9 Disney Parents Who Flunked the “Good Parenting” Test

Disney tends to cover life with a beautiful veil of magic that we all love. That’s exactly why it took us by surprise to notice that some of the parent figures in their movies created family dynamics we wouldn’t want to be involved in at all. These characters do questionable and not at all advisable things that no parenting book would approve of. Have a look, and don’t miss the bonus at the end!

1. Zeus in Hercules abandoning his son.

Despite being the most powerful god, he could not save his son when he was stolen from him. He stood by and watched as others raised his little boy. He was never present in the development and life of Hercules. However, he informs him that, to enter Olympus, where Zeus lives, he must prove himself worthy.

2. Miguel’s parents, in Coco, prefer to please grandma rather than listen to their son.

Just because the grandmother does not tolerate music, they decide to prohibit any kind of approach to it. Miguel’s parents do not communicate with their son and do not avail his needs.

They only obey what the grandmother says and push their little boy to forget what his true passion is. They even made him take a profession that he doesn’t like. His grandmother even went as far as to break his guitar, and his parents didn’t say a thing.

3. In Maleficent, Aurora’s father is more interested in revenge than in his daughter.

Aurora’s father, Stefan, did not make the best decisions regarding his daughter. First, without thinking about it, he let some unqualified fairies care for a human for 16 years. During this time he didn’t have any actual contact with his daughter. And then, when Aurora finally sought him out, he preferred to focus his energies on his revenge against Maleficent.

4. In Frozen, parents isolate their daughters and teach Elsa that she should be afraid of herself.

Elsa and Ana’s parents did not handle the situation of their eldest daughter’s powers in the best way, as they isolated the girls completely. They treated Elsa as if she was too dangerous and did not teach her how to handle her powers, constantly mentioning that it was for her good.

5. In The Little Mermaid, King Triton doesn’t care that his 16-year-old daughter already wants to get married.

He made a fuss when he discovered Ariel collecting human stuff, but the worst part was how little he cared about the fact that his 16-year-old daughter was marrying a complete stranger.

6. In Encanto, Mirabel’s parents err on the side of peace as they watch their daughter being made to feel less than welcome.

Mirabel was the only one in the family who didn’t have powers. That’s why some people didn’t really think of her as an important person, especially her grandmother and her sister Isabel. Meanwhile, her parents saw this and simply gave her a pat on the back, food, and that was pretty much it. They never confronted their family for them to stop mistreating their daughter.

7. In Bambi, the father does not want to take care of his son.

In the movie Bambi, right in the scene that marked the childhood of many children, when his mother dies, the little boy runs and finds his father, but he doesn’t even know that he is his father. It just shows how absent he was in his son’s life.

8. In Luca, Daniela wants to send her son away.

In Pixar’s Luca, the mom is such an anxious being that she doesn’t want her son to go to the surface, where humans live. However, sitting down and talking out her concerns, she gets upset and decides to send him away. Of course, that only makes Luca run away.

9. In The Parent Trap, Annie and Hallie are separated at birth only because their parents get a divorce.

This year’s winners of the bad parent award are Annie and Hallie’s parents. They decided to separate their twins when they divorced. They avoided fights between them at the cost of the girls never knowing their sister and their mother/father.

Bonus: In Tangled, Gothel did not hesitate to hurt Rapunzel despite having raised her.

Okay, yes, Gothel was the villain of the story, but she still raised Rapunzel for many years as her own daughter and, apparently, didn’t mind using her and hurting her. She also made her fear the outside world and lied to her to keep her captive.

What is the best way to form a healthy and strong bond between parents and children?