Mother’s Day is today, and we want to take the opportunity to celebrate mother’s everywhere! Mothers are those wonderful creatures who fed us, wrapped our Christmas gifts, helped us with our homework, watched Disney movies with us and supported us through the good times, and the bad. In honor of these amazing moms, we take a look at the mothers which played an integral part of their Disney film.

Disney and ‘mothers’ have a chequered past but there is no denying that the moms we look at below have made a profound impact on the Disney world – for the better, and the worse. From Queen Athena to Mother Gothel and everyone in between, we take a look at Disney Moms: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Appearing at the beginning of The Fox and the Hound, Tod’s mother risks everything to save her baby from a hunter and his dog, only get shot herself. Giving the ultimate sacrifice makes Tod’s mother a fantastic mother in our opinion!

Interesting Fact: Some fans believe that the same hunter from Bambi killed Tod’s mother, making the events which take place in The Fox and the Hound, within the same time frame as Bambi.

Ariel

 While Ariel has become a household name, it is often forgotten that she is a mother. In The Little Mermaid II, Ariel is mother to Melody, an adventurous daughter who shows similar traits to that of Ariel in the first film. Her understanding of Melody’s insecurities and her determination to protect Melody from Morgana firmly secures her place on our good list.

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Queen Athena

Let’s also not forget the original mermaid mother – Athena. Mother to her and King Triton’s seven daughters, Athena, much like her daughter Ariel, had a beautiful singing voice and is beloved throughout her kingdom. She meets her untimely end trying to save Attina, her oldest daughter, from a pirate ship, an act which makes her the ultimate mother.

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Tarzan’s Mother

An independent woman with great emotional strength, Tarzan’s mother helped her son safely into a lifeboat after jumping off their burning ship. Known in the novel as ‘Lady Alice Greystroke’, Tarzan’s mother makes our good list for doing everything she could for her son before passing away.

 

Interesting Fact: Since the release of Frozen, a common theory has emerged that states Elsa and Anna’s parents did not die at sea, but rather gave birth to a son and washed up on the shores of Africa. Sound familiar?

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Mrs. Pelekai

Though Lilo’s mother died in a car accident sometime before the events of Lilo and Stitch, Mrs. Pelekai is still deserving of making our good mother list. Appearing in the films only in  photographs, Mrs. Pelekai is portrayed as a loving, nurturing mother who brought music, dancing and love into the family home.

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Coral

Seen at the start of Finding Nemo, Coral protected her baby eggs from a barracuda and in doing so paid the ultimate price – her life.

 

Interesting Fact: Coral was the first female Disney Pixar character to die

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Queen Leah

A minor character from the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, Aurora’s mother shows motherly qualities throughout the film and she protects her daughter and subjects from the harm of Maleficent.

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The Bad

 

 

Queen Elinor

Mother of Merida and triplets Harris, Hubert and Hamish, Queen Elinor makes our bad list for several reasons, including being a strict, authoritarian who attempts to conform Merida to the traditional princess stereotypes and refuses to support her daughter’s choices.

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Mother Gothel

Though she wasn’t the first ‘evil stepmother’, Mother Gothel is definitely one of the worst. From stealing a baby, to posing as the child’s real mother, to imprisoning her almost-adult daughter inside a tower, Mother Gothel will do anything to selfishly keep herself looking young.

 

Interesting Fact: Mother Gothel’s dress is actually Renaissance style, from over 400 years before the time period in which Tangled takes place. This was a deliberate move by film-makers to hint at just how long Mother Gothel had been alive.

 

 

Interesting Fact: Disney officials have revealed that Mother Gothel did not fall to her death, but rather died of old age. This makes her the first Disney villain to die from old age.

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The Ugly

 

 



Queen Grimhilde

So evil is this original Disney villain that it is easy to forget that she is actually a mother (or stepmother). Driven by her obsession with youth and appearance, Queen Grimhilde makes our ugly list for being, quite literally, the most ugly. The hag persona she takes on in order to poison Snow White is truly hideous, but it matches what’s on the inside: a cold, calculating villain.

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Lady Tremaine

While Grimhilde may have started the wicked stepmother tradition, Lady Tremaine cemented it for generations to come. With the help of her daughters, Lady Tremaine made sure that Cinderella was not harmed physically, but rather was punished and manipulated psychologically, in order to achieve her own ends.

 

Interesting Fact: Lady Tremaine is the first Disney villain to be a natural parent.

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