Credit: DisneyIn 1937, Walt Disney Pictures released Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, which served as a momentous milestone for The Walt Disney Company as its inaugural full-length animated feature film. This groundbreaking cinematic achievement transformed the animation industry and firmly established Disney as a trailblazer in storytelling and exceptional craftsmanship. Throughout the span of a century, Disney’s influence has expanded on a tremendous scale — even developing its own dedicated streaming service, Disney+ (Disney Plus).
Disney today encompasses a vast and diverse library of content, including the development of interconnected superhero narratives within Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), captivating sci-fi adventures through the Star Wars franchise and Lucasfilm, the visually stuning world of Pandora in the Avatar film series helmed by James Cameron, and the innovative realm of 3D animation pioneered by Pixar Animation Studios. Furthermore, Disney’s dominance extends to their internationally acclaimed theme parks, including the original Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida (comprising Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios), as well as Disneyland Paris, the Tokyo Disney Resort, the Shanghai Disney Resort, and Hong Kong Disneyland.
Disney and families
Families play a more-than-significant role in Disney’s storytelling. Often portrayed are the importance of familial bonds, as well as showing diverse family dynamics — all while exploring themes of love, support, and unity.
Related: The Worst Disney Dads Ever, Ranked
In Disney animated classics, whether following Disney Princesses like Beauty and the Beast (1991) or centering around taking down an evil Disney villain like The Lion King (1994) — the concept of family is central. Stories like these often feature protagonists who face challenges and find the strength to overcome them through the love they have for their family. Disney films frequently present different family structures, reflecting the diverse makeup of real-world families. They portray single-parent households, blended families, adoptive families, chosen families, and unconventional relationships, helping to promote inclusivity and representation. Think Toy Story (1995) and all of its (many) spinoffs!
Whether it’s the bond between parent and child or the power of found families, Disney emphasizes the transformative and uplifting nature of familial love.
What is the definition of a “dysfunctional family”?
A dysfunctional family usually refers to a family unit in which the relationships, interactions, and dynamics are marked by significant issues, conflicts, or, well… dysfunction. It’s typically characterized by unhealthy patterns of behavior, communication difficulties, lack of boundaries, and emotional or psychological challenges — just to name a few — that hinder the family’s ability to be healthy and supportive to one another.
Ranking the most dysfunctional Disney families
Here are the most dysfunctional Disney families ranked from worst to best!
7. Pelekai Family — Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Lilo & Stitch gets a spot on this list purely because they are by definition dysfunctional — although none of it is really the Pelekai sisters fault!
When both Lilo and Nani’s parents died in that car accident, the Pelekai sisters were left to fend for themselves. With Lilo still a young child, she was completely reliant on her older teenaged sister Nani to support the entire family. All things considered, the two sisters did the best they could, and apart from some issues with communication — understandable, as Nani was out of the house working multiple jobs to keep them afloat — the two clearly cared a ton for each other.
This loving pair, despite their struggles communicating (and their screaming) get a technical last place. There’s just too much love here. The only issue is that the older sister is forced to also be the younger’s parent.
6. King Triton and Daughters — The Little Mermaid (1989)
Next up is the Disney Renaissance classic, The Little Mermaid, following the Disney Princess (and titular mremaid) Ariel (Jodi Benson).
Despite this Disney movie being about Ariel wanting to leave the mermaid world of Atlantica for the surface world of the humans — it’s crucial to note who exactly drove her into the arms of the Sea Witch Ursula (Pat Carroll). And that person is undoubtedly her father, King Triton (Kenneth Mars).
With his strict ways and controlling demeanor (and ridiculously quick temper), Triton is a frightening leader and father. He never once acknowledges Ariel’s independence and love for the human world, and instead of sating her curiosity in safe ways, lets his anger get the better of him and turn to smashing his daughter’s most prized collections. Although we don’t see much of their family life outside this one conflict — the one incident is more than enough to get an idea of how deeply dysfunctional they are.
5. Lee Family — Turning Red (2022)
Meilin Lee’s family has a total lack of boundaries. It more of less exemplifies an enmeshed family situation, where the family’s relationships are so entangled that respect and privacy flies out the window. Mei’s mother in particular is shown to be overly controlling, meddling with and embarrassing Mei, not noticing just how much her actions are affecting her emotionally. Whether it’s “outing” her affections for the local convenience store part-timer in a loud and embarrassing manner, or chasing her throughout school shouting about her period — Mei’s mother is the definition of a helicopter parent.
