Credit: Inside the MagicIt’s time to take a look at some… questionable Disney parenting.
Disney animation (and the motherly figure)
The Company and Animation Studios have built a reputation over the years for stellar animation and pioneering in the film and television industry – with the world being introduced to ‘s genius in the groundbreaking Mickey Mouse debut, Steamboat Willie (1928), and the first-ever full-length animated feature film, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937).
The motherly figure has often played a big role in the Disney movie — with Snow White’s Evil Queen taking the role of the villain and embodying the “Evil Stepmother” trope. As much as there were positive portrayals and role models like Bambi’s and Dumbo’s moms from Bambi (1942) and Dumbo (1941) respectively, over time Disney has amassed its fair share of “grays” with regards to their portrayals of parents in their animated films — as well as some full-out “blacks”. Nevertheless, motherly figures have played significant roles in the building (and tearing down) of some of Disney’s most well-known protagonists.
What makes a Disney mother “the worst”?
Well, “the worst” is obviously subjective, but we’re looking at how a parental figure here is at, well — being a mother. This means how good (or bad) they are at being there for their kid, being supporting, loving, and understanding, no matter what their kid is dealing with. It means not being abusive, or manipulative, or well, seeing the kid only as an extension of themselves — just to name a few!
We’re not limiting our list to purely biological mothers either, which is to say that stepmothers and adoptive mothers are completely fair game. So strap in as we look at probably the worst moms to ever be created by The Walt Disney Company.
The worst Disney moms ever, ranked
Here, we’ll be looking at animated films primarily — and yes, that includes works from the Pixar Animation Studios canon of movies, too. Without further ado, here’s our definitive list of the worst ever Disney moms to grace the screen, from least bad to the worst.
6. Ming Lee – Turning Red (2022)
Ming Lee (Sandra Oh) is the staunchly traditional, overbearing, and exacting mother of main character Meilin Lee (Rosalie Chiang). She’s last on the list because she doesn’t mean to hurt her child — but it nevertheless happens. Deliberately keeping the true history and origin of her family’s (very important) secret – where they all turn into giant red pandas when emotional – was a clear recipe for disaster. It was the blind continuation of her own mother’s messed up approach to parenting that cemented her family’s fate. The denial of their own history and seeing their red panda spirits as a curse rather than a blessing set the wheels in motion for a whole lot of pain (and destruction of Torontonian property!). Although Mei and her mother’s relationship is sweet at times, Ming Lee is a grown woman – and if Mei’s dad can be supportive, so could she. To be fair, you could put the blame on Ming Lee’s own mother, Mei’s Grandma Wu, for the way Ming Lee turned out — but ultimately, truly ending the cycle of generational trauma still fully fell onto Mei’s shoulders, because Ming Lee could not do it herself.
5. Queen Iduna – Frozen (2013)
While Queen Iduna of Arendelle (Evan Rachel Wood) initially seems like a loving mother to Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) , she is absolutely complicit in keeping Elsa isolated for years in her own room, after one accident when a young Princess Elsa failed to control her burgeoning ice powers.
Instead of seeking real help and attempting to teach Elsa control, Iduna actually allowed the two princesses to stay separated, with the responsibilities of ruling eventually foisted on Elsa’s shoulders after her and her husband’s deaths. It’s later revealed that she kept a huge secret from Elsa about her true nature and Northuldra people, causing her children immense pain and suffering further down the line in Frozen II/Frozen 2, when Elsa’s powers and the Enchanted Forest’s elemental imbalance nearly destroyed the entirety of their Kingdom of Arendelle. Not particularly responsible, even if she meant well!
4. Queen Elinor – Brave (2012)
Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson) is a strict and traditionalist mother who has a particularly strained relationship with her daughter, Princess Merida of DunBroch (Kelly Macdonald). She tries to force Merida into an arranged marriage, ignoring Merida’s real wishes and desires, only thinking to shape her in her image. It’s only through a magical mishap (where she turns into a bear, no less) that she’s forced to learn to appreciate Merida’s independence and inner strength. As much as both Princess Merida and Queen Elinor learned their lessons by the end, it took turning into a bear for the thought of accepting her daughter to even cross her mind.
3. Mamá Imelda – Coco (2017)
The illustrious Mama Imelda (Alanna Ubach) — full name Imelda Rivera — is the deceased matriarch of the Rivera family of Santa Cecilia, and mother of the eponymous Socorro Rivera AKA Mamá Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguía), great-grandmother to Coco‘s main protagonist, Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez). Now, Imelda did not mean to turn her future family into a psuedo-reenactment of 1984’s Footloose with the outright banning of music — but she undoubtedly did due to her stubbornness in life. Her staunch belief that poor musician and husband Héctor Rivera had intentionally left her to raise their daughter Coco very nearly doomed an innocent party to enduring a fate worse than death. It took little Miguel traveling to the Land of the Dead to uncover the truth and right the wrongs of the horrid treachery of one Ernesto de la Cruz (who honestly looks amazing over at Disneyland).
Overall, Imelda singlehandedly began the generations-long family trauma over music and joy. If not for Miguel’s own love of the art form, Imelda would have continued to ensure that Héctor remained forgotten.
2. Lady Tremaine – Cinderella (1950)
“Cinderella will be put in her place.”
The wicked stepmother AKA Lady Tremaine (Eleanor Audley) is another classic Disney villain, known for her almost artfully cruel treatment of protagonist Cinderella (Ilene Woods). At every turn, she favored her own daughters over Cinderella, and didn’t just make her do all the housework – she intentionally manipulated and emotionally abused the orphaned girl. Lady Tremaine is one of the quintessential Disney villains for a reason, actively trying to sabotage Cinderella’s chances of finding happiness and gleefully delighting in her mental and emotional anguish all the while.
1. Mother Gothel – Tangled (2010)
“Mother knows best!”
Ooh — arguably the biggest, meanest mother out there! The dastardly Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) is one of the most infamous Disney (adoptive) mothers, known for her particularly manipulative behavior towards her adoptive daughter, Disney Princess Rapunzel (Mandy Moore). To be totally honest, not even “adoptive” in the traditional sense – more like “kidnapped, lied to and completely kept in the dark”. Gothel gaslit Rapunzel all her life and abused her, insisting that everything would turn out right because “mother knows best”. As a result, Rapunzel was kept locked up in that tower for years, really only used at Gothel’s whim for her hair’s magical youth-giving properties. A total narcissist, Mother Gothel takes a well-deserved first place on this list as the worst Disney mom ever put to screen (so far, that is!).
All in all, Disney mothers — even the worst ones — often are shown with real reasons for being the way they are. Whether acting out of true spite and selfishness, or continuing family traumas unknowingly, they are almost always fantastic foils for their (typically) protagonist offspring. Perhaps their true job as a parent in these stories is to reveal something true about our heroes, whether they fully intend to or not.
What did you think about our ranking of the worst Disney mothers ever? Did we miss anyone? Share your thoughts in the comments below!