Disney and death

Since we watch a lot of Disney movies in our house lately, I'm often reminded about how it seems that every Disney movie involves some loss of a parent. I was just listening to a recent interview of David Cronenberg on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. He directs some pretty scary or disturbing films, and he said he believes that the greatest fear of children is the separation from a parent. He said this in the context of his own childhood fears, and while we worry about what children should see on tv, we end up showing them movies that feature the very thing they are most afraid of. I guess that's why I haven't let Margaret watch Bambi or Finding Nemo yet.

Just something to think about. Obviously, she's watched all the princess movies that involve dead or absent parents and she's not scarred yet.