up in the list, we have Ariel herself. After giving birth to a daughter following
the first film, we actually get a scope of how much motherhood has matured the little
mermaid. Much like the father before her, Ariel is
traumatized into over-sheltering and even lying to her daughter Melody in order to protect
her, leaving her to feel cut off from a part of her world. She eventually falls down the same trap Ariel
did, and Ariel is less apt to handle the consequences than youâd think. Still, she goes to great lengths, even returning
to the sea, to get her daughter back. Franny from Meet the Robinsons comes next
- undoubtedly the most creative entrant we have. We see in her youth that Franny was a lover
of fine music and concretely believed that frogs possess latent musical talent, something
that didnât particularly endear her to the people around her. Following her marriage to Cornelius, she continues
to hone her passion on a far grander scale, alongside being a mother to her son Wilbur. Possibly due to her connection with Cornelius,
who spent most of his formative years in an orphanage, Franny obviously takes family very
seriously. She both nurtures and fights alongside the
members of her eccentric brood during the course of the movie, and even grounds Wilbur
âuntil heâs deadâ for tampering with timeline that keeps them all together. We see her maternity extend even further when
she takes on a motherly role with Lewis, unaware of his true identity, and even announces her
intent to adopt him after knowing his for a relatively short period. Overall, despite her flighty and fun exterior,
Franny obviously loves her family very much and itâs clearly important to her to be
there for them when they need her. All she asks in return is that the family
acknowledge that sheâs always right, even when it doesnât seem like it. Our next entry comes with a stab in the chest
every time, itâs Bambiâs Mom. There isnât much to say about Bambiâs
mother that most people arenât already pretty clear on: her brief time on screen is among
the most gut-wrenching bit of animation in Disneyâs repertoire, both for its heartbreaking
nature and raw illustration of the depths of maternal love. This was a very controversial move for Disney
at the time, but Bambiâs mom really is a hell of a mom in the time we do have with
her. She educates Bambi on the bounties and the
dangers of their forest home, cares for her fawn during a bitter winter, and ultimately
does whatever she can to ensure his survival. Chicha comes next, in proof that you can have
someone who literally embodies all the common tropes and still have her be a compelling
character. Because Chicha is nothing if not formulaic;
sheâs a very stereotypical mom character - heavily pregnant throughout the film, aggressively
supportive of Pacha, and an incredibly dedicated homemaker for him and their children. But Chicha is an incredibly intelligent woman
who actively encourages her young children, despite being visibly tired by them, and never
seems to lose her patience holding down the fort while her husband is on his journey. Any mom out there with two small kids canât
call her interactions with Chaca and Tipo relatable. In one notable instance, Chicha actually works
alongside her kids to hinder Yzma and Kronk, and in doing so, never once scolds her kids
for their boisterous and messy idea of fun, but rather teaches them how to put it to a
constructive use. Honestly, thatâs a hot take even by todayâs
standards. Good on ya, Chicha - itâs hard to believe
sheâs voiced by the same actress as Beatrice Horseman. Sarabi, from the Lion King, comes next. Now, we donât see if Sarabi had the same
parental impact on Simba that Mufasa had, but we do see her as a very strong and capable
figure in Simbaâs life while also maintaining a nurturing and even playful side with him
as a cub. You can also see, after Mufasaâs death,
the utter devastation that the loss of her family brings her. But Sarabi is a mother more or less defined
by her strength, evident in how she eventually channels her grief into loyalty to her familyâs
memory and to Mufasaâs respect for the natural order of the Pride Lands. In fact, Sarabi doesnât let her grief or
her deposition as queen of Pride Rock to hamper her dedication to her fellows, all the while
holding fast to the memory of her husband and her son. Understandably, her reunion with Simba is
an incredibly visceral one, though often overlooked for its subtlety. After being physically struck by Scar, she
looks up and sees her son, a spitting image of her father, and can barely dare to believe
it. You can see in her face the quiet awe, like
sheâs seeing an impossible, answered prayer come true. While appropriately hurt to hear that Simba
assumes responsibility for his fatherâs death, she doesnât begrudge him the years
he spent on the run, and welcomes him back as rightful king when the batte for Pride
Rock concludes. Eudora, Tianaâs mother, comes next. While Tiana often cites her father as the