Her dad at first is a little submissive — though later totally pulls through! One cannot say the same about the rest of her extended family, though — namely, her grandmother and aunts. Their unwillingness to be open-minded and strict adherence to repressing a (misinterpreted) “curse” leads the characters to serious issues later on.
4. Banks Family — Mary Poppins (1964)
The Banks family in the Disney live-action classic Mary Poppins is also “classic” in another way — as an example of a neglectfully dysfunctional family!
Most of it boils down to the father of the household, George Banks (David Tomlinson), and his absolute refusal to see his children for what they are — children. With staunch ideas of what is “proper”, the materialistic Mr. Banks cares way more about his job than the emotional wellbeing of his own kids. It’s the main takeaway of the entire film, after all — that parents should acknowledge their children’s needs (and recognize that they’re children!), and be present in their care for them.
Mrs. Banks simultaneously — as nice and seemingly loving as she is — is also preoccupied with her own life. Her volunteering in the radical feminist movement of the period has left her absent from the house for extended lengths of time — leaving her children to be raised by the “hired help”. Until Mary Poppins swoops in and uncovers the family’s dysfunctions and they are all able to meet each other half-way!
3. Rivera Family — Coco (2017)
It’s not just the fact that Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) wasn’t allowed to play the guitar or even listen to music throughout his whole life. Nor is it simply because his grandmother chases him around town with a slipper where he (seemingly) gets physically beaten if caught.
The Rivera family managed to maintain a family-wide Footloose (1984) situation over multiple generations. The one perceived case of abandonment led to the whole family agreeing to keep up Mamá Imelda’s stubborn insistence and rigid commitment to ensuring that Héctor (Gael García Bernal) would experience a fate worse than death.
It was only after young Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) opened the (allegedly) spurned Mamá Imelda’s eyes to the truth of the matter, did Héctor finally get rescued from fading from existence entirely. Now that’s cruel.
2. Clade Family — Strange World (2022)
This family is all sorts of dysfunctional — and another perfect example of generational family trauma that just never stops.
It’s an epic cycle of disappointment and close-mindedness with this particular gang. Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid) is the ultimate larger-than-life adventure hero — think the most brash, obsessed, Steve Irwin-esque Indiana Jones. In search of his dream which becomes a true obsession, Jaeger Clade leaves his son Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal) behind to pursue an impossible goal. He never truly accepts (much less celebrates) Searcher’s innate knack for botany, and scoffs at his chosen career of being a farmer and inventor.
Later on, this same mistrust and close-mindedness is passed down from Searcher to his own son Ethan Clade (Jaboukie Young-White), who has dreams of his own that align more with his grandfather’s adventuring than his dad’s farming. At the end of the day, it takes their world being turned on its head and the threat of its total destruction to get them to overcome this generational problem!
1. Madrigal Family — Encanto (2021)
The Madrigal family was essentially built on dysfunction. And everyone in it suffers.
The core of the family, Alma Madrigal (or Abuela, as Mirabel calls her), handed down her trauma through multiple generations. She tied her existence, and the worth of every individual in her family, to the presence (and sustaining) of this magical “Gift” bestowed upon her and her blood relatives.
Abuela’s all-c0nsuming need to maintain the status quo of the family’s Gift led her to actually disown her own child, and even turn him away from his sisters. The fact that it was Bruno’s (John Leguizamo) “less useful” powers (that he could not actually help having) that led to him living in the walls of the family’s house, desperately hoping to belong,
It directly mirrors Mirabel Madrigal (Stephanie Beatriz) in her total absence of a Gift as she slowly gets ostracized for being an outcast — that is, until her efforts to make her grandma see sense pay off. Only when everyone loses their Gifts, of course.
Based on this list, it’s clear to see that it’s not just new Disney films that are focusing on families and their dysfunctions — it’s actually pretty much in the lifeblood of Disney storytelling dating all the way back to the 1960s!
At the end of the day, “dysfunction” is subjective — because it can take on all sorts of shades of grey, and encompass or affect different things. One thing’s for certain — each and every family here learns their lesson, and finds a way to navigate their issues together! If Disney does anything well, it’s expose those elements of life that we struggle with as humans, and guide us towards figuring those things out for ourselves.
Do you agree with our ranking of Disney’s dysfunctional families? Are there any that we missed? Share your thoughts in the comments below!