inspiration for her sense of conviction, her mother as well was someone not at all afraid
of hard work. She worked as a seamstress - a traditionally
very demanding and low-earning job - and even managed to keep herself and Tiana sustained
after losing her husband to the war. Eudora certainly had different ideas for her
daughterâs future than Tiana did, wondering whether or not her dreams were worth the personal
sacrifices she was making, but ultimately let Tiana decide on that for herself. She still supported the plans Tiana made for
herself and unflinchingly empathized with her reasons behind them, illustrated in how
- as a grand-opening gift - she brings Tiana her fatherâs old gumbo pot. Our bronze medal goes to Sina, wife of the
chieftain of Motunui and mother to Moana. Sina is the mediator between her daughter
and husband, explaining to Moana the the fear that motivated her father to keep her away
from the ocean. However, when she found that Moana had made
up her mind to make her fated journey, she doesnât stop her. This is an incredibly brief scene and sees
her off, a considerable first for Disney moms. In fact, itâs Moanaâs love for her mother
and the rest of her people that motivates her seafaring quest for Maui, for which Sina,
Tui, and all of Motonui celebrate her. Sheâs last scene learning from her daughter
as they return to their original nomadic lifestyle. Sina is a distinct case in that she is one
of the few mothers in our roster to completely respect her childâs autonomy. While it might be argued that she expects
Moana to succeed her father, she doesnât pressure her daughter to behave any certain
way as the up-and-coming chief, nor does she ever use her authority as Moanaâs mother
to exude any influence over her. Rather than forbid her outright as her father
had, for example, Sina gently discourages Moana by appealing to her sense of reason. When Moana chooses to follow her instincts
anyway, Sina stands aside and openly supports her. Thatâs a pretty rare, but refreshing, stance
to see Disney take. Our Silver Medal of Good goes to a mom that
Disney frequently overlooks: Treasure Planetâs Sarah Hawkins. A single parent struggling with maintaining
her inn and keeping her son Jim out of trouble, Sarah ranks where she does because - despite
the storyâs fantastical setting - her struggles are so relatable. Despite being a loving mother who engages
with and encourages her young son, Treasure Planet doesnât shy away from how drawn and
overwhelmed she feels throughout the story, something that any parent could relate to. In fact, while the movie spends the bulk of
the movie focusing on Jim coming to terms with his fatherâs abandonment, it also doesnât
shy away from showing us how Sarah has already done so and spent her time since dealing with
the backlash. Jim copes with missing his father in dangerous
ways which threaten both his safety and his future - again, something thatâs pretty
relatable - but shows us the emotional toll that takes on his mother. And all this is before the movieâs inciting
incident where her inn - her only way of making a living - is torched before her eyes. Sarah ultimately makes the hard decision to
allow Jimâs voyage into the unknown in pursuit of Treasure Planet - something he does in
order to save their livelihood - in hopes that itâll give him what he needs to grow
up. This is another harsh reality that the character
doesnât shy away from - the acknowledgement that sometimes, you have to step back and
let your kid handle their affairs on their own. Taking home the gold in our list for best
Disney mom is Tarzanâs own Kala. Going back to our comment on being a good
mother in the face of harsh realities, Kala really drives this point home. She adopts the orphaned Tarzan after her own
biological child is killed by Sabor, and raises him with love and support in the face of the
prejudice they receive from members of their community, particularly her own mate. Kala is another great example of daunting,
real-life themes being present in fantastical settings, and more or less personifies Tarzanâs
struggle between his identity as a human and his loyalty to his family. But Kala doesnât ever stand in the way of
this struggle even though she understands the risk it poses to them both. Like a mother, she worries for her child engaging
with the nee and the unfamiliar and worries personally that it will lead him to leave
her forever. But she doesnât discourage him from the
truth, and even takes him to the treehouse his birthparents built so that he can see
the truth of his heritage. She cries over seeing him come to terms with
this truth of himself but she does so silently, showing her love for him, and what follows
is among the most bittersweetly painful exchanges to come out of Disney canon. Kala, ya done good with that one. So, Disney fans, what do you think of our
list? Remember to hit that notification bell and
binge our Good-to-Evil playlist. Where we break down the morality of the characters
on your favorite cartoons, movies and shows. But most importantly, stay wicked.
